PrestaShop Email Problems — Analysis of 351 Interventions Since 2018

Is your PrestaShop store no longer sending emails? Order confirmations not arriving, contact form broken, or your emails landing in your customers' spam folders? It's one of the most frustrating issues for an e-commerce merchant. Since 2018, MonSiteBug has resolved 351 email-related tickets on PrestaShop.

This article is an exclusive study based on our real data. Hard numbers from our 8,660 support tickets, root causes identified in the field, and solutions that actually restored email delivery for our clients.

PrestaShop email problems in numbers: 2018-2026

Email is the lifeblood of e-commerce. Order confirmation, shipping notification, abandoned cart reminders, password reset — without working email, your store operates blind. Here's the evolution of email tickets we've handled:

Observation: The years 2022-2023 mark a peak with 63 and 62 tickets respectively. This is no coincidence: Google and Microsoft significantly tightened their antispam filters in 2022, and many hosts (OVH in particular) blocked outgoing SMTP by default. Thousands of PrestaShop stores suddenly stopped sending emails without merchants understanding why.

Breakdown by issue type

Not all email problems are the same. Here's the real breakdown of our 351 interventions:

Impossible to send: the #1 problem (71 tickets)

When PrestaShop can't send any emails, it's usually an SMTP configuration problem. Here are the most common causes:

1. PHP mail() function disabled by the host

By default, PrestaShop uses PHP's mail() function to send emails. More and more hosts are disabling this function to fight spam. This is the case with OVH shared hosting, some Hostinger plans, and many cloud hosts. The solution: switch to authenticated SMTP delivery.

2. Incorrect SMTP credentials

SMTP configuration requires several precise details: server, port, security protocol (TLS/SSL), username, and password. An error in just one of these is enough to block all sending. Common mistakes:

• Wrong port: 587 for TLS, 465 for SSL, 25 for unsecured (often blocked)
• Wrong protocol: TLS instead of SSL or vice versa
• Expired password: some hosts force regular password changes
• Two-factor authentication: Gmail requires an "app password" if 2FA is enabled

3. Host blocks SMTP port

Some hosts (especially low-cost shared hosting) block ports 25, 587, and 465 outbound to prevent spam from their servers. The only solution is to use an external transactional email service (Sendinblue/Brevo, Mailchimp Transactional, SendGrid) that uses HTTP API instead of SMTP protocol.

Contact form not working (23 tickets)

The PrestaShop contact form is a frequent point of failure:

Main causes

• Custom contact module that overrides the native form and contains a bug
• Captcha/reCaptcha misconfigured blocking form submission
• Invalid receiving email address in PrestaShop customer service settings
• Underlying SMTP problem — the form works but the email is never sent
• JavaScript conflict — the form doesn't submit correctly due to a conflict with another module

Emails landing in spam (14 tickets)

Your emails leave PrestaShop, but arrive in your customers' spam folder. This is often harder to diagnose because sending appears to work on the PrestaShop side. The causes:

1. Missing DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

This is the #1 cause of emails going to spam. Mail servers check these DNS records to authenticate the sender:

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework): declares which servers are authorized to send emails for your domain
• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): cryptographically signs each email to prove its authenticity
• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication): tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail SPF/DKIM checks

Without these three records, your emails are very likely to land in spam, especially with Gmail and Outlook which have become very strict since 2022.

2. Sending IP reputation

If your host shares the same IP among hundreds of sites (shared hosting), and one of those sites sends spam, the entire IP gets blacklisted. Your legitimate emails are then treated as spam. Solution: use a transactional email service with IPs dedicated to deliverability.

3. Email content flagged as spam

PrestaShop email templates sometimes contain spam trigger words: "free", "promo", "click here", too many images without text, or links to unverified domains. Review your templates to follow anti-spam best practices.

Recommended SMTP solutions

Based on our experience across 351 interventions, here are the most reliable SMTP solutions in order of recommendation:

1. Sendinblue/Brevo (recommended for PrestaShop)

This is the solution we recommend most often. Sendinblue (now Brevo) offers an official PrestaShop module that uses HTTP API (no SMTP to configure). Benefits:

• 300 free emails per day (sufficient for most stores)
• Excellent deliverability (dedicated IPs, automatic SPF/DKIM)
• Official PrestaShop module with simple installation
• Sending and deliverability statistics included

2. OVH SMTP (if hosted on OVH)

If your store is hosted on OVH, use OVH SMTP with the following settings:

• Server: ssl0.ovh.net
• Port: 587 (TLS) or 465 (SSL)
• Username: your full email address
• Password: the password for that email address

3. Gmail SMTP (emergency solution)

Gmail can serve as an SMTP relay, but with strict limitations:

• 500 emails per day maximum
• Requires an "app password" (not the regular Gmail password)
• Can be blocked if Google detects unusual sending patterns
• Not recommended for production, only as a workaround

4. Mailchimp Transactional (ex-Mandrill)

For high-volume stores (>1000 emails/day), Mailchimp Transactional offers excellent deliverability with advanced analytics. Paid, but reliable.

How to diagnose a PrestaShop email problem

Here's the methodology we systematically apply, refined through our 351 interventions:

1. Test sending from the back-office

Go to Advanced Parameters → Email in the PrestaShop back-office. Send a test email. If it doesn't arrive, the problem is in the SMTP configuration. If it arrives but order confirmations don't, the problem is elsewhere (template, module, hook).

2. Check SMTP configuration

In the same menu, verify each SMTP parameter: server, port, protocol, credentials. A single wrong parameter blocks everything.

3. Check PrestaShop email logs

PrestaShop keeps a history of sent emails in Advanced Parameters → Email → History. If no emails appear, the problem is before sending (hook, module). If emails appear but aren't received, the problem is SMTP or deliverability side.

4. Check DNS records

Use an online tool like MXToolbox or Mail-Tester to check your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. A score below 7/10 on Mail-Tester indicates DNS configuration issues affecting deliverability.

Our email numbers at a glance

Why trust us with your email problems?

Since 2018, we've resolved 351 email problems on PrestaShop. SMTP configuration, deliverability, spam issues, contact forms — we've seen every scenario. Unlike 500 errors that block the entire site, email problems are often silent: your store works, but customers don't receive their confirmations.

What sets us apart:

• 351 email tickets resolved — SMTP, spam, forms, templates
• Complete diagnosis — we check SMTP, DNS, templates, and modules
• Lasting solutions — we configure Sendinblue/Brevo for optimal deliverability
• SPF/DKIM/DMARC — we configure your DNS records for maximum deliverability
• 8,660 total tickets handled — cross-cutting technical expertise

Without working emails, your store operates blind. Contact us for a quick diagnosis, or check our pricing for our intervention packages.

Need help now? Create a support ticket or contact us directly. Our team acts quickly to get your emails working again.