Transactional email refers to automated, one-to-one messages triggered by specific user actions on your website—like resetting a password or submitting a form. These emails are critical to site functionality and user experience, and every WordPress site depends on them in some form.
This guide explains what transactional email is, why it matters, and how it's handled on Rapyd Cloud.
Examples of Transactional Email
These are messages triggered by interactions with your site. Common examples include:
Password reset emails
Account registration confirmations
Contact form submissions
Order receipts and shipping updates
Comment notifications or reply alerts
Login or security-related notifications
These are typically delivered through SMTP or API via a third-party service.
Why Transactional Email Is Important
Without reliable transactional email, your site can’t effectively communicate with visitors or customers. If emails like password resets or purchase confirmations don’t arrive, users may get frustrated or assume your site is broken.
Deliverability also matters. Sending email directly from a hosting server often results in poor delivery rates, as those emails are more likely to be marked as spam or blocked altogether.
How Transactional Email Works
When someone takes an action on your WordPress site—like requesting a password reset or submitting a form—WordPress attempts to send an email in response. However, by default, WordPress uses the web server’s built-in mail() function, which is unreliable and often blocked by receiving mail servers.
To ensure delivery, most sites use a transactional email service to handle outgoing messages. These services specialize in getting email to the inbox reliably and securely.
There are two main ways to connect your site to a provider:
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol):
Your site sends emails using login credentials for the provider’s mail server, similar to how an email client like Outlook or Gmail sends messages. You’ll configure your site to authenticate and relay messages through the provider.API Integration:
Some providers (like Postmark or SendGrid) offer direct API access. This bypasses traditional SMTP and often results in faster delivery and better logging. Many WordPress plugins support these APIs natively.
Regardless of the method, most providers require you to verify your domain (usually by adding a DNS record). This tells receiving mail servers that the provider is authorized to send on your behalf, which improves deliverability and helps prevent spoofing.
The end result: your site no longer sends emails directly. Instead, it hands them off to a dedicated provider that ensures they're delivered quickly, securely, and reliably.
How Rapyd Cloud Handles Transactional Email
Rapyd Cloud does not include built-in transactional email delivery. This is intentional—sending transactional email through site hosting infrastructure can lead to inconsistent delivery or poor reputation with email providers.
Instead, we recommend connecting your site to a dedicated transactional email provider. This ensures better deliverability, full control over your domain’s email setup, and access to tools like logs, analytics, and authentication.