Sending professional-looking emails that reach customer inboxes is crucial for WooCommerce stores. But with over 25% of emails sent from small businesses never arriving, having a deliverability strategy is a must.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll show you how to easily preview and test your WooCommerce confirmation and update emails before they send using two plugins.
Why You Must Preview and Test: Key Stats
Previewing shows how your customized emails will appear. While testing confirms they actually get delivered.
Email Deliverability Remains an Issue
According to SparkPost, in Q3 2022:
- 29% of emails sent from small- and medium-sized business never reached inboxes
- Retail/eCommerce emails saw a 21% non-delivery rate
- Emails from new domains had 35% non-delivery
For WooCommerce stores, having between 1 in 5 to 1 in 3 emails blocked is unacceptable.
Previewing Catches Display Issues
Based on Litmus research:
- Most opened emails are on mobile devices with unique display needs
- Apple iOS Mail has 32% email share but renders emails inconsistently
Previewing across desktop and mobile helps surface formatting problems that only testing wouldn’t catch.
How to Preview WooCommerce Emails
The Preview Emails for WooCommerce plugin lets you view email customizations easily.
Install and Activate the Plugin
Search for “Preview Emails for WooCommerce” and install the plugin by Asan Creative. Click “Activate” to enable the plugin.
Configure Plugin Settings
Under WooCommerce > Preview Emails:
- Choose the email template from the dropdown
- Select a completed order
- Enter an address to send a test email (optional)
- Click “Submit” to preview
This displays a preview on screen and sends a test message if an email was added.
Now confirm your customizations look right before sending to customers.
How to Test WooCommerce Email Deliverability
While previewing content, it‘s crucial to test delivery with WP Mail SMTP.
Why WP Mail SMTP Improves Deliverability
Relying on your web host’s default WordPress mail server often leads to deliverability problems. Issues like:
- Emails being incorrectly flagged as spam
- Messages blocked or going missing
- No deliverability monitoring and troubleshooting
WP Mail SMTP routes your mail through a dedicated email service with deliverability expertise.
Getting Set Up
Install and activate WP Mail SMTP. The free version works, but Pro is required for WooCommerce testing.
Next, pick an email provider:
| Provider | Deliverability Ranking |
|---|---|
| Sendinblue | Excellent |
| SendGrid | Excellent |
| Gmail | Good |
| Microsoft Outlook | Fair |
Then configure your account credentials so emails send through them.
Enable security protocols like SSL/TLS for secure transactions.
Send a Test Email
Under WP Mail SMTP > Tools:
- Enter an email address
- Click "Send Email"
- Check inbox and spam folders for delivery
This confirms your setup works before emails reach customers.
[Insert test email screenshot]Now tackle any issues around emails blocked or flagged as spam early.
Preview and Test for Worry-Free Customized Emails
Taking time to preview and test WooCommerce emails gives peace of mind. You can craft attractive, branded emails knowing customers will reliably receive them.
Installing the Preview Emails for WooCommerce and WP Mail SMTP plugins makes the process easy.
Let us know if you have any other questions about optimizing your transactional emails!
