1Create a mailbox for the website
In cPanel, open Email → Email Accounts. You can use an existing address, but a dedicated one such as website@yourdomain.com keeps form email separate and means you can change its password without touching your own mail.
2Find the settings under Connect Devices
In the Email Accounts list, click Connect Devices next to the mailbox. That opens Set Up Mail Client. Under Mail Client Manual Settings, use the column cPanel labels Secure SSL/TLS Settings (Recommended):
- Outgoing server: usually
mail.yourdomain.com. If your domain doesn’t have a valid SSL certificate, cPanel shows the server’s own hostname here instead. Use whatever it shows. - SMTP port:
465. - Username: the full email address.
3Create the FormSMTP project
Sign up free and add a project. There’s no cPanel preset in the provider list, so leave it on Custom and type the host and port below.
4Enter the settings
| Provider | Custom |
| Host | The outgoing server from Secure SSL/TLS Settings, e.g. mail.yourdomain.com |
| Port | 465 with SSL on |
| Username | The full email address |
| Password | That mailbox’s password (not your cPanel or hosting login) |
| From email | The same address |
Click Test connection, then add your form. See the HTML contact form guide, or compare every provider on the SMTP settings page.
What about port 587?
cPanel lists port 587 under Non-SSL Settings (NOT Recommended), because a mail app could use it without encryption. FormSMTP always upgrades 587 with STARTTLS when the server supports it, but there’s no reason to choose it here: cPanel recommends 465, and your server is set up for it.
Your host blocking SMTP doesn’t matter
Shared hosting often stops website code from opening SMTP connections to other servers. That doesn’t affect FormSMTP: your form posts to FormSMTP over HTTPS, and FormSMTP’s servers connect to your mail server the same way the mail app on your phone does.
What does matter is that your mail server accepts logins from outside. It almost always does, but many cPanel servers run cPHulk, a brute-force protection service that watches failed logins to mail (among other services) and can block the IP address they come from. Get the password right before you click Test connection again and again.
Hourly limits on shared hosting
Hosts cap how much mail each account or domain can send. Some published limits:
| Host | Limit |
|---|---|
| GoDaddy Web Hosting (cPanel) | 500 a day per email user, and 500 an hour across the hosting account |
| Bluehost cPanel Email | 200 an hour per domain (free, Basic and Plus), 1,000 on Premium |
| SiteGround (Site Tools, not cPanel) | 400 an hour on StartUp, GrowBig, Ecommerce and Coderick; 800 on GoGeek and Cloud |
For a contact form these are generous. For newsletters or order emails at volume, connect a sending service such as Amazon SES or Brevo instead. Other hosts publish their limits in their help centers; search for “email sending limit” with your host’s name.
Common errors
- Hostname/IP does not match certificate’s altnames: the host you entered isn’t on the server’s SSL certificate. Use exactly the outgoing server cPanel shows under Secure SSL/TLS Settings, which may be the server’s hostname rather than
mail.yourdomain.com. - 535 Incorrect authentication data: the username isn’t the full address, or the password is your cPanel login instead of the mailbox password. Reset the mailbox password under Email Accounts → Manage if unsure.
- Connection refused or timing out after it used to work: repeated failed logins may have triggered cPHulk or the server firewall. Ask your host to check whether the connecting IP was blocked.
- “…has exceeded the max emails per hour… allowed”: the domain hit the host’s hourly limit. Messages resume next hour.
For anything not listed here, look the code up in SMTP error codes explained.
Sources: cPanel: Set Up Mail Client · cPanel: Email Accounts · cPanel: cPHulk · GoDaddy relay limits · Bluehost cPanel Email · SiteGround email limits. Checked November 2, 2026.
FAQ
Is my cPanel login the SMTP password?
No. Each mailbox has its own password, set when you create it under Email Accounts. Your cPanel or hosting login won’t work for SMTP.
What SMTP host should I use for cPanel email?
The outgoing server shown under Connect Devices, in the Secure SSL/TLS column. It’s usually mail.yourdomain.com, or the server’s hostname if your domain has no valid SSL certificate.
My host blocks outgoing SMTP from PHP. Will this still work?
Yes. FormSMTP connects to your mail server from its own servers, like a mail app would, so your host’s limits on website code don’t apply.
Why do my messages land in spam?
Usually the From address isn’t on a domain you’ve verified with the provider, or the domain has no SPF and DKIM records. Verify the domain, send from an address on it, and check the Deliverability panel in FormSMTP’s Settings.