Absolutely! Here’s a comprehensive tutorial and troubleshooting guide for sending email from a GoDaddy VPS Server with cPanel + WHM. This includes PHP mail(), SMTP setup, logs, DNS settings, and common issues with solutions.

---

📧 Sending Emails from GoDaddy VPS with cPanel + WHM

---

🧩 1. How Email Sending Works on a cPanel VPS

Component	Role
Exim	The default Mail Transfer Agent (MTA)
PHP	Uses Exim via /usr/sbin/sendmail for mail()
WHM	Manages global email delivery, logs, limits
cPanel	Manages email accounts and per-domain settings

---

✅ 2. Send Email Using PHP’s mail() Function

🔹 Step 1: Create a PHP Script

<?php
$to = "your@email.com";
$subject = "Test Email from GoDaddy VPS";
$message = "This is a test email sent using PHP.";
$headers = "From: noreply@yourdomain.com";

if (mail($to, $subject, $message, $headers)) {
    echo "✅ Email sent successfully.";
} else {
    echo "❌ Email sending failed.";
}
?>
Code language: HTML, XML (xml)

Save this as mailcheck.php inside your website’s public_html folder.

🔹 Step 2: Access in Browser

Visit:

https://yourdomain.com/mailcheck.php
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

You should see “✅ Email sent successfully.”

---

🔍 3. Check Email Logs

SSH into the VPS:

sudo tail -f /var/log/exim_mainlog
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Other useful logs:

• /var/log/exim_paniclog – for fatal errors
• /var/log/exim_rejectlog – for rejected messages

---

⚙️ 4. Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (Important for Delivery)

✔️ SPF & DKIM

1. Go to WHM > Email > Email Deliverability
2. Choose your domain
3. Click “Repair” if SPF or DKIM are missing
4. Copy the suggested DNS records to your GoDaddy DNS

✔️ DMARC (Optional but Recommended)

Add this TXT record in DNS:

Name: _dmarc.yourdomain.com
Type: TXT
Value: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:you@yourdomain.com
Code language: HTTP (http)

---

✉️ 5. Send Email via SMTP (More Reliable)

Use this when sending emails from contact forms, apps, or Laravel/WordPress.

🔹 Create an Email Account

In cPanel > Email Accounts, create:

• Email: info@yourdomain.com
• Password: your_password

🔹 Use PHPMailer (Example)

Install:

composer require phpmailer/phpmailer
Code language: JavaScript (javascript)

Code:

use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;

$mail = new PHPMailer();
$mail->isSMTP();
$mail->Host = 'mail.yourdomain.com';
$mail->SMTPAuth = true;
$mail->Username = 'info@yourdomain.com';
$mail->Password = 'your_password';
$mail->SMTPSecure = 'tls';
$mail->Port = 587;

$mail->setFrom('info@yourdomain.com', 'Your Name');
$mail->addAddress('recipient@example.com');
$mail->Subject = 'SMTP Test Email';
$mail->Body = 'This email is sent using SMTP and PHPMailer.';

if ($mail->send()) {
    echo '✅ Mail sent!';
} else {
    echo '❌ Mail failed: ' . $mail->ErrorInfo;
}
Code language: PHP (php)

---

🛠️ 6. Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Problem	Solution
mail() fails silently	Check /var/log/exim_mainlog
Mail lands in spam	Setup SPF/DKIM/DMARC correctly
Mail delivery delays	Check WHM > Mail Queue Manager
PHP can’t find sendmail	Ensure /usr/sbin/sendmail exists (default in WHM)
SMTP auth fails	Double-check credentials, port 587 with TLS
GoDaddy blocking ports	VPS is usually open, but shared hosting blocks SMTP ports

---

🔐 7. Tips for Deliverability

• Use a real domain and valid “From” address (avoid noreply@localhost)
• Keep your IP clean (avoid spamming)
• Use List-Unsubscribe headers for bulk email
• Monitor bounces and complaints

---

🧪 8. Bonus: Webmail Testing

You can also send test emails from:

• Webmail: Access via https://yourdomain.com/webmail
• Login with the email you created in cPanel

---

🧰 Tools Recap

Tool/Feature	Where
Email Accounts	cPanel
Mail Logs	/var/log/exim_mainlog
DNS Settings	WHM > Email Deliverability
Webmail Access	https://yourdomain.com/webmail
Mail Queue	WHM > Mail Queue Manager
SMTP Credentials	cPanel > Email Accounts

---