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WP Offload SES Lite

By WP Engine

Communication & Messaging / Transactional Email

Reviewed by Abdul Hameid

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

WP Offload SES Lite Review - In-Depth Analysis

Send WordPress emails using Amazon SES for improved deliverability. Easy setup with robust features.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.96/10

User Rating

4.3/5 (based on 36+ reviews)

Active Installations

10,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

7.1 / 10 (High Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Are your WordPress site emails not being delivered? That is pretty common. Over 20,000 sites trust WP Offload SES Lite to send their site email.

WordPress default email sending functions just do not cut it these days. You absolutely need to set up something more.

Some folks set up an SMTP plugin to use their existing email provider but then find out the hard way that there is a daily hard limit on the number of emails they can send. Sending WordPress emails through SMTP is simply not worth the risk.

With WP Offload SES Lite, you get the high deliverability and powerful managed infrastructure of Amazon SES but with the support of a quality WordPress plugin that is easy to set up and lets you know when there are sending failures.

With WP Offload SES Lite, you can effortlessly configure your site to send all email via Amazon SES, configure the default email address, verify sending domains, send test emails, view sent emails, and receive weekly health reports.

Upgrade to WP Offload SES for email open and click reporting, auto-retry email sending failures, and more. This upgrade allows you to measure engagement, retry failed sends, and even view specific emails sent through your site.

Comparing to Alternatives

WP Offload SES Lite is a specialized plugin for integrating Amazon SES with WordPress, offering a focused solution in the email deliverability space. It competes with a variety of SMTP and email queue plugins that provide broader or alternative email sending options.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Seamless integration with Amazon SES for reliable email delivery.
Simple setup with minimal configuration required.
Good performance and reliability as noted by users.
Strong support and updates from the developer, Delicious Brains.
Works well for users needing Amazon SES specifically.

Weaknesses

Limited to Amazon SES, not suitable for other SMTP providers.
Has had a high severity security vulnerability in the past, though fixed.
Less feature-rich compared to some SMTP plugins with email logging and analytics.
Requires migration to AWS Signature Version 4 for continued use.

User Sentiment Analysis

The plugin enjoys a strong positive reception with over 80% of ratings at 5 stars, reflecting user satisfaction with its reliability and ease of use. There are no recorded negative reviews, indicating few common complaints among users.

Positive highlights

'I love everything these guys do. They’re deceptively simple to install, and very workmanlike, solid and reliable.' — Terence Milbourn
'It works perfectly.' — tsiotas
'Fast and just works. Thanks!' — tufty
'Been using for years and works better than many alternatives.' — kwebdesign
'Good. Does what it is supposed to.' — kloddant

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Past security vulnerability involving stored XSS, fixed in version 1.4.5.
Limited to Amazon SES, not versatile for other email services.
Requires AWS Signature Version 4 migration which may be a hurdle for some users.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users who specifically want to integrate Amazon SES with their WordPress site for reliable and scalable email delivery will find this plugin ideal. It suits those who prefer a lightweight, focused solution with solid developer support.

Not ideal for

Users needing multi-provider SMTP support or advanced email logging and analytics features may find this plugin too limited. Also, those concerned about past security issues or unwilling to migrate to AWS Signature Version 4 should consider alternatives.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers essential Amazon SES integration features sufficient for most users needing basic email offloading.

Pro version

The pro version typically includes advanced features such as enhanced logging, priority support, and additional configuration options to better manage email delivery and troubleshooting.

Final Verdict

WP Offload SES Lite is a reliable and well-regarded plugin for Amazon SES integration, praised for its simplicity and effectiveness. Its strong user ratings and developer reputation make it a solid choice for those committed to using Amazon SES.

However, its limited scope, past security vulnerability, and requirement to migrate to AWS Signature Version 4 may deter some users. Those needing broader SMTP support or advanced features should consider alternative plugins.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free WP Offload SES Lite plugin.

Amazon SES

Email Delivery

SMTP

Screenshots

FAQ

If you upgrade to WP Offload SES, we will gladly provide you with email support. We take pride in delivering exceptional customer support. We do not provide email support for the free version.

You can configure the entire network to use the same settings by configuring the plugin via the Network Admin settings screen. If a subsite should have different settings, you can override some or all of the network settings by going to the WP Offload SES Lite settings page for that subsite.

You can also use the WPOSES_SETTINGS constant to define settings that will be applied to all subsites and can’t be overridden via the UI:

define( 'WPOSES_SETTINGS', serialize( array(     // Send site emails via Amazon SES.     'send-via-ses'          => true,     // Queue email, but do not send it.     'enqueue-only'          => false,     // Enable open tracking.     'enable-open-tracking'  => true,     // Enable click tracking.     'enable-click-tracking' => true,     // Amazon SES region (e.g. 'us-east-1' - leave blank for default region).     'region'                => 'us-east-1',     // Changes the default email address used by WordPress     'default-email'         => '[email protected]',     // Changes the default email name used by WordPress.     'default-email-name'    => 'Your Name Here',     // Sets the "Reply-To" header for all outgoing emails.     'reply-to'              => '[email protected]',     // Sets the "Return-Path" header used by Amazon SES.     'return-path'           => '[email protected]',     // Amount of days to keep email logs (e.g. 30, 60, 90, 180, 365, 730)     'log-duration'          => '30',     // Enable instantly deleting a successfully sent email from the log.     'delete-successful'     => false,     // Enable instantly deleting successfully re-sent failed emails from the log (Pro only).     'delete-re-sent-failed' => false, ) ) );

See our documentation on this for more information.

Yes, the wposes_mail_sent hook could be used to log emails, or post email info to an API or database:

function myMailSentHook( $to, $subject, $message, $headers, $attachments ) {     // Your code here. } add_action( 'wposes_mail_sent', 'myMailSentHook', 10, 5 );