By Kerry Pivovar:
We web forms. They are a simple and widespread way for prospective customers, clients, and the general public to contact a company. And when they work as they should, all is right with the world. However, there are times when we can set up forms 100% correct, but still, form submissions are missed. Form notifications not getting through to the email, where they are intended, ranks high on my most infuriating problems in creating a new website. Leads get lost, clients are unintentionally ghosted, and communication grinds to a halt.
Gravity Forms is our preferred form builder plugin for WordPress sites. Our success rate with the default setup is about 80%. 8 times out of 10, form notifications go where they need to go using the default PHP email sending configuration. However, for the remaining 20%, one further step is required.
We use a WordPress plugin called WP Mail SMTP to override the PHP mailer settings and route with Google instead. A Google API makes the magic work.
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Get Started
1. Download and install the free plugin: WP Mail SMTP plugin
2. Navigate to Settings>WP Mail SMTP
3. Scroll to Mailer field and select Google Option
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Now, Create the Google API
4. Set up a new Google API Project by clicking here.
5. Use the dropdown to select “Create a project,” hit continue
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6. Next, you will see a message that the API was created. Hit “Go to Credentials”
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7. Add API Credentials
- Which API are you using: Gmail API
- Where will you be calling the API from? Web server (e.g. node.js, Tomcat)
- What data will you be accessing? User data
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8. Fill out credentials:
- Client Name
- Authorized JavaScript Origins (your website URL)
- Authorized redirect URIs: you will need to grab this from plugin settings, read below
- Go back to the tab with your WordPress site. Still on the Settings » WP Mail SMTP page, you’ll need to look under the Gmail section for the field labeled Authorized redirect URI. Copy this URL and paste into your Google API settings.
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9. Continue with the steps
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10. At Step 4, hit “I’ll do this later”
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11. Under APIs & Services in Credential settings, click into your new API
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12. Here you will find your Client ID and Client secret to paste back into WordPress.
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Finish Plugin Settings
13. Add in Client ID and client secret into the plugin settings in WordPress. Save settings and then you’re done!
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You’re Ready
That’s it! You’ve now linked up a google account with your website to ensure deliverability. This process worked perfectly with a client who was haphazardly receiving email notifications with no consistency. Now, every lead is nurtured and every client is answered.