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Documentation

Getting started

From an empty WordPress site to a working shared inbox. Around twenty minutes, most of it waiting for DNS.

What you need

  • WordPress 6.0 or newer, running PHP 8.0 or newer.
  • HTTPS on your domain. Sign-in and notifications both require it.
  • The IMAP and SMTP settings for the mailbox you want to use — host, port, username and password.
  • Access to your DNS, to create a subdomain.

Installing PrimeMail

  1. In wp-admin, go to Plugins, Add New, Upload Plugin.
  2. Choose the PrimeMail ZIP you downloaded and install it.
  3. Activate. PrimeMail creates its database tables and adds its own menu.

Nothing on your website changes at this point. PrimeMail does not serve the application until you give it a hostname.

Setting up the app address

PrimeMail runs on its own hostname so your main site is untouched. One WordPress installation answers both.

  1. Create a DNS record for app.yourdomain.com — an A record or CNAME pointing at the same server.
  2. In your hosting panel, add the subdomain and point its document root at the same WordPress installation. Do not install a second copy of WordPress.
  3. Issue an SSL certificate covering the subdomain.
  4. In wp-admin, go to PrimeMail, Application, enter the hostname, tick Enable, and save.

Leave the WordPress Site Address and WordPress Address settings pointing at your main website. PrimeMail does not need them changed.

Connecting a mailbox

Open your app address, sign in with your WordPress account, and go to Settings, Accounts, Add mailbox.

Enter the incoming and outgoing details your mail provider gave you. PrimeMail tests both before saving and tells you exactly which step failed if something is wrong — the host, the port, the encryption or the password.

Typical settings look like this:

IMAP  mail.yourdomain.com   993   SSL/TLS
SMTP  mail.yourdomain.com   465   SSL/TLS

The first synchronisation imports your recent history quietly. No notifications are sent for old mail.

Keeping mail in sync

PrimeMail checks your mailboxes on a schedule. WordPress only runs its own scheduler when somebody visits the site, which is not good enough for email, so set up a real server cron.

* * * * * curl -s https://yourdomain.com/wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron >/dev/null 2>&1

If synchronisation is not running, new mail does not arrive and notifications cannot be sent. Settings, Advanced, Diagnostics shows when each mailbox last synchronised.

Adding your team

Go to Settings, Team, Members, Add member. Enter an email address and choose a role.

  • Someone who already has a WordPress account is simply granted access.
  • A new address gets an account and an email inviting them to set their own password. No password is ever sent by hand.

Members can read, reply, write notes and apply tags. Administrators can also manage mailboxes, assignment rules and system settings.

Installing it on a phone

iPhone and iPad

  1. Open your app address in Safari.
  2. Tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
  3. Open PrimeMail from the new icon, then enable notifications in Settings, Notifications.

Notifications on iPhone only work from the installed app, not from a Safari tab. That is an Apple restriction rather than a PrimeMail one.

Android

Chrome offers to install PrimeMail, or use the browser menu and choose Install app. Then enable notifications from the same settings page.

If something is not working

The mailbox will not connect

PrimeMail reports which stage failed. A refused connection usually means the wrong port or encryption; an authentication error means the username or password. Some providers require an app password rather than your normal one.

New mail is not appearing

Check Settings, Advanced, Diagnostics for the last sync time. If it is old or missing, the server cron is not running.

Notifications are not arriving

Generate the Web Push keys once under Settings, Advanced, Diagnostics, then enable notifications on each device. Use Send test notification to check delivery separately from waiting for mail.

Still stuck? Get in touch and we will look at it with you.

Contact support