Difference between PHP MAIL and PHP MAILER

PHP Mail and PHP Mailer are two very useful tools for sending emails from web applications developed in PHP.

PHP Mail

PHP Mail is a PHP function that allows sending emails from a web application. To use PHP Mail, you will need the following:

1. A web server that supports PHP.
2. An email account from which the emails will be sent.
3. Basic knowledge of PHP.

To send an email using PHP Mail, follow these steps:

1. Open a PHP file in your favorite text editor.
2. Add the following line of code to the beginning of the file to set the email headers:

$headers = 'From: [email protected]' . "
" .
    'Reply-To: [email protected]' . "
" .
    'X-Mailer: PHP/' . phpversion();

3. Replace nombre_de_la_cuenta_de_correo with the name of the email account you will use to send the email and "dominio.com" with the corresponding email domain.
4. Add the following code to set the subject and the body of the email:

$subject = 'Asunto del correo electrónico';
$message = 'Cuerpo del correo electrónico';

5. Replace "Asunto del correo electrónico" and "Cuerpo del correo electrónico" with the actual subject and body of the email you wish to send.
6. Add the following code to send the email:

mail('[email protected]', $subject, $message, $headers);

7. Replace "[email protected]" with the recipient's email address.

PHP Mailer

PHP Mailer is a PHP library that simplifies the process of sending emails from a web application. To use PHP Mailer, you will need the following:

1. A web server that supports PHP
2. An email account from which the emails will be sent
3. Basic knowledge of PHP

We have a manual regarding how to use PHP Mailer:

• ? Manual: PHPMailer

Conclusion

PHP MAIL

Although the PHP mail() function is simpler to configure, it does not support the SMTP protocol.

It is increasingly common for this function to be disabled on servers as a security measure. It is normally disabled for protection against SPAM, mail spoofing, and proxy mail servers.

In some of our services, such as Hosting and servers with SWPanel, this function is disabled by default

PHP MAILER

The PHP Mailer function is much more secure and supports the SMTP protocol.

This SMTP server will be the one actually sending our email, thus having the DKIM signature and SPF record, allowing the legitimacy of the email to be validated.

Additionally, it allows sending more complex emails, permitting the attachment of images and files, which the mail() function does not allow.

In summary, PHP Mail and PHP Mailer are two very useful tools for sending emails from web applications developed in PHP.