Why aren't customers getting order confirmation emails?

Are the emails switched on and being sent?

1. Sign in as an Administrator. You need a WordPress login with the Administrator role.
2. Check they’re on. Go to WooCommerce, Settings, Emails. Find Processing order, Completed order and, for bank transfer, cheque or other payments that wait for confirmation, Order on-hold: the confirmations customers receive, as WooCommerce’s email settings list them. Select Manage next to each one your store uses and make sure Enable/Disable is ticked.
3. Check the log. Go to WooCommerce, Status, Logs, and open the transactional-emails source. WooCommerce’s email FAQ explains the statuses: Sent, Failed, Disabled and Skipped.
4. Check the order’s status. Orders stuck at Pending payment don’t send a confirmation at all, according to the same FAQ. That’s a payment problem. See why online payment or checkout isn’t working.

Expected result: recent order emails show as Sent. “Sent” only means your site handed the email over. It doesn’t prove it reached the inbox.

The short version

• Check the email is switched on and the log says Sent. If not, it’s a store setting.
• If it was sent, it’s probably in the customer’s spam. Fix the sending side, then test with a real order.

How do I stop confirmations landing in spam?

Step 1: use a From address on your own domain

1. In WooCommerce, Settings, Emails, scroll to the sender options, described in WooCommerce’s email settings guide.
2. Set the “From” address to an address on your domain, such as orders@yourbusiness.com. The email FAQ warns that a free address such as Gmail or Yahoo is likely to land in spam.
3. Set the “From” name to your business name, then Save changes.

Step 2: send through a proper sending service

Many WordPress sites send email straight from the web server, and inbox providers often distrust that mail. WooCommerce recommends a dedicated SMTP provider instead. The usual setup is an SMTP plugin connected to your business email provider or a transactional email service, plus the DNS records that service asks for. If your contact form emails go missing too, the same fix covers both. See why form emails go to spam or don’t arrive.

Step 3: check SPF, DKIM and DMARC

These DNS records tell inboxes which services may send email for your domain. WooCommerce’s email authentication guide says to set them up even if your store sends only order emails. Google’s email sender guidelines set out what Gmail expects. Your domain should have one SPF record, and your sending service must be in it. Only change these if you know what your email depends on. Otherwise, see how to add DNS records for a new email service and ask whoever manages your DNS. The free email deliverability checker shows what your domain has now.

Step 4: test it

1. Place a real test order using a personal Gmail or Outlook.com address.
2. Check the inbox and the spam folder.
3. In Gmail, open the email and use Show original, explained in Gmail’s header guide, to see the full technical details. Look for SPF, DKIM and DMARC near the top.

Expected result: the email arrives in the inbox, and the authentication checks pass.

What can a customer do on their side?

If one customer keeps finding your emails in spam, they can mark one as Not spam and add your address to their contacts. In Gmail they can go further and create a filter. Gmail’s guide to filtering email gives the steps: tick the message, select More, then Filter messages like these, and select Create filter. Among the actions, they can choose never to send it to Spam.

The filter works for that one person. It doesn’t help anyone else, so fix the sender side as well.

Why does it matter?

A customer who can’t find their receipt may think the order failed. They may order again, call you, or ask their bank to reverse the charge.

What are the common mistakes and edge cases?

• The From address can’t receive replies. Customers reply to receipts. Make sure someone reads it.
• Heavy images and little text. Keep the email template simple.
• Links to another domain. Links in the email should point to your own site.
• Two SPF records. Adding a second one instead of editing the first breaks both.
• Separate booking or ordering systems. If orders come from a third-party ordering tool, its emails are sent by that company. Check its sender settings and contact its support.

What if this didn’t work?

• The log says Failed. The SMTP plugin or sending service isn’t connected properly. Check its own test and error messages.
• Everything passes but some emails still go to spam. Inboxes also judge your domain’s sending history. Keep emails simple and give it time.
• Your business’s ordinary emails also land in spam. The cause is your domain, not the shop. See why good emails land in junk.

If you ask for help, forward a test order email, or send a screenshot with customer names and addresses covered. Never send a password.

How does E-3 handle this?

Tell us which email is going to spam, which email provider the customer uses (Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo and so on), and the date of the order. Call 814-399-4655 or email support@e3help.me. If your domain’s SPF, DKIM or DMARC records need changing, E-3 saves the existing DNS records before changing them.

Related questions

• Why are my website form emails going to spam or not arriving?
• How do I see or export my orders and customers?
• SPF, DKIM and DMARC for business email (article)