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Basic emails with laravel: A step-by-step guide

 

Introduction

Sending emails is a fundamental part of modern web applications, and Laravel, a popular PHP web framework, provides a powerful and flexible way to manage and send emails. In this step-by-step guide, we will walk you through the process of setting up and sending emails using Laravel. Whether you want to send account activation emails, notifications, newsletters, or any other type of email communication, Laravel simplifies the task with its built-in features and robust ecosystem. By following this guide, you'll learn how to create email templates, send emails synchronously and asynchronously, and handle attachments, making your application's email communication efficient and user-friendly.

 

Prerequisites

  • Laravel Installed: Ensure you have Laravel installed and a working Laravel application.
  • SMTP Email Account: Access to an SMTP email account with configured settings.
  • Mail Configuration: Properly configured mail settings in your .env file.
  • Blade Templates: Blade templates for your email views.

 

Step 1: Configure Mail Settings

To configure email settings in Laravel, you'll typically start by setting up your mail driver, SMTP configuration, and email service providers if needed. Here's a step-by-step explanation:

 

1. Mail Driver Configuration

In your Laravel project, open the .env file. Locate the MAIL_MAILER variable and set it to your desired mail driver. Common options include:

  • smtp: Use SMTP to send emails.
  • mailgun: Use the Mailgun API.
  • sendmail: Use the system's sendmail command.
  • ses: Use Amazon Simple Email Service (SES).

 

2. SMTP Configuration
If you're using SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) as your mail driver, you'll need to configure the SMTP server settings:
 
env
            MAIL_HOST=smtp.example.com # Your SMTP server hostname
            MAIL_PORT=587 # Port for the SMTP server
            MAIL_USERNAME=your_username # Your SMTP username
            MAIL_PASSWORD=your_password # Your SMTP password
            MAIL_ENCRYPTION=tls # Encryption method (e.g., ssl, tls, null)
 
 
3. Email Service Providers (Optional)
If you wish to use an email service provider like Mailgun, SendGrid, or Amazon SES, you can set up their specific configurations. For example, if using Mailgun:
 
.env
          MAIL_MAILER=mailgun
          MAILGUN_DOMAIN=your-mailgun-domain
          MAILGUN_SECRET=your-mailgun-secret
 
4. Additional Configuration

You can adjust other email-related settings in the .env file as needed, such as MAIL_FROM_ADDRESS and MAIL_FROM_NAME for the sender's address and name.

 

5. Service Provider Configuration (Optional)
If you're using an email service provider, follow their documentation to set up the necessary credentials and configuration. Once your email settings are configured, Laravel will use these settings to send emails through your chosen mail driver. You can then proceed to create and send emails within your Laravel application.

 

Step 2: Create Email Templates

Laravel provides an elegant way to create email templates using Blade views. You can create both HTML and plain text email templates to suit your needs.

 

1. Create a New Blade View
Start by creating a new Blade view for your email template. You can place these views in the resources/views/emails directory. For example, you might create invitation.blade.php.

 

2. HTML Email Template
In the Blade view, design the HTML structure of your email. You can include text, images, links, and styling as needed. For example:
 
HTML
          <!DOCTYPE html>
          <html>
          <head>
              <title>Invitation</title>
          </head>
          <body>
              <p>Hi {{ $user->first_name }},</p>
              <p>You are invited to our party. {{ $message }}</p>
              <!-- You can include images, links, and additional content here -->
          </body>
          </html>

 

3. Use Dynamic Data
Notice that variables like $employeeData->first_name and $message are placeholders for dynamic data. You can pass these variables when sending emails to personalize each email's content.

 

Step 3: Sending Basic Emails

Once you've configured your email settings and created email templates, you can start sending basic emails, such as welcome messages or notifications, using the Mail facade provided by Laravel. Here's how to send a basic email in Laravel:

 

1. Use the Mail Facade
Laravel's Mail facade provides a convenient way to send emails. Import the Mail facade at the top of your controller or any other relevant class:
 
PHP
             use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Mail;
 
2. Email Classes
In the above code, WelcomeEmail is an email class. You should create an email class for each type of email you want to send. These classes extend the Mailable class provided by Laravel and define details such as the recipient, subject, view, and data.

 

Example Email Class: Here's an example of an email class:
 
PHP
          class WelcomeEmail extends Mailable
          {
              use Queueable, SerializesModels;
              public function build()
              {
                  return $this->view('emails.welcome')
                      ->subject('Welcome to our platform')
                      ->with([
                          'message' => 'Thank you for joining our platform!',
                      ]);
              }
          }
 
 
3. Email View
In the email class, you specify the Blade view that represents your email template. In this case, it's 'emails.welcome'. Laravel will look for this view in the resources/views directory.
 
4. Pass Data
 You can pass dynamic data to your email template using the with method. In the example above, we're passing a message variable that can be accessed in the Blade view.
 
5.Sending Attachments
 If you want to send attachments with your email, you can use the attach method within your email class's build method. For example:
 
PHP
        public function build()
        {
            return $this->view('emails.welcome')
                ->subject('Welcome to our platform')
                ->with([
                    'message' => 'Thank you for joining our platform!',
                ])
                ->attach(public_path('attachments/welcome.pdf'));
        }
 
6.Send the Email
Finally, use the Mail::to($recipient)->send(new WelcomeEmail()) method to send the email to the specified recipient. To send an email, you need to compose it. This involves specifying the recipient, subject, view, and data to be passed to the email template. For example:
 
PHP
        use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Mail;
        use App\Mail\WelcomeEmail; // Make sure to import your email class
        class UserController extends Controller
        {
            public function sendWelcomeEmail()
            {
                $recipient = 'user@example.com'; // Replace with the recipient's email address
                $subject = 'Welcome to our platform';
                Mail::to($recipient)->send(new WelcomeEmail());
                return 'Welcome email sent successfully!';
            }
        }
 
In this example, you would need to create a route that points to the sendWelcomeEmail method, and when you access that route, it will trigger the sending of the welcome email.
 
Remember to replace 'user@example.com' with the actual email address of the recipient and ensure that you've created the WelcomeEmail class as described in the previous steps.
 
This is the basic process for sending emails in Laravel. You can expand on this foundation to send more complex emails, add recipients dynamically, and handle email events like queuing or logging.

author
Achsuthan

Project Manager, Apptimus