How to Setup SMTP in Gmail: Do You Know the Limits?

Gmail is mainly known for its helpful features and clean interfaces like add-ons and search operators.

12:26 01 August 2021

However, there is a lot more you can use Gmail for if you have access to the Gmail SMTP server. You can send emails from your Gmail account with the server while using other clients like thunderbird and Outlook. The greatest of all is that you can use the Gmail SMTP server to send emails from a WordPress site for free.

 

Setting up free SMTP relay software in your Gmail is an easy process as long as you follow the proper steps. It is a great way to reliably send emails from word press sites without incurring extra costs. Gmail will let you send up to 500 emails a day, which is more than enough for most WordPress sites. Read through to the end so that you can learn everything about the Gmail SMTP server and if it has limitations.

 

Setting up an SMTP server in Gmail

 

We will discuss how to send emails by SMTP server using a plug-in in WordPress or a custom domain in Gmail. Below are some of the information that you will be required to provide:

 

SMTP username: Use your full Gmail address like youremail@gmail.com

 

SMTP password: You will need to input Your Gmail password.

 

SMTP port: The number you need here is 465 (SSL)/587 (TLS)

 

SMTP server: Here, you use smtp.gmail.com

 

TLS/SSL: This is also required.

 

Ensure that you use a custom domain because it will be easier to connect to Google SMTP. Ensure you have a customized domain email address and a Gmail address. It would be best to prepare a password so that your custom email address can permit you to access your Google account.

 

Activate the Gmail address two-factor authentication first before you do anything else. Once you have the password for the app, you can now login into your Gmail account and follow the steps below.

 

To go to the settings, click the gear icon at the top right

 

• Click the accounts tab and click the add another email address icon
  
  
• Add another email address in Gmail
  
  
• You will see a pop-up window, fill in the information it needs you to, and press next.
  
  
• Enter your custom address and name on the Gmail address
  
  
• Enter your Gmail address, Google's SMTP server, and your app password that you had already created.
  
  
• Fill in the SMTP server info on Gmail.
  
  
• You will receive a verification email in your custom address; click the confirmation link on it.

 

You are now all done, and your custom email address is directly linked to the Google SMTP server. You are now free to send emails through Gmail using your custom address.

 

The Limits of Gmail's SMTP Servers

 

Everyone knows that it is straightforward to send a newsletter through Gmail; Google has a free email service to act as your SMTP client. It will only take a few seconds enabling you to send newsletters and emails to a long list of people with a lot of ease. However, Google has placed some limits when using its SMTP service, and we will discuss them below.

 

Daily Sending Limits

 

The first limit is that you are restricted to the number of recipients you send the same message to. If the server detects that the recipients are more than 500, it will automatically disable your account. This is an issue that Gmail should work on, but you can send the messages in a bit. Please send it to more than one group as long as there are less than 500 recipients.

 

You can even test the subject line, send two different messages to two groups of less than 500 recipients, and see which one will deliver the best conversion. If you also send any messages that are unable to be delivered, your account will be disabled. No specific number is specified, but any subscription list can pick up a garbage address that is not an actual address.

 

When you don't have a confirmed address, the message will not be delivered, leading to your deactivation account. Even if your recipients are 500, if too many of them don't receive the email, you are at risk of being sent away. If your email list is less than 500 and you are sure that the emails are accurate, you can use the SMTP server without any problem.

 

Lack of reporting (No Basic Analytics)

 

When you send a message, you always want to know whether it was successfully delivered or not. You want to see whether it was reported as spam and the complaint rate. You will want to know if the messages bounced and why they did, and if the recipients opened the emails and clicked the link. However, Gmail SMTP does not have any reporting or analytics. That makes it hard to have the answer to the questions.

 

It makes it very hard to identify issues to improve on them and increase the deliverability rate. For example, if you are an admin of a system and rely on the Gmail SMTP server to deliver time-sensitive emails, it will fail you.

 

You wouldn't know whether your emails are being delivered or not, and the Gmail server takes a while to troubleshoot any problem. That, in turn, degrades the application's user experience. When it is about reporting and analytics, the Gmail SMTP server is very busy, and it is like you are going in blind and taking a risk.

 

API limitations for developers

 

The lack of analytics and sending limits makes it clear that Gmail is not for bulk marketing email. In addition to the two limitations, the server has limitations for application developers too. Gmail's API does not have any mail merge, complex bulk sending, and many more. In addition, the API does not provide any programmatic access to APIs for parsing, tracking, reporting, or email messages.

 

Even though SMTP is used universally, it just makes more sense to use email PI, especially if you are a developer that wants to enable email sending using your application. Email APIs are more efficient, faster, and even more flexible compared to SMTP. As your application scales, you will run into many problems as SMTP is a minimal server.

 

Authentication

 

It is up to you to adjust and set up authentication when sending through Gmail SMTP. The methods available to you include DMARK, DKIM, and SPF. Configuration may be easy, but authentication is very hard. One slight misstep will cause all the emails to be junk. Unfortunately, Gmail also provides very little support and guidance when you want advanced authentication.

 

Conclusion

 

SMTP in Gmail is a great way to send emails and newsletters to many recipients using the shortest time possible. However, it also has a lot of limitations that can make the process very hard and tricky. The great thing is that it is a free smtp relay software and if it works for you, it is a great way to send many emails at once.To verify any email address,you can visit free-emailverifier.com .