Configuration

Published on: March 16, 2026

Last updated: March 16, 2026

Configuration

All Dispatch Core settings live under Dispatch → Settings in the WordPress admin.

SMTP settings

  • From Name — the sender name that appears in your subscribers’ inboxes (e.g., “Acme Newsletter”)
  • From Email — must match the domain authenticated with your SMTP provider for best deliverability
  • SMTP Host — your provider’s outbound mail server hostname (e.g., smtp.mailgun.org, smtp.sendgrid.net)
  • SMTP Port — 587 for TLS (recommended), 465 for SSL
  • Encryption — TLS or SSL — must match your chosen port
  • Username / Password — your SMTP account credentials
  • Test Connection — sends a test email to the WordPress admin address; confirm receipt before sending any campaigns
  • Fallback to wp_mail() — if checked, Dispatch uses WordPress’s default mail function when SMTP fails; useful as a safety net, not for primary sending

Sending limits

These two settings control how fast Dispatch processes its outbound queue. ISPs and email providers monitor sending velocity — a new sender suddenly pushing thousands of emails per hour is a strong spam signal.

  • Emails per minute — how many emails the queue fires in each cron cycle (recommended starting point: 30)
  • Emails per hour — optional ceiling that pauses the queue once reached within any 60-minute window (recommended starting point: 500)

Start conservative. After a few successful campaigns with no deliverability issues, increase the limits gradually — for example, to 60/min and 2,000/hour.

Compliance

  • Physical mailing address — displayed in the footer of every campaign email; required by CAN-SPAM
  • Double opt-in — enabled by default; new subscribers must confirm their email address before being added to the active list. Disabling this is not recommended.
  • Footer text — Dispatch appends an unsubscribe footer to all campaign emails. You can customize the text here, but the unsubscribe link is always included.

How double opt-in works

  1. Subscriber submits the form → status set to Pending, confirmation email sent
  2. Subscriber clicks the confirmation link → status becomes Active
  3. Active subscribers receive all future campaigns
  4. Pending subscribers who never confirm receive no campaigns and can be cleared from the Subscribers screen

Next: Managing Campaigns

Dispatch Core

Free self-hosted email marketing for WordPress. List management, SMTP, double opt-in, throttled sending, and CAN-SPAM compliance.

Quick Links

Need support?

Dispatch Core Support →

❌
Subscription Hell
  • • Payment fails? App stops
  • • Need online activation
  • • Forced updates
  • • Data held hostage
✓
M Media Way
  • • Buy once, own forever
  • • Works offline
  • • Optional updates
  • • You control your data

Simple Licensing. No Games.

We don't believe in dark patterns, forced subscriptions, or holding your data hostage. M Media software products use clear, upfront licensing with no hidden traps.

You buy the software. You run it. You control your systems.

Licenses are designed to work offline, survive reinstalls, and respect long-term use. Updates are optional, not mandatory. Your tools don't suddenly stop working because a payment failed or a server somewhere changed hands.

✓ One-time purchase, lifetime access
✓ No "cloud authentication" breaking your workflow
✓ Upgrade when you want to, not when we force you
✓ Software empowers its owner — not rent itself back
🤖
Support Bot
"Have you tried restarting your computer? Please check our knowledge base. Your ticket has been escalated. Estimated response: 5-7 business days."
❌ Corporate Script Theater
👨‍💻
Developer (M Media)
"Checked your logs. Line 247 in config.php — the timeout value needs to be increased. Here's the exact fix + why it happened. Pushed a patch in v2.1.3."
✓ Real Technical Support

Support From People Who Understand the Code

Ever contact support and immediately know you're talking to someone reading a script? Someone who's never actually used the product? Yeah, we hate that too.

M Media support means talking to developers who wrote the code, understand the edge cases, and have probably hit the same problem you're dealing with. No ticket escalation theatrics. No "have you tried restarting?" when your question is clearly technical.

Documentation written by people who got stuck first. Support from people who fixed it.

We don't outsource support to the lowest bidder or train AI on canned responses. When you ask a question, you get an answer from someone who can actually read the logs, check the source code, and explain what's happening under the hood.

✓ Real troubleshooting, not corporate scripts
✓ Documentation that assumes you're competent
✓ Email support that doesn't auto-close tickets
✓ Updates based on actual user feedback