Send Email with PHPMailer on Shared Hosting

[alkastraverse]

PHPMailer is more reliable than PHP's mail(), and works well on shared hosting without Composer.  

 

Steps:  

1. Download PHPMailer ZIP here  

2. Upload the folder to your host (e.g. /phpmailer/)  

3. Use this sample code:

 

	<?php
	use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
	require 'phpmailer/src/PHPMailer.php';
	require 'phpmailer/src/SMTP.php';
	 
	$mail = new PHPMailer();
	$mail->isSMTP();
	$mail->Host = 'your_email_server';
	$mail->SMTPAuth = true;
	$mail->Username = 'your_email@example.com';
	$mail->Password = 'your_app_password';
	$mail->SMTPSecure = 'tls';
	$mail->Port = 587;
	 
	$mail->setFrom('your_email@example.com', 'Your Name');
	$mail->addAddress('recipient@example.com');
	$mail->Subject = 'Test Email';
	$mail->Body = 'Hello, this is a test email sent via PHPMailer on shared hosting.';
	 
	echo $mail->send() ? "Sent!" : "Error: ".$mail->ErrorInfo;
	?>
	

 

PHPMailer + SMTP ensures better deliverability, supports HTML emails and attachments

[alkastraverse]

Honestly, you should avoid using PHP's mail(). 

- Many shared hosts disable it.  

- Even if it works, emails often land in spam.  

- It doesn’t support authentication or encryption.  

 

PHPMailer (with SMTP) is much more reliable and is considered the best practice for sending emails in PHP today.