How to install and configure the Postie plugin

This article describes how to use the Postie plugin to enable posting to WordPress by e-mail.

Posting to WordPress by e-mail

There may be times when you want to be able to post to your WordPress site just by sending an e-mail. For example, if you are using a device such as a smartphone, it can be tedious to log in to the WordPress administration interface and compose a post. It is much easier and convenient to simply compose an e-mail message and send it to an e-mail account that WordPress monitors.

There are several WordPress plugins that allow you to do this. This article describes how to install and configure the Postie plugin.

Installing Postie

To install the Postie plugin, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your WordPress site as the administrator.
2. In the left-hand pane, click Plugins.
3. Click Add New.
4. In the Search text box, type postie, and then click Search Plugins.
5. In the Name column, locate Postie, and then click Install Now.
6. After WordPress finishes installing the plugin, click Activate Plugin.

Configuring Postie

After you install the Postie plugin, you can configure it. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your WordPress site as the administrator.
2. In the left-hand pane, click Settings, and then click Postie. The Postie Settings page appears.
3. On the Mailserver tab, in the Mail Protocol list box, select POP3-SSL or IMAP-SSL.
4. In the Port text box, type 993 if you selected IMAP-SSL in step 3. Otherwise, type 995 if you selected POP3-SSL in step 3.
5. In the Mail Server text box, type your server name (for example, a2s80.a2hosting.com).
   For information about how to determine your server name, please see this article.
6. In the Mail Userid text box, type the e-mail address where you want to receive post submissions.
7. In the Mail Password text box, type the password for the e-mail account you specified in step 6.
8. In the Check for mail every list box, select how often you want Postie to check the e-mail account for new messages.
   If you configured the WordPress cron routine as described in this article, select twice per hour.
9. In the Maximum number of emails to process list box, select a limit on how many messages Postie can process at one time.
   We strongly recommend you set a maximum limit on the number of messages for Postie to process at one time. Otherwise, if there is a problem with the e-mail account, you could potentially have dozens (or more) extra posts on your WordPress site.
10. Click the User tab.
11. Confirm that the Allow Anyone To Post Via Email list box is set to No.
    If you set this to Yes, anyone can send an e-mail to the address you specified in step 6, and it will be posted on your site.
12. In the Authorized Addresses text box, type the e-mail address (or addresses) from which you want to allow post submissions.
13. There are many additional settings on the Message, Image, Video and Audio, and Attachments tabs that enable you to precisely control how Postie processes e-mail post submissions.
    For more information about all of these settings, click the Help and FAQ tabs.
14. Click Save Changes.
15. Under Postie Settings, click Test Config. Under Connect to Mail Host, you should see Successful IMAP-SSL connection on port 993 or Successful POP3-SSL connection on port 995, depending on the protocol you selected in step 3. If you do not receive this message, check the settings you provided in steps 3 to 7, and then try again.
16. Use your e-mail client application or webmail to send a test e-mail message from the address you specified in step 12 to the recipient address you specified in step 6, and then click Process Email. The e-mail message should appear on your WordPress front page as a new post.
    If you configured the WordPress cron routine as described in this article, then future e-mail messages will be processed by Postie automatically every 30 minutes.

More Information

For more information about the Postie plugin, please visit http://wordpress.org/plugins/postie.