Extendware SMTP Email Magento Extension Review

You might have seen our review on SMTP Email Settings by Amasty and today we’d like to shed light on the extension’s competitors – SMTP Email by Extendware. The module allows you to fully leverage your own custom SMTP server. It provides 4 authentication modes, 3 secure connection modes, and support for custom ports. Besides, it is possible to log mail for performing audit as well as send email messages right through the Magento admin. Below, you will find the overview of the module’s functionality and a small Magento extension tutorial related to the backend functionality.

Download / Buy Extendware SMTP Email Magento Extension

In addition to your own SMTP servers, Extendware SMTP Email allows to utilize 3rd party solutions, such as GMail in a matter of minutes. Note that the extension supports multiple stores, authentication methods, custom ports, and secure connections, so it does not matter how large your online business is.

As for logging outgoing mail, the feature lets you perform audit of all messages you send. Thus, you can easily check, what emails are missed. If you want to test how the module works, there is an opportunity to send a message right from the extension’s backend. Besides, the Extendware SMTP Email Magento extension offers an ignore list to add users with invalid email addresses to prevent receiving bounced messages.

Before we proceed to the extension’s core features, take a look at its reviews from the Extendware website:

Key Features

• Advanced Compatibility. All standard SMTP services are supported, so you can easily streamline Gmail, Hotmail, or your own custom server.
• Outgoing Mail Log. By logging your outgoing mail, you will be always aware of emails your store is sending, including time they were sent.
• Ignored Addresses.The Extendware SMTP Email Magento module allows you to ignore certain addresses. It is useful when you get a lot of bounced emails that probably happens because customers using incorrect email addresses. Add an email address to a blacklist and nothing will be sent to it again.
• Emails From Backend. As mentioned above, you can freely send email from your the extension backend. They can be optionally logged for auditing.
• Authentication Methods. Extendware SMTP Email supports four authentication methods: None; Login; Plain; and CRAM-MD5.
• Connection Types. As for connection types, they include Unencrypted, SSL, and TLS Encryption.
• Multiple Store Support. The Extendware SMTP Email Magento plugin supports different configurations for different stores. Thus, each store can use its own settings.

Backend

The extension can be configured under Extendware -> Manage Extensions -> SMTP Email Plus -> Configure. All settings are divided into three sections: General, SMTP, and Advanced.

The General section lets you enable/disable the module. Note that by disabling the extension, you force the use of the normal Magento mail sending regardless of other settings. Next, you enable sending and logging emails.

In SMTP settings, you also change the status of the module. If it is disabled, the normal Magento mail sending method is used. Next, you choose authentication method and specify username, password, host, port, and SSL security method.

In Advanced settings, you turn on/off Reply-To Status and specify Max Log Age in days. If Reply-To Status is enabled it is set if available (not compatible with some servers).

Next, go to System -> Configuration and choose Store Email Addresses. Here, you can replace each email address with a new one that can be used for sending messages.

This is how the log grid is designed:

It is situated under Extendware -> Manage Extensions -> SMTP Email Plus -> Log. As you can see, it consists of the following columns: Checkbox, ID, Status (Sent or Failed), Store View, To Name, To E-mail, Subject, From Name, From E-mail, Type (Plain or HTML), Template, Date Sent, and Action.

A message can be sent from  Extendware -> Manage Extensions -> SMTP Email Plus -> E-mail. Specify sender, recipient, and email information and hit Send.

The aforementioned blacklist is available under Extendware -> Manage Extensions -> SMTP Email Plus -> Blacklist. It contains such columns as: Checkbox, ID, Email Address, Date Created, and Action.

To add a new blacklist item, you only have to specify a corresponding email address.

Final Words

As you can see, Extendware SMTP Email Magento has an intuitive interface and provides the functionality that is not available in default Magento. By revamping the way messages are sent and logged, it dramatically improves the backend experience. As for the price of the module, it is $79 – the same as the competitor’s price. So what extension makes the default platform better?

Download / Buy Extendware SMTP Email Magento Extension