If your WordPress contact forms, WooCommerce order emails or password resets aren't arriving, or land in junk, the fix is to send them through a real mailbox using SMTP. This guide sets that up with the free WP Mail SMTP plugin and a Host Dada email account in about ten minutes.
Why WordPress email goes missing
Out of the box, WordPress hands emails to the web server to send, without logging in to a mailbox. Gmail, Outlook and other providers increasingly treat that kind of unauthenticated email as suspicious, so it's delayed, marked as junk or silently dropped. Sending through SMTP (the standard way email programs send mail) with a proper username and password fixes this.
Before you start
- A mailbox to send from, on your own domain, for example
website@yourbusiness.co.ukornoreply@yourbusiness.co.uk. On Essential and WordPress hosting, create one under Email Accounts in the Host Dada Control Panel (see Create an email account). A dedicated mailbox is best, so a changed staff password never breaks your website's email. - The mailbox's password. Check it works by signing in at Host Dada Webmail.
- Email on Microsoft 365, or ProFlex hosting? ProFlex doesn't include cPanel email, and Microsoft 365 needs a different method. See Using Microsoft 365 below.
Step-by-step
- Install WP Mail SMTP. In your WordPress dashboard go to Plugins → Add New Plugin, search for
WP Mail SMTP, then click Install Now and Activate on the plugin by WP Mail SMTP. If a setup wizard opens, you can close it and use the settings page below instead. - Open the settings. Go to WP Mail SMTP → Settings and stay on the General tab.
- Set the sender. In From Email, enter the mailbox you created and tick Force From Email. In From Name, enter your business name and tick Force From Name. This makes every plugin send from the same trusted address.
- Choose the mailer. Under Mailer, choose Other SMTP.
- Enter the Host Dada server details from the table below: SMTP Host
smtp.hostdada.uk, Encryption TLS, SMTP Port587, Authentication on, then your full email address as SMTP Username and the mailbox password as SMTP Password. - Click Save Settings.
- Send a test. Go to WP Mail SMTP → Tools → Email Test, enter an address you can check (ideally a Gmail or Outlook.com one) and click Send Email. You should see a success message and the email should arrive within a minute.
Settings at a glance
| WP Mail SMTP setting | Value for Host Dada Email |
|---|---|
| Mailer | Other SMTP |
| SMTP Host | smtp.hostdada.uk |
| Encryption | TLS (this is STARTTLS) |
| SMTP Port | 587 |
| Authentication | On |
| SMTP Username | The full email address, e.g. website@yourbusiness.co.uk |
| SMTP Password | That mailbox's password |
| From Email | The same email address, with Force From Email ticked |
465 with SSL encryption also works with Host Dada Email if you prefer it. If your site is on ProFlex hosting, use 587: outgoing connections on port 465 aren't available from ProFlex servers. Either way, use smtp.hostdada.uk rather than mail.yourdomain.co.uk, which causes certificate errors.Using Microsoft 365 for your email
If your domain's email is on Microsoft 365 (including the mailboxes that come with ProFlex Business), the Host Dada SMTP settings above won't work for that domain. Microsoft also blocks basic SMTP sign-in on most new tenants. Your options are:
- WP Mail SMTP's Microsoft 365 / Outlook mailer. It signs in securely through Microsoft's API rather than a password. It's part of WP Mail SMTP Pro, and needs an app registration in Microsoft Entra; follow WP Mail SMTP's Microsoft 365 guide.
- A transactional email service (many have a free tier) connected through one of the other WP Mail SMTP mailers. These are built for website email and give you delivery logs.
Not sure which suits you? Open a ticket and we'll recommend the simplest option for your setup.
Troubleshooting
Test fails with "SMTP connect() failed" or "Could not connect to SMTP host"
Check the host is exactly smtp.hostdada.uk and that the port and encryption match: 587 with TLS, or 465 with SSL (587 only on ProFlex). A mismatched pair, such as 587 with SSL, won't connect. If it still fails, open a ticket so we can check whether outgoing connections from your site are being blocked.
Test fails with "Authentication failed" or "535"
The username must be the full email address. Sign in at Webmail with the same details; if that fails too, reset the mailbox password under Email Accounts (see Change or reset an email password) and enter it again in WP Mail SMTP.
The test works but contact form emails still don't arrive
Check the form's own notification settings. The "To" address must be correct, and the "From" address should be your sending mailbox, not the visitor's email address. Use the form's Reply-To field for the visitor's address so you can still reply directly.
WooCommerce order emails aren't sent
Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Emails and check each email type you need (such as New order and Processing order) is enabled and has the right recipient. Then place a test order. See Set up your online shop with WooCommerce.
Emails arrive but go to junk
Set up DKIM and DMARC for your domain (see SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained), and make sure From Email is an address on your own domain, not a Gmail or Hotmail address.
Last reviewed: October 2026
