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PHP Sending Emails


PHP allows you to send emails directly from a script.


PHP mail() Function

The PHP mail() function is used to send emails from a script.

Syntax

Parameter Description
to Required. Specifies the email recipient.
subject Required. Specifies the subject of the email. Note: This parameter cannot contain any newline characters.
message Required. Defines the message to be sent. Use LF (\n) to separate lines. Each line should be limited to 70 characters.
headers Optional. Specifies additional headers, such as From, Cc, and Bcc. Additional headers should be separated by CRLF (\r\n).
parameters Optional. Specifies extra parameters for the mail sending program.

Note: The PHP mail function requires a mail system (such as sendmail, postfix, qmail, etc.) to be installed and running. The program used is defined by the configuration settings in the php.ini file. Please read more in our PHP Mail Reference Manual.


PHP Simple E-Mail

The simplest way to send an email using PHP is to send a text email.

In the following example, we first declare variables ($to, $subject, $message, $from, $headers), and then we use these variables in the mail() function to send an email:

<?php
$to = "[email protected]";         // Email recipient
$subject = "Parameter Mail";         // Email subject
$message = "Hello! This is the email content.";  // Email body
$from = "[email protected]";     // Email sender
$headers = "From:" . $from;           // Header settings
mail($to,$subject,$message,$headers);
echo "Email sent";
?>

PHP Mail Form

With PHP, you can create a feedback form on your site. The following example sends a text message to a specified email address:

<html>
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<title>tutorialpro.org(tutorialpro.org)</title>
</head>
<body>

<?php
if (isset($_REQUEST['email'])) { // If email parameter is received, send the email
    // Send email
    $email = $_REQUEST['email'] ;
    $subject = $_REQUEST['subject'] ;
    $message = $_REQUEST['message'] ;
    mail("[email protected]", $subject, $message, "From:" . $email);
    echo "Email sent successfully";
} else { // If no email parameter, display the form
    echo "<form method='post' action='mailform.php'>
    Email: <input name='email' type='text'><br>
    Subject: <input name='subject' type='text'><br>
    Message:<br>
    <textarea name='message' rows='15' cols='40'>
    </textarea><br>
    <input type='submit'>
    </form>";
}
?>

</body>
</html>

Note: This simple email sending method is insecure. In the next chapter of this tutorial, you will read more about security risks in email scripts, and we will explain how to validate user input to make it more secure.


PHP Mail Reference Manual

For more information about the PHP mail() function, please visit our PHP Mail Reference Manual.

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