Kadence Contact Form Not Sending Emails? Fix It with FluentSMTP and Hostinger
Does your Kadence contact form display a “Submission Success” message, but no email arrives in your inbox?
This is frustrating, especially if you depend on your WordPress website to receive enquiries from potential customers.
The good news is that you may not need to rebuild your contact form or purchase a premium plugin.
In this tutorial, I’ll explain how to troubleshoot Kadence contact form email delivery using FluentSMTP and Hostinger Email. I’ll also show you how to test the complete setup and identify common problems.
We recently encountered this issue while setting up BrandWebLab. Our contact form appeared to submit successfully, but the notification email didn’t arrive. After configuring FluentSMTP with a Hostinger mailbox, both the SMTP test and the actual contact form test reached the inbox.
Here’s how to check and fix a similar problem on your own WordPress website.
Quick Fix: Kadence Contact Form Not Sending Emails
If your Kadence form isn’t sending notification emails, follow these steps:
- Open the page containing your Kadence contact form.
- Confirm that Email is enabled under the form’s Submit Actions.
- Check the recipient address and sender settings.
- Install and configure the free FluentSMTP plugin.
- Connect FluentSMTP to your email provider using the correct SMTP settings.
- Send a test email from FluentSMTP.
- Submit your public contact form and check that the notification reaches your inbox.
If you’re using Hostinger Email, the SMTP configuration later in this guide will help you connect your mailbox.
Why Does Kadence Show Success but No Email Arrives?
A successful form submission does not necessarily prove that the notification reached your mailbox.
There are several stages involved:
- A visitor fills out your contact form.
- Kadence processes the submitted information.
- WordPress attempts to send the notification.
- Your configured email service handles the outgoing message.
- The recipient’s email provider accepts, filters, or rejects the message.
An issue during the email delivery process can leave you with a successful-looking form submission but no message in your inbox.
Common causes include:
- Email notifications not enabled in the form settings
- Incorrect recipient email address
- Invalid sender email address
- WordPress mail delivery problems
- Incorrect SMTP credentials
- Email authentication problems
- Messages being filtered into spam
- Hosting or network restrictions
The best approach is to test these possibilities in order.
Before You Start
You’ll need:
- A WordPress website
- Kadence Blocks with a Kadence Form or Form (Adv) block
- Administrator access to WordPress
- Access to your business email account
- The free FluentSMTP plugin
- SMTP configuration details from your email provider
For the Hostinger-specific steps, this guide assumes you use Hostinger Email, not Titan Email or another third-party email provider.
You should also have access to an inbox where you can receive test messages.
Step 1: Check Your Kadence Contact Form Settings
Before installing anything, confirm that Kadence is configured to generate email notifications.
Open the form
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- Go to Pages → All Pages.
- Open the page containing your contact form.
- Click the main Form (Adv) block.
- Open its block settings in the right sidebar.
Make sure you’ve selected the entire form block, not an individual Name, Email, or Message field.
Enable the Email submit action
Under the form’s general settings:
- Find Submit Actions.
- Check whether Email is enabled.
- Enable it if necessary.
This tells Kadence to process an email action when someone submits the form.
Check the email notification fields
Review the following settings:
Email To Address
Enter the mailbox where you want to receive contact form notifications.
Example: hello@yourdomain.com
Replace this example with an actual email address you control.
Email Subject
Use a clear subject such as:
New Website Contact Form Message
From Name
Enter your website or business name.
From Email
Use a valid sending address associated with your website’s domain and configured email service.
For example, if your website is yourdomain.com, you might use an existing mailbox such as hello@yourdomain.com.
Avoid entering a visitor’s Gmail or Outlook address as your authenticated sending address.
Reply-To
Where supported, the Reply-To field can determine which address receives a reply. If you’re using a dynamic value from your form’s Email field, follow Kadence’s instructions for that feature.
After reviewing these settings, save or update the page.
Now submit a test message through the public contact form.
If the email arrives, you may not need to change anything else.
If it doesn’t, continue below.
Step 2: Confirm That Your Business Email Works
Before configuring SMTP, make sure the mailbox itself can send and receive messages.
For Hostinger Email:
- Log in to your Hostinger account.
- Open the Emails section.
- Locate your domain’s email service.
- Open your mailbox through Hostinger Webmail.
Send a normal email to another account you control.
Then reply to that email.
If both messages arrive, your mailbox is functioning for ordinary email communication.
If normal emails don’t work, resolve the mailbox problem first. SMTP configuration inside WordPress cannot fix an inactive or incorrectly configured mailbox.
Also confirm that you’re using an email address on your real domain, not an old temporary hosting domain.
Step 3: Install the Free FluentSMTP Plugin
FluentSMTP is a free WordPress plugin that lets WordPress send outgoing mail through a configured email service.
It can be used for contact form notifications, password reset emails, and other WordPress-generated messages.
Installation
- Open your WordPress dashboard.
- Navigate to Plugins → Add New Plugin.
- Search for FluentSMTP.
- Find the plugin published by WPManageNinja.
- Click Install Now.
- Click Activate.
If FluentSMTP is already installed and active, skip installation.
Avoid running multiple SMTP plugins that compete to handle WordPress email.
Open FluentSMTP
From your WordPress dashboard, go to:
Settings → FluentSMTP
If this is your first connection, FluentSMTP should show its email provider setup screen.
Otherwise, open its settings and choose to add a connection.
Select Other SMTP.
This option is suitable when your email provider gives you standard SMTP server credentials.
Step 4: Configure Hostinger SMTP in FluentSMTP
If you’re using Hostinger Email, enter the following information in the Other SMTP connection.
| FluentSMTP setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Connection type | Other SMTP |
| From Email | Your existing domain mailbox |
| From Name | Your website or business name |
| SMTP Host | smtp.hostinger.com |
| SMTP Port | 465 |
| Encryption | SSL |
| Authentication | Enabled |
| SMTP Username | Your complete mailbox address |
| SMTP Password | Your Hostinger mailbox’s approved SMTP password or app password |
For example, the SMTP username should be a complete address in the format hello@yourdomain.com, not just hello.
These settings are for Hostinger Email. If you use Titan Email or another service, consult that provider’s configuration instructions instead.
What do these settings mean?
SMTP Host: The outgoing mail server responsible for sending your messages.
Port: The network connection used to communicate with that server.
SSL: Encrypts the connection used to send mail.
Authentication: Requires valid credentials before the mail server accepts outgoing messages.
SMTP Username: Usually your complete email address.
SMTP Password: The credential that authorizes your WordPress website to send through that mailbox.
If you experience a connection issue with port 465 and SSL, Hostinger also documents port 587 with TLS/STARTTLS as an alternative. Use the matching encryption setting when changing ports.
Step 5: Create a Hostinger Email App Password
If your Hostinger Email plan supports app passwords, using a separate app password for FluentSMTP is a good security practice.
An app password allows an application to connect without sharing your primary mailbox password.
Generate the password
- Log in to your Hostinger dashboard.
- Open Emails.
- Choose the domain associated with your mailbox.
- Open Mailboxes.
- Find the mailbox you want WordPress to use.
- Click the three-dot options menu beside it.
- Select App passwords.
- Click Generate.
- Enter a recognizable name, such as
WordPress FluentSMTP. - Generate and copy the new password.
Return to FluentSMTP and paste the password into the SMTP Password field.
Save your connection settings.
Important security reminder: Never publish your SMTP password, app password, authentication tokens, or private login details in a blog post or screenshot.
Hostinger displays newly generated app passwords only once. If you lose one, generate a replacement instead of exposing another credential.
Step 6: Send a Test Email from FluentSMTP
Now let’s check whether WordPress can hand an email to your configured mail provider.
- Open Settings → FluentSMTP.
- Click Send Test Email.
- Select your configured sender address if needed.
- Enter an email address you can access.
- Click the button to send the test.
FluentSMTP should report whether the sending attempt was successful.
However, a successful sending result does not necessarily mean the email reached your inbox.
You still need to check the recipient mailbox.
Look in:
- Inbox
- Spam or Junk
- Other filtered folders, if applicable
If the test message arrives, your SMTP connection is working for that test.
If it doesn’t, look for a recorded sending error in FluentSMTP.
Step 7: Test the Actual Kadence Contact Form
This is the most important test.
A successful SMTP test alone doesn’t prove that your Kadence form is configured correctly.
Perform a real form submission
- Open your website’s Contact page in a private or incognito browser window.
- Enter a test name.
- Use an email address you control.
- Type a unique message such as:
Contact form delivery test - please ignore - Submit the form.
- Check the mailbox configured to receive your Kadence notifications.
Confirm that:
- The form submits without an error.
- The notification arrives in the intended mailbox.
- The notification contains the expected information.
- The sender details look correct.
- The message isn’t going into spam.
If both the FluentSMTP test and the actual Kadence contact form notification arrive, you have verified the main sending workflow.
What happened on BrandWebLab?
While setting up BrandWebLab, we experienced a situation where the form displayed a success message, but no notification arrived in the inbox or spam folder.
We then configured FluentSMTP to use our Hostinger domain mailbox through authenticated SMTP.
After testing the connection, we submitted another message through the public Kadence contact form.
This time, the SMTP test message and the contact form notification both reached the mailbox.
The important lesson is simple: always test the complete contact form, not just its success message.
Still Not Receiving Emails? Try These Troubleshooting Checks
If your setup still doesn’t work, use the following checklist.
1. Check the FluentSMTP email logs
Open FluentSMTP and find Email Logs.
If logging is enabled, examine the latest message.
Look for failed attempts and any server response.
For example:
- An authentication error can indicate incorrect credentials.
- A connection timeout can point to a network or port problem.
- An SSL connection error can indicate an encryption mismatch.
- A successful send without inbox delivery can indicate later filtering or rejection.
Email logs may contain personal information from contact submissions. Restrict access and review your log retention settings.
2. Confirm the full email username
Some users mistakenly enter only the first part of their mailbox address.
Use the complete address.
For example:
hello@yourdomain.com
Do not enter only hello.
3. Match the SMTP port and encryption
For Hostinger Email, the commonly documented combinations are:
| Port | Encryption |
|---|---|
| 465 | SSL |
| 587 | TLS / STARTTLS |
Use the correct combination and confirm that authentication is enabled.
4. Review sender address consistency
Your SMTP sender should be an actual mailbox or an approved address supported by your sending provider.
Avoid configuring WordPress to send as an unrelated personal email address that your SMTP provider doesn’t authorize.
Also check whether another plugin is overriding your sender address.
5. Check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
These are DNS-based email authentication technologies that help receiving providers evaluate whether messages are legitimate.
- SPF identifies servers permitted to send email for a domain.
- DKIM adds a digital signature to outgoing messages.
- DMARC provides a policy for handling messages that fail certain authentication checks.
Incorrect or missing records can affect email deliverability.
If you use Hostinger Email, review the domain’s email setup in Hostinger before making DNS changes.
Do not blindly copy DNS records from a different domain or email provider. Incorrect MX or authentication records can interrupt working email services.
6. Check spam filtering
Sometimes a sending system reports success, but the recipient provider filters the message.
Try sending to another mailbox you control.
You can also simplify your test subject and message content to avoid unnecessary spam-like formatting.
7. Confirm the Kadence Email action is still enabled
If FluentSMTP tests work but the contact form does not generate an email, revisit the Kadence form’s Submit Actions.
Make sure Email remains enabled and its notification settings contain the correct recipient.
That helps distinguish a form-configuration problem from an SMTP-connection problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my Kadence form show success but no email arrives?
The form may have accepted and processed the submission without the notification ultimately reaching your inbox. Check the Email submit action, recipient and sender settings, SMTP connection, and mail logs.
Is FluentSMTP free?
Yes. FluentSMTP offers a free WordPress plugin that supports SMTP connections. You may still need a working email mailbox or external email service.
Do I need Kadence Blocks Pro to send contact form emails?
No. The Kadence Form (Adv) block provides an Email submit action in its free version.
Some additional form features are premium, but basic notification emails do not require Kadence Blocks Pro.
Can I use Hostinger Email with FluentSMTP?
Yes, if you have an active, compatible Hostinger Email mailbox with SMTP access. Select Other SMTP and enter the correct Hostinger server settings and mailbox credentials.
Should I use port 465 or 587?
For Hostinger Email, start with the provider’s documented configuration: port 465 with SSL. If you encounter an encryption or connection issue, consult Hostinger’s instructions for using port 587 with TLS/STARTTLS.
Why does FluentSMTP say the email was sent, but I still can’t find it?
A successful send result can mean the provider accepted the outgoing message. It does not guarantee final inbox delivery.
Check spam filtering, email authentication, recipient details, and available delivery logs.
Final Checklist
Before considering your WordPress contact form ready for visitors, verify the following:
- Kadence’s Email submit action is enabled.
- The notification recipient address is correct.
- The sender address is valid and authorized.
- FluentSMTP is connected to the correct email provider.
- SMTP authentication works.
- A FluentSMTP test email reaches the inbox.
- A real Kadence contact form submission reaches the inbox.
- No passwords or other credentials are exposed publicly.
Final Thoughts
If your Kadence contact form isn’t sending emails, don’t immediately delete the form or install several replacement plugins.
Start by checking its Email submit action and notification settings.
If WordPress email delivery is the problem, configuring an appropriate SMTP connection can help.
For our BrandWebLab setup, FluentSMTP and Hostinger Email provided a working solution that we verified with both an SMTP test and a real contact form submission.
Always test your own setup because email providers, hosting environments, and security configurations can differ.
A working contact form is a small but important part of running a professional business website. Once messages are being delivered reliably, you can focus on publishing content and connecting with your visitors.
Official Resources
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