Your forum sends email for registrations, password resets and notifications. If those don’t arrive, new members can’t join. Three things matter: SMF’s mail settings, the address it sends from, and your domain’s email authentication.
SMF’s mail settings
In Admin then Configuration then Mail Settings:
- Mail type: leave it on PHP’s default unless you use an outside SMTP service.
- Mail queue: turn it on for busy forums, so large batches of notifications are sent gradually.
Send from your own domain
Set the forum’s webmaster email (in Admin then Configuration then Server Settings) to an address on your forum’s domain, such as forum@yourforum.co.uk. Traxio includes an email account on your domain, so create it and you can read replies too. Creating an email account
Mail “from” a Gmail or Outlook address but sent by your server is likely to be rejected or marked as spam.
Authenticate your domain
Turn on DKIM in DirectAdmin and publish SPF and DMARC records. This tells inbox providers your server is allowed to send for your domain. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC
Keep volume sensible
- Prefer daily digests to instant notifications on busy boards.
- Don’t send mass newsletters from shared hosting; use a mailing-list service for that. Acceptable use
Test it
Register a test account with an outside address (Gmail, Outlook). If the email lands in spam or doesn’t arrive, see why emails go to spam.
Questions people ask
Members say they never got the activation email. What do I do?
Ask them to check spam, check your SPF and DKIM records, and resend or approve the activation from the members awaiting activation list in the admin area.
Can I use an outside SMTP service?
Yes. Choose SMTP as the mail type and enter the provider’s details.
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