PHPMailer Integration Guide

Securely send emails with PHP, PHPMailer, and Gmail's SMTP server.

Step 1: Get PHPMailer

Download the latest version of the PHPMailer library from its official GitHub repository. We recommend using Composer, but you can also download the files manually and place them in your project, for example, within a `vendor` directory.

Download PHPMailer from GitHub

Step 2: Enable 2-Step Verification (2FA)

Google requires 2FA to be enabled on your account before you can generate an App Password, which is necessary for this process.

Step 3: Generate an App Password

An App Password is a unique, secure password that allows an application to access your Google Account without your main password.

  • After enabling 2FA, navigate to the Google App Passwords page.
  • From the dropdowns, select "Mail" for the app and "Other (Custom name)" for the device.
  • Name it something descriptive (e.g., "PHPMailer Web App") and click "GENERATE."
  • Copy the 16-character password provided. This is what you'll use in your PHP script.

Step 4: Implement the PHP Script

Create a new PHP file and include the PHPMailer classes. Replace the placeholder values with your Gmail address and the App Password you generated. 

<?php
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;

// Load the PHPMailer classes
// You may need to adjust the path based on your project structure
require 'vendor/phpmailer/src/Exception.php';
require 'vendor/phpmailer/src/PHPMailer.php';
require 'vendor/phpmailer/src/SMTP.php';

// Instantiate PHPMailer
$mail = new PHPMailer(true);

try {
    // Server settings
    $mail->SMTPDebug = 0;                       // Disable debug output in production
    $mail->isSMTP();                            // Use SMTP
    $mail->Host       = 'smtp.gmail.com';       // Set the SMTP server
    $mail->SMTPAuth   = true;                   // Enable SMTP authentication
    $mail->Username   = 'your.email@gmail.com'; // Your Gmail address
    $mail->Password   = 'your_app_password';    // Your 16-character App Password
    $mail->SMTPSecure = PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS; // Use SMTPS (recommended)
    $mail->Port       = 465;                    // Use port 465 for SMTPS

    // Recipients
    $mail->setFrom('your.email@gmail.com', 'Your Name');
    $mail->addAddress('recipient@example.com', 'Recipient Name');
    $mail->addReplyTo('your.email@gmail.com', 'Your Name');
    
    // Content
    $mail->isHTML(true);                        // Set email format to HTML
    $mail->Subject = 'Professional Email Subject Line';
    $mail->Body    = '<h1>Hello from PHPMailer!</h1><p>This is a more professional email body sent using Gmail SMTP.</p>';
    $mail->AltBody = 'This is the plain text version of the email.';

    $mail->send();
    echo 'Message has been sent successfully.';
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo "Message could not be sent. Mailer Error: {$mail->ErrorInfo}";
}
?>