How to configure PHP to send e-mail?

Question

I need to send mail to the users of my website using php script. I have tried using mail function in php.
My code is as follows:

  $to = \"myweb@gmail.co         


        

Answer 1

Usually a good place to start when you run into problems is the manual. The page on configuring email explains that there's a big difference between the PHP mail command running on MSWindows and on every other operating system; it's a good idea when posting a question to provide relevant information on how that part of your system is configured and what operating system it is running on.

Your PHP is configured to talk to an SMTP server - the default for an MSWindows machine, but either you have no MTA installed or it's blocking connections. While for a commercial website running your own MTA robably comes quite high on the list of things to do, it is not a trivial exercise - you really need to know what you're doing to get one configured and running securely. It would make a lot more sense in your case to use a service configured and managed by someone else.

Since you'll be connecting to a remote MTA using a gmail address, then you should probably use Gmail's server; you will need SMTP authenticaton and probably SSL support - neither of which are supported by the mail() function in PHP. There's a simple example here using swiftmailer with gmail or here's an example using phpmailer

Answer 2

To fix this, you must review your PHP.INI, and the mail services setup you have in your server.

But my best advice for you is to forget about the mail() function. It depends on PHP.INI settings, it's configuration is different depending on the platform (Linux or Windows), and it can't handle SMTP authentication, which is a big trouble in current days. Too much headache.

Use "PHP Mailer" instead (https://github.com/PHPMailer/PHPMailer), it's a PHP class available for free, and it can handle almost any SMTP server, internal or external, with or without authentication, it works exactly the same way on Linux and Windows, and it won't depend on PHP.INI settings. It comes with many examples, it's very powerful and easy to use.