WPForms, the drag-and-drop WordPress form builder founded by Syed Balkhi, has acquired the WP Mail SMTP plugin to enhance email deliverability solutions within the WordPress ecosystem. The acquisition, announced on June 1, 2017, is part of WPForms’ long-term strategy to streamline form submission reliability by solving a common challenge WordPress users face: emails not being delivered from their sites.
Strengthening Email Reliability for WordPress Users
The WP Mail SMTP plugin addresses one of WordPress’s most persistent technical problems: the failure of site-generated emails to land in inboxes. This is often due to misconfigured hosting environments or missing authentication protocols. With WP Mail SMTP now under the WPForms umbrella, the focus shifts to ensuring users of all technical levels can reliably send emails using proper SMTP configurations.
Why this matters for WordPress site owners:
- Contact form entries, password resets, order confirmations, and other critical notifications often fail when not using authenticated SMTP.
- WP Mail SMTP makes configuring services like Gmail, Sendinblue, Mailgun, or custom SMTP servers easy.
- The plugin offers built-in support for secure protocols and improves deliverability by avoiding PHP
mail()pitfalls.
For WPForms users, this acquisition eliminates the need to install and configure a separate SMTP plugin for email routing, streamlining workflows and support under one product family.
“We realized that email deliverability was one of the most common issues our users were facing,” Syed Balkhi wrote in WPForms’ official announcement. “Acquiring WP Mail SMTP made perfect sense to solve this problem at scale.”
Integrating SMTP with WPForms’ Vision
The integration of WP Mail SMTP aligns with WPForms’ mission to offer beginner-friendly tools without compromising functionality. Since its launch, WPForms has become one of the most widely used WordPress plugins for creating forms without writing code. Adding WP Mail SMTP to its toolkit addresses a core pain point for contact forms and enhances the user experience for both novice and advanced users.
Key outcomes of the acquisition:
- Consolidated user support and unified onboarding for form and SMTP configurations.
- Continuous development with performance improvements and regular updates.
- A user interface overhaul for a more straightforward email setup across multiple mailers.
- Compatibility enhancements with other leading plugins and WordPress themes.
If you’re exploring top WordPress plugins or building a newsletter or eCommerce workflow, SMTP deliverability should be a top consideration. WP Mail SMTP is a practical companion to your toolset.
Broader Ecosystem Alignment
This move also signals WPForms’ interest in addressing the frontend experience and the backend infrastructure that supports communication. WP Mail SMTP, already installed on hundreds of thousands of sites, will continue as a standalone plugin while benefiting from dedicated engineering and product strategy teams.
For those following the evolution of WordPress plugins and developer tools, this acquisition stands out as a targeted effort to simplify a frequently overlooked yet critical area of WordPress performance.
To stay informed about the latest WordPress plugin acquisitions, monthly trends, and insights, visit WPEdition’s monthly edition or their WordPress news section.
Looking Ahead with a Unified Experience
By bringing WP Mail SMTP into its growing product suite, WPForms is addressing a vital technical need and reinforcing its promise of delivering beginner-friendly, reliable solutions. This acquisition marks a step toward a more holistic and hassle-free WordPress experience where form building and email deliverability work out of the box in tandem.
With continued investment in user experience, support, and infrastructure, WPForms aims to make website communication seamless and dependable for all users, whether running a personal blog or a high-volume WooCommerce store.
To know more about WordPress acquisition-related developments, visit WPEdition’s M&A coverage.