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First decide which email you want to measure: messages WordPress generates itself—such as order notices, password resets, and form notifications—or newsletter campaigns sent through an email-marketing service. The setup and reporting location are different. WordPress’s wp_mail() function only passes messages to an underlying mail transport; WordPress does not provide one universal open-and-click analytics dashboard.
Choose the tracking route
| Question | WordPress-generated mail | Newsletter campaign |
|---|---|---|
| Typical messages | Orders, password resets, form notifications and other site mail sent through wp_mail() |
Broadcast campaigns managed in an email-marketing service |
| Where reports live | WordPress admin, in an email-log plugin | The provider’s campaign dashboard |
| What you configure | Email logging plus open and click tracking in the plugin | Campaign tracking in the provider |
| Important dependency | The plugin must capture messages after tracking is enabled | The campaign must be sent as a tracked HTML campaign; provider reporting rules apply |
Track messages sent by WordPress
1. Install a delivery and logging plugin
Choose an email-delivery/logging plugin that explicitly supports open and click tracking. The WP Mail SMTP documentation describes these controls in its email log. A separate WordPress.org listing for Email Tracker says that its plugin hooks into wp_mail() and offers open and click tracking; treat those statements as the listing’s claimed capabilities rather than independent proof of compatibility or accuracy on every site.
2. Enable tracking in WP Mail SMTP
- In WordPress, open WP Mail SMTP » Settings » Email Log.
- Turn on Open Email Tracking.
- Turn on Click Link Tracking.
- Save the settings.
WP Mail SMTP’s setup documentation says email logging is a paid-license feature, so confirm that the current plan you use includes logging and these tracking controls. Availability and labels can change between plugin releases.
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3. Read the log
- Go to WP Mail SMTP » Email Log.
- Open an individual message entry.
- Review its tracking status and the recorded activity.
Only messages sent after tracking is enabled can be measured by this setup. Send a new test notification, then allow time for the recipient’s mail client to request images or follow a link before interpreting the entry.
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4. Decide what to retain
Detailed logs can retain message content. The vendor warns that stored content may contain passwords, personal information, order details, or other sensitive data. Select retention and content options deliberately, restrict administrator access, and remove old records according to your site’s operational and privacy requirements.
5. Keep delivery separate from measurement
Tracking does not configure a reliable mail transport. WordPress still hands the message from wp_mail() to the configured delivery mechanism. If messages are not arriving, fix authentication, sender-domain, or transport problems separately; an analytics setting cannot make undelivered mail reliable.
Track newsletter opens and clicks
Use the newsletter provider’s reports
If your newsletter is sent through Mailchimp, use Mailchimp’s campaign analytics instead of expecting a WordPress email log to act as the campaign-reporting system:
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- Open Analytics » Reports in Mailchimp.
- Select the campaign.
- Review opens and clicks on the campaign report overview.
This keeps campaign-level subscribers, links, and delivery events in the system that sent the newsletter. A WordPress plugin may log a request made by a site component, but it is not a replacement for the provider’s campaign attribution and reporting.
How open and click tracking actually works
Open pixels
Open tracking commonly inserts a unique, hidden image into each tracked HTML message. When the recipient’s mail client requests that image, the system records an open. WP Mail SMTP describes its pixel as a 1×1 image; Mailchimp describes a unique hidden image in each tracked HTML campaign email.
- Plain-text email cannot carry the image, so it cannot produce a pixel request.
- Image blocking can prevent the request, causing an open to be missed.
- Privacy caching, Apple Mail Privacy Protection, and automated or bot activity can inflate counts.
Click tracking
Click tracking generally replaces a message link with a unique trackable URL and records the redirect before sending the reader to the destination. WP Mail SMTP describes this behavior and notes that mailto: links are not replaced. Client behavior is not identical for every recipient, so treat these as the vendor’s documented product behaviors rather than a guarantee for every mail application.
Interpret the numbers correctly
An open is a signal, not proof of reading
An image request shows that a tracking mechanism was fetched; it does not establish that a person read or understood the message. Blocked images can hide genuine activity, while privacy systems and bots can create activity without a human reader. In Mailchimp, a link click can also be counted as an open when click tracking is enabled.
Use clicks as a separate engagement measure
Compare click activity with the destination’s analytics, conversions, replies, or completed form submissions. Do not treat an open percentage as a precise readership rate, and do not compare figures from different systems without checking how each system handles privacy caching, bots, and click-generated opens.
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Troubleshoot missing or confusing results
No log entry appears
- Confirm the message was generated after logging and tracking were enabled.
- Check that the site actually sends through
wp_mail()and that the selected plugin is active. - Resolve mail-transport or delivery errors independently of tracking.
The message arrived but shows no open
- Verify that it was an HTML message containing the tracking image.
- Consider image blocking or a client that does not request remote images.
- Wait for recipient activity; a delivery event alone is not an open event.
Opens look unusually high
- Account for Apple Mail Privacy Protection and other privacy caching.
- Check for automated security scanners or bots fetching links and images.
- Look at clicks and downstream actions rather than relying on opens alone.
Clicks are missing
- Check whether the link is a supported HTTP/HTTPS link; WP Mail SMTP says
mailto:links are not replaced. - Test a newly sent message after click tracking was enabled.
- Remember that blocked, rewritten, or scanner-fetched links can affect what the report shows.
Decide which setup fits
- Need visibility into password resets, orders, or form notifications? Use a WordPress email-log plugin with the required tracking features and inspect its per-message log.
- Need campaign opens, subscriber clicks, and newsletter reporting? Use the newsletter provider’s analytics, such as Mailchimp’s campaign report.
- Need dependable delivery? Configure and test the mail transport separately; tracking is an observation layer, not a sending service.
- Need to store message bodies? Review retention and access because logs may contain sensitive personal or authentication data.
The Bottom Line
Choose the system that sends the email: enable Open Email Tracking and Click Link Tracking under WP Mail SMTP » Settings » Email Log for WordPress-generated messages, or read opens and clicks in your newsletter provider’s campaign reports. Treat both metrics as directional signals because image blocking, privacy features, and bots limit what they can prove.
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