Cloudways Elastic Email: Easy Setup, Pricing & WordPress Guide

Cloudways Elastic Email: Complete Guide to Setup, Pricing, SMTP, and WordPress Integration

If your website runs on Cloudways and sends important emails, setting up a reliable email delivery service can make a significant difference. WordPress notifications, password reset emails, order confirmations, contact-form messages, account verification emails, and other transactional messages need to reach users consistently. This is where Cloudways Elastic Email can be useful.

Cloudways Elastic Email is an email delivery add-on available through Cloudways for sending transactional and other application emails. Instead of relying entirely on your web server's default mail function, you can use Elastic Email's infrastructure to send outgoing messages more reliably. Cloudways describes Elastic Email as a transactional email solution and recommends it for applications that need dependable outgoing email delivery.

For WordPress users, WooCommerce store owners, agencies, bloggers, SaaS businesses, and developers, Cloudways Elastic Email provides a convenient way to connect email delivery with a Cloudways-hosted application.

In this guide, we will explain what Cloudways Elastic Email is, how it works, how to activate it, how to verify your domain, how to connect it to WordPress, how SMTP works, what it costs, and when you should choose it instead of another email solution.

What Is Cloudways Elastic Email?

Cloudways Elastic Email is a transactional email add-on that allows applications hosted on Cloudways to send outgoing emails through Elastic Email.

A normal website may need to send hundreds or thousands of automated emails every month. For example, a WordPress website can send emails when a visitor submits a contact form. An ecommerce store can send order confirmations, payment notifications, shipping updates, and account emails. A membership website can send registration confirmations and password reset links.

Instead of depending on the server's native mail functionality, Cloudways Elastic Email provides an email delivery service designed for these types of messages.

Cloudways currently describes Elastic Email as one of its transactional email options, while Rackspace Email is intended for actual mailboxes that can send and receive messages.

This distinction is important.

If you need an address such as hello@yourdomain.com where you can receive and respond to normal business emails, Cloudways Elastic Email is not a mailbox service. You would generally need a mailbox solution such as Rackspace Email or another email provider.

If your requirement is sending automated emails from your website, Cloudways Elastic Email is a much more appropriate solution.

Why Use Cloudways Elastic Email?

There are several reasons website owners choose Cloudways Elastic Email instead of relying on the default WordPress mail function.

The biggest reason is email deliverability.

A website can be perfectly functional while its emails fail to reach users. Sometimes emails go to spam, sometimes they are delayed, and sometimes they may not be delivered at all.

This can create serious problems.

Imagine that a customer purchases a product from your WooCommerce store but never receives the order confirmation. Or a user requests a password reset but does not receive the reset email.

These situations can hurt customer experience.

Using Cloudways Elastic Email gives your application a dedicated email delivery mechanism instead of relying solely on the server's default mail system.

Cloudways itself notes that sending directly from cloud servers can be unreliable and recommends a trusted third-party transactional email service for better reliability.

Cloudways Elastic Email vs Email Hosting

One of the most common misunderstandings is thinking that Cloudways Elastic Email provides a normal email inbox.

It does not.

There is a major difference between transactional email delivery and email hosting.

Cloudways specifically states that its Elastic Email add-on is for sending emails and cannot be used to receive them. For receiving emails, a mailbox service is required.

Therefore, Cloudways Elastic Email should be viewed as an email delivery service rather than a replacement for Gmail, Outlook, or a business mailbox.

Cloudways Elastic Email Important Information

Before configuring Cloudways Elastic Email, it helps to understand the basic requirements.

Cloudways' current setup documentation states that binding Elastic Email to your server and verifying your sending domain are mandatory before emails can be sent successfully.

Important Cloudways Elastic Email Links and Resources

The following table provides useful resources for users setting up Cloudways Elastic Email.

The official Cloudways documentation explains the activation, server binding, domain verification, SMTP testing, WordPress configuration, and log-download process.

How Cloudways Elastic Email Works?

The basic process is straightforward.

Your website generates an email.

For example:

A customer places an order.

Your WooCommerce application generates an order confirmation.

Instead of trying to send the message through the server's default mail system, the application passes the message through the configured email delivery service.

Cloudways Elastic Email then handles the outgoing email delivery process.

The recipient receives the message in their email inbox.

The simplified flow looks like this:

Website → Cloudways Server → Elastic Email → Recipient

This is particularly useful for websites that depend heavily on automated email communication.

How to Activate Cloudways Elastic Email?

The first step is activating Cloudways Elastic Email from the Cloudways Platform.

Cloudways' current instructions indicate that you should log in to your Cloudways account and access the Integrations area, where Elastic Email can be selected from the available add-ons. You then choose an appropriate package and subscribe.

The general process is:

1. Log in to your Cloudways account.
2. Open the Cloudways Platform.
3. Go to the Integrations section.
4. Open the available add-ons.
5. Find Elastic Email.
6. Select a suitable package.
7. Subscribe to the add-on.
8. Bind it to the appropriate server.
9. Verify your sending domain.
10. Configure your application.
11. Send a test email.

The exact interface may change as Cloudways updates its platform, but the underlying configuration process remains similar.

How to Bind Cloudways Elastic Email to Your Server?

After subscribing to Cloudways Elastic Email, you need to connect it to the Cloudways server from which emails will be sent.

Cloudways calls this process binding the Elastic Email package to the server.

According to the current Cloudways instructions, you can go to your server, open Server Management, select SMTP, choose Elastic Email, and enable it.

The general process is:

1. Open Servers.
2. Select your desired server.
3. Open Server Management.
4. Select SMTP.
5. Choose Elastic Email.
6. Enable the service.

One useful feature is that a single Elastic Email package can be bound to multiple servers according to Cloudways' current documentation. Once it is enabled at the server level, you do not need to enable it separately for every application on that server.

This can be particularly useful for agencies and website owners managing multiple applications.

Domain Verification for Cloudways Elastic Email

Domain verification is one of the most important parts of the Cloudways Elastic Email setup.

You should not skip this step.

Domain verification proves that you have authorization to send emails using your domain.

During setup, Elastic Email provides DNS records that need to be added to your domain's DNS configuration.

Depending on the configuration, you may need to add TXT and CNAME records.

The records must be entered at your domain registrar or DNS provider.

For example, if your website uses Cloudflare for DNS, the required records would generally be added through Cloudflare's DNS management interface.

If your DNS is managed by your domain registrar, you would add the records there instead.

Cloudways notes that DNS propagation can take time and that verification can fail if the required records have not propagated yet.

Why Domain Verification Matters?

Domain verification is not just another technical step.

It is important for email authentication and deliverability.

When an email provider can confirm that your sending service is authorized to send messages for your domain, it helps establish trust.

You should therefore use a legitimate sender address associated with your verified domain.

For example:

support@yourdomain.com

orders@yourdomain.com

notifications@yourdomain.com

Using a properly configured domain can create a more professional experience than sending important website messages from an unrelated address.

Cloudways Elastic Email and SMTP

SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.

It is one of the standard methods used to send email between applications and mail servers.

With Cloudways Elastic Email, SMTP can be used to connect your application to Elastic Email.

For WordPress, an SMTP plugin can replace WordPress's default PHP mail method with a more controlled email delivery configuration.

This can be especially useful when your WordPress website is experiencing problems with emails not being delivered.

Cloudways currently provides instructions for connecting Elastic Email with WordPress through WP Mail SMTP, including using the Elastic Email API key for the SMTP configuration.

Cloudways Elastic Email and WordPress

WordPress is one of the most common environments where Cloudways Elastic Email can be useful.

WordPress normally uses its built-in mail functionality to send messages.

However, website owners frequently encounter situations where emails do not arrive reliably.

Examples include:

• Contact form notifications
• Password reset emails
• User registration emails
• WooCommerce order emails
• New comment notifications
• Account notifications
• Subscription emails
• Membership notifications
• Website administration emails

Connecting WordPress to Cloudways Elastic Email can provide a dedicated outgoing email service.

Cloudways currently recommends using Elastic Email with WordPress through SMTP plugins such as WP Mail SMTP, and it also documents an alternative Elastic Email WordPress sender plugin configuration.

How to Configure Cloudways Elastic Email in WordPress?

Once your domain has been verified and the Elastic Email service is active, you can configure your WordPress application.

One common approach is using WP Mail SMTP.

The basic process is:

1. Log in to WordPress.
2. Open Plugins.
3. Install and activate WP Mail SMTP.
4. Open the plugin's setup wizard.
5. Select Elastic Email as the mailer.
6. Enter the required API key.
7. Configure your From Name.
8. Configure your From Email.
9. Save the settings.
10. Send a test email.

Cloudways' current documentation indicates that the Elastic Email API key can be used for the SMTP username and password configuration, and recommends sending a test email after configuration.

The exact plugin interface can change, so always use the current fields presented by your installed plugin.

Cloudways Elastic Email for WooCommerce

WooCommerce websites depend heavily on email.

A typical store may send:

• New order notifications
• Order confirmation emails
• Processing order notifications
• Completed order emails
• Refund notifications
• Customer account emails
• Password reset emails
• Shipping-related notifications
• Subscription notifications

If these messages fail, customers may become confused or contact support unnecessarily.

Using Cloudways Elastic Email can help establish a dedicated delivery route for these transactional emails.

For ecommerce websites, reliable email delivery is particularly important because email is part of the customer's purchasing journey.

A customer who completes a purchase expects immediate confirmation.

Therefore, Cloudways Elastic Email can be a useful component of a WooCommerce infrastructure.

Cloudways Elastic Email for Contact Forms

Contact forms are another common reason to configure Cloudways Elastic Email.

Suppose a visitor submits a contact form.

The website needs to send a notification to the site owner.

Without proper email configuration, the notification may not arrive.

This can result in missed leads.

For businesses that rely on contact forms for sales inquiries, this is a serious issue.

After setting up Cloudways Elastic Email, you should test every important contact form on your website.

Do not assume that the configuration works simply because the SMTP test succeeds.

Send a real test through the website's contact form and confirm that the message arrives correctly.

Cloudways Elastic Email for Password Reset Emails

Password reset emails are another important category.

If users cannot receive password reset links, they may become locked out of their accounts.

For membership websites, online stores, communities, learning platforms, and SaaS applications, this can create unnecessary support requests.

A reliable transactional email configuration can help ensure that these automated messages are delivered properly.

This is one of the reasons Cloudways identifies password resets and other automated notifications as examples of transactional emails.

Cloudways Elastic Email Pricing

Pricing is an important consideration when choosing an email delivery service.

The exact Cloudways Elastic Email package pricing and included email volume can change, so you should check the current Cloudways Platform before purchasing.

Cloudways' pricing page currently lists Elastic Email alongside its optional email solutions and indicates that Rackspace and Elastic Email are available as email add-ons.

Instead of selecting the largest package immediately, it can make sense to estimate your monthly email volume.

For example, consider:

• Average daily emails
• Monthly transactional emails
• Marketing emails
• WooCommerce order volume
• Password resets
• Contact form submissions
• Membership notifications
• Expected future growth

If your website sends only a few hundred messages per month, you may not need a large package.

If your website sends tens of thousands of emails, you should select a package based on your expected volume.

Cloudways itself recommends starting with a lower Elastic Email package if you are new to the service and upgrading as your requirements increase.

Is Cloudways Elastic Email Free?

Cloudways Elastic Email is a paid email add-on rather than a completely free email delivery service.

Cloudways also provides a custom SMTP add-on that can be used with external providers. Cloudways describes its SMTP add-on as an option for connecting services such as SendGrid, Mailgun, Gmail, or other SMTP providers.

Therefore, if cost is your main concern, you should compare the total cost of Elastic Email against the provider you already use.

However, price should not be the only factor.

Reliability, deliverability, configuration complexity, volume, support, and integration should also be considered.

Cloudways Elastic Email vs Custom SMTP

Cloudways provides more than one method for sending application emails.

Cloudways states that only one transactional email add-on can be active on a server at a time: either Elastic Email or the SMTP add-on.

This is important if you are already using another SMTP service.

Cloudways Elastic Email vs Rackspace Email

These services solve different problems.

Cloudways Elastic Email is designed primarily for sending application emails.

Rackspace Email is designed for mailboxes.

For example, if you want:

john@yourdomain.com

to have a mailbox where you can receive and respond to normal emails, you need a mailbox service.

If your application needs to send:

Your order has been confirmed

then Cloudways Elastic Email is the more relevant solution.

Cloudways currently identifies Elastic Email as a transactional email solution and Rackspace as the mailbox option.

Can Cloudways Elastic Email Receive Emails?

No.

This is one of the most important limitations to understand.

Cloudways Elastic Email is intended for outgoing email delivery.

It does not provide a traditional inbox.

If someone sends an email to support@yourdomain.com, Elastic Email is not intended to function as your mailbox for receiving that message.

For receiving and managing normal business emails, use a dedicated email hosting service.

Cloudways explicitly states that Elastic Email cannot be used to receive emails.

Can You Use Gmail With Cloudways?

Cloudways also supports other email configuration options, including Gmail or Google Workspace SMTP in appropriate situations.

However, Gmail has sending limits, and Cloudways recommends more dedicated services for higher-volume email delivery.

For a small personal website with very low email volume, Gmail SMTP may be sufficient.

For a growing ecommerce store, membership platform, or high-traffic WordPress website, a dedicated transactional service such as Cloudways Elastic Email may be more appropriate.

Cloudways Elastic Email for High-Traffic Websites

High-traffic websites often generate more email.

Consider a website with:

100,000 monthly visitors.

Even if only a small percentage of users trigger email notifications, the total email volume can become significant.

A large ecommerce store may generate thousands of order-related emails.

A membership platform may generate registration and account notifications.

A SaaS application may send multiple messages per user.

In these situations, relying on basic server mail is not ideal.

Cloudways Elastic Email can provide a dedicated email delivery system that scales according to the selected email package.

However, you should still monitor your sending volume and email performance.

Email Deliverability Best Practices

Installing Cloudways Elastic Email is only one part of good email deliverability.

You should also follow several best practices.

Verify Your Domain

Always complete domain verification.

Cloudways identifies domain verification as a mandatory part of the Elastic Email setup.

Use a Professional Sender Address

Use an address based on your own domain.

For example:

hello@example.com

support@example.com

orders@example.com

Avoid constantly changing sender addresses.

Configure DNS Correctly

Add the DNS records provided during setup.

Do not guess the values.

Copy the records carefully and allow time for DNS propagation.

Test Your Emails

After configuration, send test emails.

Test different website functions as well.

Monitor Spam Complaints

If recipients repeatedly mark your messages as spam, your overall email reputation can suffer.

Only send messages that users expect.

Keep Your Lists Clean

For marketing emails, remove invalid or inactive addresses where appropriate.

Use Relevant Subject Lines

Avoid misleading subject lines.

Your email should clearly communicate why the recipient is receiving it.

Troubleshooting Cloudways Elastic Email

Sometimes Cloudways Elastic Email may appear to be configured correctly but emails still do not arrive.

Here are some common areas to check.

Check Domain Verification

First, confirm that your sending domain is verified.

If verification has failed, review the DNS records.

Check DNS Propagation

DNS changes do not always become visible immediately.

Cloudways notes that propagation can take up to 48 hours in some cases.

Check Your From Address

Make sure the From Email is correctly configured and associated with the verified domain.

Check SMTP Credentials

If you are using WordPress SMTP configuration, verify that the API key and other settings have been entered correctly.

Send a Test Email

Use your SMTP plugin's test function.

If the test succeeds but your contact form fails, the issue may be related to the contact form plugin rather than Elastic Email.

Check Email Logs

Cloudways provides functionality for downloading Elastic Email logs, which can be useful when troubleshooting delivery problems.

Common Mistakes When Setting Up Cloudways Elastic Email

There are several mistakes you should avoid.

The first is skipping domain verification.

The second is assuming Elastic Email provides an inbox.

The third is forgetting to bind the service to the correct server.

The fourth is entering incorrect DNS records.

The fifth is not testing the website after setup.

Another common mistake is activating multiple transactional email solutions without understanding the server-level configuration.

Cloudways states that you can use only one transactional email add-on per server, such as Elastic Email or the SMTP add-on.

Is Cloudways Elastic Email Good for WordPress?

For many WordPress websites, Cloudways Elastic Email can be a practical solution.

It is particularly useful if your website sends important automated emails and you want to avoid depending on the default WordPress mail function.

It can be useful for:

• Blogs with contact forms
• Business websites
• WooCommerce stores
• Membership websites
• Learning websites
• SaaS applications
• Client websites
• Subscription websites
• High-traffic content websites

The biggest advantage is convenience.

Because the service is available directly through Cloudways, you do not necessarily have to build an entirely separate email infrastructure.

Is Cloudways Elastic Email Worth It?

Whether Cloudways Elastic Email is worth using depends on your website.

For a website that rarely sends emails, an external SMTP solution may be sufficient.

For a website that depends heavily on transactional emails, a dedicated email delivery service is much more important.

If your business depends on order confirmations, password resets, registration emails, lead notifications, or customer updates, email reliability should be treated as an important part of your website infrastructure.

The convenience of having Cloudways Elastic Email integrated into your Cloudways environment can make it attractive for Cloudways users.

Cloudways Elastic Email for Agencies

Agencies managing multiple websites can also benefit from Cloudways Elastic Email.

Instead of manually configuring email delivery independently for every server, Cloudways provides a centralized integration.

A single Elastic Email package can be bound to multiple Cloudways servers according to Cloudways' current documentation.

This can simplify management when you have multiple client applications.

However, agencies should still configure sender domains carefully and maintain proper separation between clients.

Cloudways Elastic Email for Developers

Developers can use Cloudways Elastic Email as part of application infrastructure.

Applications can generate transactional messages programmatically.

Examples include:

• User registration
• Email verification
• Password recovery
• Payment confirmation
• System alerts
• Account notifications
• Application updates

Elastic Email also supports API-based integration, giving developers another way to integrate email delivery into applications. Cloudways' WordPress documentation references the Elastic Email API and API key configuration.

Cloudways Elastic Email Security Considerations

Email configuration should be treated as part of your website's security.

Keep API keys private.

Do not publish them inside public code repositories.

Do not place sensitive credentials directly into frontend JavaScript.

If you believe an API key has been exposed, rotate or replace it according to the provider's available controls.

Also make sure your DNS records are configured correctly.

A secure email configuration helps reduce unauthorized use of your sending identity.

Should You Use Cloudways Elastic Email or Another Provider?

There is no universal answer.

Choose Cloudways Elastic Email if you want a convenient transactional email solution integrated into your Cloudways hosting environment.

Consider custom SMTP if you already have an account with another provider and want to continue using it.

Consider a mailbox service if you need to receive normal business emails.

Consider Gmail or Google Workspace SMTP for lower-volume use cases where those services fit your requirements.

Cloudways itself presents Elastic Email and SMTP as transactional options while positioning Rackspace as the mailbox solution.

Final Verdict: Is Cloudways Elastic Email a Good Choice?

Cloudways Elastic Email is a useful option for Cloudways customers who need reliable outgoing email delivery for their websites and applications.

It is especially useful for WordPress and WooCommerce websites where transactional emails are an important part of the user experience.

The setup involves several important steps: activate the add-on, bind it to your server, verify your domain, configure SMTP or the appropriate WordPress integration, and test your emails.

The biggest thing to remember is that Cloudways Elastic Email is not an email inbox. It is primarily an outgoing email delivery service. If you need to receive and manage normal business emails, you need a separate mailbox service.

For websites that depend on password resets, order confirmations, contact-form notifications, registration emails, and other automated messages, Cloudways Elastic Email can provide a convenient email delivery option directly within the Cloudways ecosystem.

Before choosing a package, estimate your monthly email volume and compare the current pricing and features with other transactional email providers. Also remember that good email deliverability requires more than simply activating Cloudways Elastic Email. Proper DNS configuration, domain verification, sender authentication, responsible sending practices, and regular testing are all important.

Overall, if your website is already hosted on Cloudways and you want a straightforward transactional email solution without managing a completely separate email infrastructure, Cloudways Elastic Email is an option worth considering.