How to Reconnect Your Website Email Provider (So Your Site Can Send Emails Reliably)

When your website is connected to an email provider (like Google Workspace/Gmail or Microsoft 365), it uses an authorization token to send emails on behalf of your domain. That authorization can expire, be revoked, or break after password changes, security updates, or provider policy changes. This guide walks you through reconnecting the provider so your website can resume sending emails properly.

This is a step-by-step, screenshot-friendly guide. Add your screenshots where you see the placeholders.

What this fixes

Order confirmations not sending
Contact forms not delivering
Password reset emails failing
Booking/estimate emails not arriving
Automations that depend on email not triggering as expected

Before you start

You need access to:
The website admin login
The email account used for sending (example: you@yourdomain.com)
The email provider’s login credentials or access to approve the sign-in prompt
If your provider uses MFA/2FA, have your authenticator available

If you don’t have access to the email account used for sending, stop here and request it from whoever manages email for the company.

Step 1: Confirm which email address the website is sending from

1. Log into your website admin area
   Go to:
   https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/

2. Navigate to Email Settings
   Most sites will have this under:
   Settings
   Or:
   Tools
   Or a dedicated:
   Email / SMTP / Mail settings page

3. Look for “From Email” and “From Name”
   Confirm the “From Email” matches the correct domain email you want your website to send from.
   Example:
   name@yourdomain.com or website@yourdomain.com

Screenshot placeholder:
[Insert screenshot: From Email + From Name fields]

Important note
If “Force From Email” is enabled, the site will override other plugins and always send from this address. This is usually correct and recommended for consistency.

Step 2: Go directly to the provider reconnect screen

Open this URL (replace yourdomain.com with your real domain):
https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/admin.php?page=wp-mail-smtp#wp-mail-smtp-setting-row-gmail-one-click-setup-authorize

You should see a section related to your provider connection and an authorization status.

Common message you may see:
“Your Google account connection has expired. Please reconnect your account.”

Screenshot placeholder:

Step 3: Reconnect the email provider

1. Find the Authorization area
   Look for a button such as:
   Reconnect
   Re-authorize
   Connect
   Sign in with Google
   Sign in with Microsoft

2. Click Reconnect
   This starts the authentication flow with your email provider.

Screenshot placeholder:
[Insert screenshot: Reconnect button]

3. Choose the correct email account
   A provider window will open asking you to select an account.
   Choose the exact mailbox you want your site to send from.

Example:
name@yourdomain.com

If you accidentally select the wrong Google account (like a personal Gmail), cancel and restart Step 3.

Screenshot placeholder:
[Insert screenshot: Choose account screen]

4. Approve permissions
   You may see a permissions screen asking you to allow access so the website can send mail.
   Approve/Allow.

This permission is what lets the website send emails on your behalf securely, without storing your password.

Screenshot placeholder:
[Insert screenshot: Permissions approval]

5. Complete MFA if prompted
   If your account uses two-factor authentication, approve it.

When successful, you should be returned to the website settings page automatically.

Step 4: Confirm the connection is now active

Back on the website email settings page, confirm one or more of the following:
A message like “Connected as you@yourdomain.com”
The expired warning is gone
Reconnect button changes to Disconnect or Remove Connection
A green success banner appears

Screenshot placeholder:
[Insert screenshot: Connected status]

If the page still shows expired after reconnecting, refresh the page once and check again.

Step 5: Send a test email

Most email settings pages include a “Test Email” tab or button.

1. Open the Test Email tool

2. Enter a destination email you can check (your own is fine)

3. Click Send Test

Then check:
Inbox
Spam/Junk
Promotions tab (Gmail)

Screenshot placeholder:
[Insert screenshot: Test email sent confirmation]

Success looks like:
The email arrives within 1–2 minutes
It shows the correct From Name and From Email
No warning banners appear

If it does not arrive, continue to Troubleshooting.

Step 6: Verify your “From Name” and “Force From Name” settings

For brand consistency and deliverability, we recommend:

From Name
Your business name (example: Central Coast Moving)

Force From Name
Enable if you want all site emails to consistently show the same sender name.

Why this matters
Some plugins try to change the From Name (forms, e-commerce, membership tools). Forcing it prevents confusing sender names and improves trust.

Screenshot placeholder:
[Insert screenshot: Force From Name toggle]

Troubleshooting

Issue A: “Your connection has expired” keeps coming back

Possible causes:
You connected the wrong account
The provider blocked the login due to security policy
Your account lacks permission to authorize apps
A security plugin is blocking the redirect

Fix:
Repeat Step 3 and ensure you select the correct mailbox
Try reconnecting in an Incognito/Private browser window
Temporarily disable browser extensions like ad blockers
If the email account is managed by an IT admin, ask them to allow third-party app authorization for this mailbox

Issue B: The reconnect button does nothing

Fix:
Refresh the page once
Try a different browser
Ensure you are logged into the site as an Administrator
Check if a popup blocker is preventing the provider window from opening

Issue C: Test emails send but contact forms still don’t deliver

This is often a form configuration issue, not a sending issue.

Fix:
Confirm the form’s notification settings are correct
Confirm the recipient email is correct
Check spam filtering rules on the receiving mailbox
Run another test email and compare delivery

Issue D: Emails go to spam

Fix:
Ensure the From Email matches your domain (not a free Gmail)
Use a consistent From Name
Avoid spammy subject lines like “URGENT” or all caps
If deliverability is a recurring issue, confirm your domain DNS includes SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

Best practices going forward

Use a domain-based email address as the sender (you@yourdomain.com)
Keep “Force From Email” enabled for consistency
Reconnect immediately if you change your email password or security settings
Send a test email after reconnecting to confirm everything is live

When to contact support

Reach out if:
You can’t access the email account used for sending
The provider authorization fails repeatedly
Test emails still fail after reconnecting
You need help verifying DNS records for deliverability

Include in your support request:
Your website domain
The From Email address you’re using
A screenshot of the authorization status screen
The test email result (success/fail + timestamp)