---
title: "Using the Better Notifications Plugin for WordPress"
description: "There are a number of email notifications that you often receive from WordPress after an action has been completed.  For example, it's common to get a new user notification when you get a new..."
url: https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/edu/wordpress/using-the-better-notifications-plugin-for-wordpress/
date: 2019-09-27
modified: 2021-08-16
author: "InMotion Hosting Contributor"
categories: ["WordPress Hosting", "WordPress Tutorials"]
type: post
lang: en
---

# Using the Better Notifications Plugin for WordPress

![Using the better notifications plugin for WordPress](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Using-the-Better-Notifications-Plugin-for-WordPress-1024x538.png)

There are a number of email notifications that you often receive from WordPress after an action has been completed.  For example, it’s common to get a new user notification when you get a new user registered to your WordPress site.  Using plugins, you can control the notifications, customize them and, create notifications for many WordPress actions. This tutorial introduces you to **Better Notifications**. This tutorial walks you through configuring, creating, and managing notifications.

In this article:

- [Setting up the Better Notifications Plugin](#set-up-plugin)
- [Creating Notifications](#create-notifications)
- [Better Notifications plugin settings](#settings)

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## **Setting up the Better Notifications Plugin**

In order to use this plugin, you will need administrator access to your WordPress Administrator Dashboard.  Follow the steps below to install the plugin on your WordPress site.

1. [Log in to the WordPress Administrator Dashboard](/support/edu/wordpress/logging-into-wordpress-dashboard/).
2. Go to **Plugins**.
3. Click on **Add New**.
4. In the search field labeled “Search plugins…” type **Better Notifications for WP**.
5. Click on **Install Now**.
6. When it finishes installing, click on **Activate**. This will enable the plugin.

Once the installation is complete and active you will see **Notifications **added to the main menu.

## **Creating Notifications**

Better Notifications uses the WordPress system of tracking items.  Like posts and pages when you create a new entry you’ll see a table listing them.  Here’s an example of what it looks like:

[![Better Notifications plugin creating settings](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/better-notifications-test-list-1024x457.png)](https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/better-notifications-test-list.png)*List of notifications*

Adding a new notification is a snap!  But, if you’re having problems with your recipients not getting their notifications, then you may need to set up SMTP.  This can be done through a plugin like [Post SMTP](https://wordpress.org/plugins/post-smtp/). You will see a pop-up note at the top of the screen (until you clear it) when you first start using the plugin.

To add a new notification follow these steps:

1. In the main menu of the WordPress Administrator Dashboard, hover over **Notifications**.  You’ll see a pop-up menu.
2. Click on **Add New**.
3. You will then see the form for creating the notification.  You will need to give it a title first.[![](https://arnel-io.com/wp1831/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/better-notifications-1-1024x604.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/better-notifications-1.png)*For information on each setting, you can hover over the blue circled question icon.*
4. The next section is the Notification settings.  It starts with the **Notification For**. Click on the drop-down arrow in order to select the action for which the notification will be created.  For example, if you want to send a notification for any new user created, then you would select that option from the list.
5. Select the email formatting you wish to use:  **HTML** or **Plain Text**.  If you know that your recipients can’t view HTML formatting, then select Plain text for your notifications.
6. Select the **Additional Email Fields** you want to use with this notification.
7. The next option is labeled “**Do not send this Notification to the User that triggered it.**” Select this option in order to stop the notification from being sent to the user that created the action.
8. You can then determine who gets the notification in the **Send To** field. The drop-down menu lets you select users on the WordPress site or roles.
9. After you select who gets the notification, you can then select who is excepted from the **Send To** list with the **Except For** option.
10. The next field is the **Subject** field.  Click on the field and type in a subject for the notification.
11. The meat of the notification is added in the next section- the **Message Body**. The editor in this section can be used to compose and format your custom notification message.[![](https://arnel-io.com/wp1831/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/better-notifications-2-1024x623.png)](/support/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/better-notifications-2.png)
12. After you have completed creating the notification you can select if the notification is enabled or disabled in the top right-hand corner.
13. Click on **Save** to save your work to the server.

This completes the creation of your notification.  Additional documentation, support, and a link for premium add-ons can be found in the** Notifications menu**.

## Settings

The Better Notifications plugin includes the following:

| Suppress SPAM comment notification | Don’t send notifications for comments marked as SPAM |
| --- | --- |
| Default Mail Format | HTML Formatting or Plain Text |
| Enable Content Shortcodes | Enable shortcode output in the page/post content |
| Allow Usage Tracking? | Allow Better Notifications for WP to anonymously track how this plugin is used and help make the plugin better. |

Congratulations!  You can now use the **Better Notifications** plugin to customize your plugins for your WordPress site.  To learn more about WordPress, check out [Connecting a Stock Image Gallery to your WordPress site](/support/product-guides/wordpress-hosting/connecting-a-stock-image-gallery-to-your-wordpress-blog/).