Gmail SMTP | How to Setup Gmail SMTP

Gmail SMTP is one of Google’s servers that are freely available for sending email. Not many people know the benefits and advantages of using SMTP. In order to get these benefits and advantages, of course you must use it.

On this occasion, we will discuss some of the advantages of using Gmail SMTP and how to set it up easily and quickly. But before that, we will first discuss the meaning of SMTP itself. Let’s see the explanation below.

What is Gmail SMTP?

SMTP itself stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, which is an internet standard used for e-mail transmission. The term appeared and was first defined by RFC 821 in 1982.

It was then updated in 2008 with the addition and expansion of SMTP by RFC 5321, which is also the protocol in widespread use today. STMP itself serves to communicate with the server to send email from local email to the server before the destination email server.

The communication process is controlled by the MTA (Mail Transfer Agent) on the email server that you use.

Benefits and advantages of Gmail SMTP

The following are the benefits and advantages of Gmail SMTP that can be obtained by using it, namely:

• Email can be ensured to be sent to the destination quickly and precisely.
• You do not need to setup a server (if you use a VPS).
• Servers are rarely blacklisted, so your email is unlikely to come in as SPAM.
• Security is guaranteed, using two-factor authentication, and email will be backed up on Google servers. In addition, Google requires that you have a secure connection to send email.
• Google’s SMTP servers don’t use port 25 to avoid flagging spam. So, the process of sending email is more optimal.

Limit on sending email with SMTP

Although it has benefits that are generally needed and very helpful, you need to know that by using SMTP, there are weaknesses that you must consider before using it.

The weakness is the limit for sending email. Email sending limit provided by Gmail SMTP is 100 emails per day. If you have reached the limit, then you cannot send emails for the next 24 hours until it is automatically reset.

How to setup Gmail SMTP easily

Now on this occasion, we will discuss directly some of the ways that you can do for SMTP settings. Some of the ways below can be done easily, you just need to choose a method that you thinks is easy to do, or that you understands.

Come on; let’s take a look at some of the settings or how to use the services or features provided by Google to send this email!

1. Setting the Google SMTP server

The first thing you has to do is open access to Less Secure Apps in Google settings first. Google began blocking applications and devices that were deemed not to use modern security standards.

To avoid this, please activate the less secure apps Google account first. You also must know that less secure apps cannot be activated if 2-step verification of the Google account is active. Required to sign in using a password or application code.

The following is an example of Google’s SMTP details, namely:

• SMTP Server: smtp.gmail.com
• SMTP Username: email address, for example sedulursuper@gmail.com
• SMTP Password: gmail password bro
• SMTP Port: 465
• TLS/SSL: Required

If you want to take advantage of the IMAP protocol and save all outgoing email in the sent email folder in Gmail, please follow these steps.

1. Login to your Gmail account and please click on the Settings menu.
2. Select the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab and click Enable IMAP.
3. Please click the Save Changes button at the very bottom.

2. Using a custom domain

If you use a dedicated domain, then the process to connect to the Google SMTP server will be very easy. However, you must make sure in advance that you have an email address with its own domain and Gmail address itself.

Before proceeding, you need to set up a Google password which will grant the custom email address permission to access the Google account. Make sure to enable two-factor authentication on your Gmail address first.

Once you have your Google account password, sign in to your Gmail or Google Workspace account and follow these steps:

1. Open Gmail Settings by clicking the gear icon at the top right.
2. Click the Account tab, then click Add another email address.
3. A pop-up window will appear. Fill in the required information and click Next Step. The Google SMTP email registration pop-up appears.
4. Enter Google’s SMTP server, your Gmail address, and the application password that was created, in their respective fields.
5. A verification email will be sent to your custom email address. Open the email, and then click the confirmation link.
6. Your email address has also been connected to Google’s own SMTP server.

3. Using WordPress plugins

One way that you can use for Gmail SMTP settings is by using a WordPress plugin. Basically, there are lots of plugins that can be used, but in this opportunity we will take an example using the WP Mail SMTP plugin. The steps are as follows:

1. To install the plugin, access your WordPress admin dashboard and go to Plugins > Add New. Look for the “WP Mail SMTP by WPForms” plugin, then Install Now -> Activate.
2. Open WP Mail SMTP from the dashboard. Click Settings. Fill in the From Name field and select Gmail in the Mailer section. Configure WP Mail SMTP mail
3. Don’t forget to tick “Set the return-path to match the From Email” to get a notification if there is a delivery problem.
4. Scroll down, and you will see the Client ID and Client Secret columns. To fill it out, you must create a web application in your Google account.
5. Open a new tab, open the Google API Console, and sign in with your Google account.
6. Click Create Project, create a Project Name, and click Create Gmail API in the Google APIs dashboard
7. Then, select API Library on the left side of the dashboard. Search for “Gmail API”.
8. Enable the Gmail API and click Create Credentials.
9. Answer the question with the following options: Gmail API -> Web browser (Javascript) -> User data. Continue by clicking what credentials do I need? Adding credentials in Google API
10. The “Set up OAuth consent screen” window will appear. Click “Set up consent screen”.
11. Select User Type. Fill in the Application name with the website title.
12. Then, fill in the Authorized domains, the Application Homepage link, the Application Privacy Policy link, and the Application Terms of Service link with the your website address. Adjust other settings if necessary, then click Save.
13. On the Credentials page, fill in the Name and Authorized JavaScript origins. Fill in this section with the address of your website as well. Then, fill in the Authorized redirect URI, which you can find in WP Mail’s SMTP settings. Authorized redirect URI in Google API
14. Go back to WP Mail SMTP -> Settings in WordPress dashboard, then copy Authorized redirect URI. Authorized redirect URI in WP Mail SMTP settings
15. Back on the API & Services page; paste the URL into the Authorized redirect URI field in the Credentials section. Click Create.
16. A pop-up will appear containing the Client ID and Client Secret. Copy them both, then paste them into WP Mail’s SMTP Settings page under the Gmail section. Don’t forget to click Save Settings. Configure Gmail in WP SMTP Mail settings
17. Click “Allow plugin to send emails using your Google account” next to the Authorize section.
18. Connect your Gmail account and let the website manage it.
19. Send a test email to make sure everything is correct. Do this step in WP Mail SMTP -> Email Test. Test email tab on WP Mail SMTP settings

What if SMTP can’t be used?

If it can’t be used, the cause is usually Google blocking access, this is done because Google is trying to provide security for Gmail accounts. If you have taken steps to set up Google’s servers by activating Less Secure Apps, usually this condition will not happen.

Less Secure Apps itself is used by Google to detect Gmail sign-in from applications that they consider less secure. You can turn off access from these applications. But if you still want to use the application, you can turn on the Allow Less Secure Apps feature.

If you receive an error message when trying to sign in to a third-party app or third-party service, this feature is most likely affected. There are several ways that you can do to overcome this, namely:

• Turn on Two-Factor Authentication for your accounts. By turning on two-factor authentication, you will not be affected by this problem anymore.
• Select “turn on” for the “allow less secure apps” feature. With this option the application will be able to directly connect to your Gmail.

So, these are some ways to set Gmail SMTP that you can do. There are also several other important points that you must also understand to overcome any problems that arise when activating this Gmail feature.