In order to send emails through your own servers, you will first need to connect your site to your SMTP server or Sparkpost account.

Sparkpost

To use Sparkpost authentication you need:

  1. Enter your domain name
  2. Add the specified Hostname and Value on your domain name registrar’s DNS settings
  3. Follow the Preparing your “From:” Address steps as per Sparkpost
  4. Verify your domain ownership by adding a DNS record and complete verification

SMTP

Connecting Gmail 

Make sure the settings are set up as follows:
Note: First three steps are done in the Google Account

  1. Ensure that IMAP support is enabled
  2. Ensure that the “less secure apps” feature is set to allow > visit the page here: https://myaccount.google.com/lesssecureapps
  3. Monitor activity on the account during the test sending to ensure that authentication was not being blocked

The next steps are to be filled in the app: 

  1. Address - smtp.gmail.com
  2. Email - your custom domain
  3. Port - 587
  4. Authentication - plain
  5. Enable SSL - true
  6. Password - generated through your Google Account > visit the page here: https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords

Screen recording of the in-app process:

Connecting Microsoft Exchange

Microsoft Exchange Settings:

  1. Log in to Microsoft exchange (https://portal.office.com/AdminPortal/#/users)  
  2. Choose the user's email
  3. In the slide-out, go to the Mail tab. 
  4. Then, click the Manage email apps option. - https://i.imgur.com/G332KlN.png 
  5. Check the box for Authenticated SMTP in the list of options. 
  6. Then, click the Save changes button at the bottom. And that’s it! https://i.imgur.com/yKV1sZG.png

In-app settings:

  1. Address - smtp.office365.com 
  2. Email - your custom domain
  3. Port - 587
  4. Enable SSL - true
  5. Authentication - login