In what situations is it recommended to use PHPMailer instead of the built-in mail() function in PHP, and how can it help prevent common email delivery problems?

When sending emails in PHP, it is recommended to use PHPMailer instead of the built-in mail() function for more advanced features and better handling of email delivery issues. PHPMailer can help prevent common email delivery problems such as emails being marked as spam, not being delivered at all, or not supporting secure connections like SSL/TLS. 

// Include the PHPMailer library
require 'path/to/PHPMailer/PHPMailerAutoload.php';

// Create a new PHPMailer instance
$mail = new PHPMailer;

// Set up the email parameters
$mail->isSMTP();
$mail->Host = 'smtp.example.com';
$mail->SMTPAuth = true;
$mail->Username = 'your@example.com';
$mail->Password = 'yourpassword';
$mail->SMTPSecure = 'tls';
$mail->Port = 587;

$mail->setFrom('your@example.com', 'Your Name');
$mail->addAddress('recipient@example.com', 'Recipient Name');

$mail->Subject = 'Subject of the email';
$mail->Body = 'Body of the email';

// Send the email
if(!$mail->send()) {
    echo 'Message could not be sent.';
    echo 'Mailer Error: ' . $mail->ErrorInfo;
} else {
    echo 'Message has been sent';
}

Keywords

PHPMailer mail() function email delivery problems prevent situations

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