How to Send Custom Welcome Emails in WordPress

How many times have you received an automated email you never even bothered to read? How many of those have been from services you subscribed to, only to find yourself losing your interest fairly quickly? And how many times do you suppose it was because of the generic, boilerplate text that it contained? To avoid your users having the same experience, you can try a custom welcome email for your WordPress website.

If you allow users to register on your WordPress website, they will get a generic email when they do so, guiding them to set up their password. If you are looking to put your best foot forward, though, you may want to customize that email, wishing your registered visitors a proper welcome.

Bear in mind though, that due to WordPress’s usage of Sendmail for its email functions, you may have some troubles with getting WordPress to send out any emails at all. Not to worry, though: we have an article dedicated to dealing with WordPress not sending emails.

You can use these customized emails to guide your newly registered visitors through the various sections of your website, promote the products you are selling, or simply send them a welcome message in the spirit and style of your website, improving their user experience.

Let us show you how. But first, let us discuss why you might want to customize your welcome emails in the first place.

Why Do I Need a Custom Welcome Email?

Let us turn this question on its head right away: why would anyone want to register on your website?

It’s you.

You are offering content or products or services which are unique or convenient in some way; enough so to make your visitors want to register for them. Why not wish them welcome, then, in your own special way? It need not be anything too fancy, but just as you wouldn’t market yourself as “just another website”, you shouldn’t stick to generic, placeholder text when engaging with your visitors. Your communications are part of the content they want.

Also, you may want to communicate any manner of site-specific information to your registered visitors. Do you feel they need a tutorial to access your content? Send them a link to a video or post you made specifically for that purpose. Does your webstore have time-limited special offers? Tell them how to find them. Do new users get extra perks? Communicate what they are.

Welcome emails can also be a necessary step to user registration, and an easy way to eliminate bots and dummy or fraudulent registrations. A confirmation link in a welcome email is an extra security layer.

Finally, a user may register for any number of services and never think about them twice. A well thought through and well put together welcome email is more memorable by far than any old generic text.

But how do you make your welcome emails your own?

How to Customize Welcome Emails Using a Plugin

You will first need to install a plugin. We will be using the Email Subscribers & Newsletters plugin. This plugin has a variety of functions, but we will concentrate on the welcome email for the purposes of this demonstration. Once you have installed and activated the plugin, find the Email Subscribers submenu in your left-hand side menu, and navigate to the plugin’s settings.

It will open on the General settings page. Here you can change the Sender data: choose a handle (we have gone for Bridge Crew), and enter a FROM address. Additionally, you can enter one or more admin Email Addresses, for the purposes of notification. Finally, you can choose between double and single Opt-in Types, with double being the default. With a single opt-in, your visitors will register simply by filling out a form, while with the double opt-in, they will receive an email with a link they need to follow in order to confirm their registration. Scroll all the way down to save your settings, and move on to the Notifications page.

Once on the Notifications page, you need to make sure that the Welcome Email toggle is set to on, to make sure your visitors get the welcome email. Next, you can change the subject and body of both your Welcome Email and the Confirmation Email. We have generated some random text, but you can, of course, substitute your own.

You can use keywords to personalize these emails: {{FIRSTNAME}}, {{LASTNAME}}, {{NAME}}, {{EMAIL}}, {{LIST}}, {{UNSUBSCRIBE-LINK}} for the welcome email, and {{FIRSTNAME}}, {{LASTNAME}}, {{NAME}}, {{EMAIL}}, {{SUBSCRIBE-LINK}} for the confirmation email.

Once you’ve saved your settings, you are all set. Your visitors will now receive a customized email each time they register.

In Conclusion

You have seen how easy it is to customize your welcome email and improve your visitors’ user experience while also possibly providing them with useful information on your website and the services, products, and content you offer.

A personalized message affects user experience most directly: they will feel welcome and valued. Of course, it goes without saying that you value your visitors: whatever kind of webpage you’re running, traffic is what you are running it for. Letting them know it is a whole other matter. In fact, it may well be what turns a visitor into a paying customer, provided you show them you value their time and money. In any case, your registered visitors are bound to appreciate the personal touch.