Get started in a few minutes

1. 1

   Create your SecureSMTP account

   Head to securessmtp.com/signup and create an account. Email + password, or sign in with Google. The free tier covers 100 form submissions per month, forever — no credit card required.

   Already have a SecureSMTP account? Log in.

2. 2

   Add your WordPress site in the dashboard

   Open /app/forms/sites → click Add site → enter your site URL (e.g. https://acme-marketing.com). SecureSMTP generates a per-site API key automatically — that’s what the WordPress plugin uses to authenticate.

   Why per-site keys? If a key leaks, you only have to rotate that one site, not your entire account.

3. 3

   Add your sending domain

   New accounts send email only from their own verified domain. Open /app/forms/email → add your domain under Sending domains and publish the DNS records it shows. Simple mode needs 1 record (a DKIM TXT record). Advanced adds an MX and an SPF record on a bounce subdomain, 3 records in all.

   DNS takes a few minutes to publish, sometimes longer. When all records are found, the status changes from Pending DNS to Verified. You can do the next steps while you wait. The Free plan includes 1 sending domain; Starter and higher have no limit. See Domains and DNS.

   Until the domain is verified, form notifications are not sent. Accounts created before 29 October send them from the shared address [email protected] until 12 November. A separate allowance of 10 test emails a day (per account, across all its sites) applies only to test emails sent with the plugin’s Send test, the API or SMTP, and only to the account’s own confirmed address. Form notifications do not use it.

4. 4

   Copy the API key

   Go to /app/forms/api-keys. You’ll see the key for the site you just added (looks like qcs_live_a1b2c3...). Click the copy icon — keep this tab open, you’ll paste in WordPress shortly.

   Keep your key private. It’s a server-side credential — never paste it into a frontend file, never commit it to a public git repository.

5. 5

   Install the plugin in WordPress

   Download securessmtp.zip (v1.25.0). In WordPress admin:

   1. Go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
   2. Click Choose File and pick the securessmtp.zip you just downloaded
   3. Click Install Now, then Activate Plugin

   After activation you’ll see a new SecureSMTP item in the WordPress sidebar.

6. 6

   Paste the API key in WordPress

   In WordPress admin, go to SecureSMTP → Settings. Paste your API key into the SecureSMTP API key field and click Save and test connection. You should see a green Connected to SecureSMTP banner with your site name, plan, and usage.

   

   That’s the whole setup. Everything below is about using the plugin to build and embed forms.

7. 7

   Create your first form from a template

   In WordPress admin: SecureSMTP → Add New. Pick from 13 ready-made templates — Contact, Quote, Newsletter, Demo, Booking, Support, Lead Magnet, Event RSVP, Job Application, Real Estate, Wedding, Restaurant Reservation, Feedback. You can always customise later, so just pick the closest one.

   

8. 8

   Edit fields and style the form

   Each field is a collapsible card. Click to expand the label / placeholder / required toggle. Drag the left-side handle to reorder. Need a different field type? Click + Add field.

   The Design meta-box on the same page lets you pick a brand colour, corner radius, field background tone, button alignment, and an optional card wrapper. Live preview updates as you edit.

   

9. 9

   Publish and copy your shortcode

   Click Publish (top-right). The Embed meta-box in the sidebar shows the shortcode for this form — something like:

   > [securessmtp_form id="42"]

   Paste that shortcode into any page or post — Gutenberg Shortcode block, Classic editor, page-builder shortcode widget, or even inside a theme template via <?php echo do_shortcode('[securessmtp_form id="42"]'); ?>.

10. 10

    Submit a test entry on the frontend

    Visit the page where you embedded the shortcode. You should see the form rendered with the styling you picked. Fill it in and submit — the submission shows up in your SecureSMTP dashboard right away. Once your domain is verified, the email lands in your notification inbox within about a second.

    

11. 11

    Review submissions in your dashboard

    Open /app/forms/submissions to see every entry across all your sites. Each submission shows:

    • The visitor’s name, email, and message
    • An AI-generated classification (Genuine / Spam / Suspicious / Newsletter)
    • A spam score (0.00 = clearly genuine, 1.00 = clearly spam)
    • Email-delivery status (Delivered / Soft bounce / Held for review / Blocked)

    

Common questions