WPForms Bounce Resend Workflow

When WPForms sends confirmation/notification emails that bounce (e.g. Gmail SPF/DKIM rejection), this workflow covers detection, identification, and resend.

Trigger

A registrant says they didn't get their confirmation email, OR the Apex mail watchdog triggers a bounce alert.

Step 1: Check inbox for bounce messages

Connect to the SiteGround IMAP inbox and search for delivery failure notifications:

import imaplib, email
HOST = "c1113726.sgvps.net"
PORT = 993
USER = "contact@apextrackexperience.com"
PW = "apex.track!!"
conn = imaplib.IMAP4_SSL(HOST, PORT)
conn.login(USER, PW)
conn.select("INBOX")
status, ids = conn.search(None, '(OR FROM "mailer-daemon" OR FROM "postmaster") SINCE "01-Jul-2026"')

What bounce messages look like

Field	Value
From	`Mail Delivery Subsystem <mailer-daemon@mxroute.com>`
Subject	`Delivery Status Notification (Failure)`
Body	`Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently: <email>` + reason

Known bounce cause: SPF/DKIM authentication

Gmail blocks when sending IP not in SPF:

550-5.7.26 Your email has been blocked because the sender is unauthenticated.
SPF [apextrackexperience.com] with ip: [136.175.108.114] = did not pass

IP 136.175.108.x = MXroute (not SiteGround). Fix: ensure email routes through SiteGround SMTP (35.212.86.161).

Step 2: Identify affected registrants

Cross-reference bounced email addresses against WPForms entries:

SELECT entry_id, form_id, date, LEFT(fields,2000) FROM wp_wpforms_entries
WHERE fields LIKE '%<bounced-email>%' ORDER BY entry_id;

Form ID reference

ID	Name	Purpose
270	NASA Top Speed Event Registration	Paid track day ($1,973 - $2,332)
268	Waiver	Free liability waiver

Fields to extract from the JSON `fields` column

Form 270: $.1.first+$.1.last = driver name, $.2 = email, $.33 = vehicle, $.22.value_choice = package, $.10.value = total, $.34.first+$.34.last = passenger Form 268: $.0.first+$.0.last = participant, $.1 = email, $.21.value = risk release signed

Step 3: Resend confirmation via SMTP

import smtplib
from email.mime.text import MIMEText
from email.mime.multipart import MIMEMultipart
SMTP_HOST, SMTP_PORT, SMTP_USER, SMTP_PASS = "c1113726.sgvps.net", 2525, "contact@apextrackexperience.com", "apex.track!!"
msg = MIMEMultipart('alternative')
msg['From'] = "Apex Predators Track Experience <contact@apextrackexperience.com>"
msg['To'] = f"{name} <{email}>"
msg['Subject'] = subject
msg.attach(MIMEText(html_body, 'html'))
with smtplib.SMTP(SMTP_HOST, SMTP_PORT) as server:
    server.starttls()
    server.login(SMTP_USER, SMTP_PASS)
    server.sendmail(SMTP_USER, [email], msg.as_string())

Email format template

Dark header (#1a1a2e), red accent (#e94560), white content area, green confirmation for waivers, yellow info box. Footer with company name.

What to include per recipient

Driver (registration + waiver): Full reg details, waiver status for both, event details note. Passenger (waiver only): Their name, driver name, vehicle, waiver confirmation.

SPF/DKIM status (post Jul 8)

SPF: v=spf1 +a +mx ip4:35.212.86.161 include:...dnssmarthost.net ~all
DKIM: default._domainkey.apextrackexperience.com configured
DMARC: v=DMARC1; p=none
SiteGround relay IP 35.212.86.161 IS in SPF (resolves from c1113726.sgvps.net)

Credentials

Email:    contact@apextrackexperience.com
SMTP:     c1113726.sgvps.net:2525 STARTTLS
IMAP:     c1113726.sgvps.net:993 SSL
Password: apex.track!!
DB:       mysql -h 127.0.0.1 -P 33060 -u apextrackexperience_1781549652

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