What are the advantages of directly sending emails via SMTP instead of using the mail() function in PHP?

When sending emails in PHP, using the SMTP protocol directly offers more control and flexibility compared to the mail() function. SMTP allows for authentication, encryption, and error handling, which can improve deliverability and security of your emails. Additionally, SMTP provides more detailed feedback on the status of the email delivery process. 

// Using PHPMailer library to send emails via SMTP
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

$mail = new PHPMailer(true);

try {
    $mail->isSMTP();
    $mail->Host = 'smtp.example.com';
    $mail->SMTPAuth = true;
    $mail->Username = 'your_email@example.com';
    $mail->Password = 'your_password';
    $mail->SMTPSecure = 'tls';
    $mail->Port = 587;

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

    $mail->isHTML(true);
    $mail->Subject = 'Subject';
    $mail->Body = 'Email body';

    $mail->send();
    echo 'Email sent successfully';
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo 'Email could not be sent. Mailer Error: ' . $mail->ErrorInfo;
}

Keywords

SMTP mail() function email sending PHP advantages

Related Questions