Introduction

OpenCart 3 is initially pre-configured to use the default PHP Mail function for sending email notifications generated by the store. Due to the fact that the PHP Mail function sends the emails directly from the server IP address, there is a quite high chance for them to get marked as spam and consequently non-delivered. This is one of the reasons it is strongly recommended to consider sending your emails via SMTP. In this guide, we will show you how to configure your OpenCart store to send emails using the SMTP service within a few simple clicks.

Getting Started

Before we step into the SMTP configuration of your store there is certain information you will need to gather. You will need the following details:

• SMTP Hostname
• SMTP Username
• SMTP Password

You can obtain the above-mentioned details from your email service provider. In case you are a HostArmada customer, you will be able to find the required details in the welcome email containing all the important information of your hosting account with us. You can review the email directly from your Client Area by clicking on the email icon located at the top menu bar. In case you have any difficulties finding the details, please make sure to submit a ticket request to our team and they will gladly provide you with them.

Now, in order to configure your mail settings, please log in to your OpenCart Admin Dashboard and navigate through the left menu bar to System > Settings.

After you access the “Stores” page, please click on the “Edit” button (the pencil icon) next to your store name and you will be redirected to the “Edit Settings” page.

On the new page, you will see a number of tabs containing the system settings of your store. The main focus of this guide will on the “Mail” tab, therefore, please make sure to switch to it. You will notice that the tab is split into two sections: “General” and “Mail Alerts” in the following lines we will separately review each of them.

Configuring SMTP Settings

Now that you have accessed the “Mail” settings page you will see the SMTP configuration fields displayed under the first “General” section.

To configure OpenCart to send emails via SMTP, please do the following:

• Mail Engine - This setting determines how the email generated by your store will be sent. Therefore, make sure to select the “SMTP” option from the dropdown menu.
• Mail Parameters - This setting determines the sender’s email address in case the store is using the PHP Mail Function. For SMTP, please make sure to leave it blank.
• SMTP Hostname - In this field, you need to enter the SMTP hostname of the email service provider. In most cases, you can directly enter the server hostname or “mail.domain.com” (where domain.com stands for your own domain name), however, please note that it depends on the server configuration of your provider and the DNS settings of your domain. As previously mentioned, if you are our customer you can find the required details in your welcome email.
• SMTP Username - The SMTP username is the email address you wish to configure as a sender on your store (e.g. [email protected]).
• SMTP Password - The SMTP password is the password associated with the above-mentioned email address.
• SMTP Port - This field determines the SMTP port. Please make sure to leave it set to the default 25 port unless another is strictly specified by your email provider.
• SMTP Timeout - Here you can leave the default value unless another value is strictly defined by your email provider.

When you fill the required information and you are ready, please do not forget to click on the blue “Save” button positioned at the upper-right corner of the page.

Once this is done, please make sure to test your newly configured settings in order to confirm the email delivery is successful. When you ensure everything is properly working, you are all set!

Configuring Mail Alert Preferences

In the following “Mail Alerts” section of the “Mail” settings tab, you will be able to select which customers’ activities will trigger email notifications sent to your store admin email address.

• Alert Mail - From this list of options, you can select the desired customers’ activities that will trigger the email alerts by ticking the corresponding checkboxes.
• Additional Alert Mail - In this field, you can enter additional email addresses on which you would like to receive the above-selected email alters. If you need to enter multiple email addresses, please make sure to separate them with commas (,).

Once you are ready, please click on the blue “Save” button in order to record your changes.

You are all set now! You have managed to configure your SMTP settings as well as your email alert preferences. We hope you have found the information in this tutorial useful and our guidance easy to follow. If for some reason the emails are not sent successfully after you have saved your SMTP settings, please make sure to submit a support ticket to our Technical Staff so they can review them and further investigate.