We often hear issues and field questions about email configuration. In the a managed VPS (also known as VPS cPanel hosting), you have email set up by default, and you can configured email settings in your app using those provided to you at account sign-up. But what if you have a non-cPanel cloud VPS, and you want to get cloud email going?
Why is it so hard to get open source email delivery from the cloud? First, imagine the following use case. You just got your own cloud VPS. You have full control over your server environment. Now, you install WordPress as a content management system to host a blog. You go to reset your admin password, but you are not receiving an email.
This is because you have not installed email services in your cloud server. This article provides a few points you may want to consider before deciding on which path you will take to get proper cloud email delivery configured.
Transactional Versus Marketing For Cloud Email
Now, in order to properly diagnose email issues, you have to first decide whether you are trying to fix transactional or marketing email.
The password reset issue from the above use case is “transactional” email. Mass email for commercial reasons falls under “marketing” email.
The Pathway From Your Server to Email
There are two options you can take when configuring your server for email. If you want to use 100% open source, you can install Postfix on your server, which is outside the scope of this article, but to be covered in another support center article.
For strictly transactional email services, there are affordable third-party email delivery services like Postmark, which connects to WordPress via plugin.
For marketing email, there are a wide variety of options you can consider.
Whether you are working toward transactional or marketing email, you will often hear your website or internal system as the “app” and the service you choose to use will provide access to their delivery system through your app. Some coding may be required, but in the case of WordPress usually a plugin is all you will have to install.
If you want to manage all your own internal email services, you can have our managed hosting team install and configure Postfix for you.
The big difference between VPS hosting vs cloud hosting may surprise you.
