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Mail7 Email Validation

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Mail7 Email Validation

by denm

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Description

Mail7 Email Validation checks email addresses in real time as they are entered, using the Mail7 API. It stops fake and undeliverable addresses from getting into your user base, comments and form submissions – which means fewer bounces, less spam and cleaner lists.

Three verdicts, not two. Real mail servers do not always give a straight answer: catch-all domains, greylisting and disposable providers make some addresses genuinely unverifiable. Mail7 returns Valid, Not Valid, or Unknown, and this plugin does not block Unknown addresses by default, so you never turn away a real person over an address that simply could not be confirmed.

What it checks

  • Syntax / format
  • Domain MX records (can the domain receive mail at all)
  • Live SMTP mailbox check
  • Disposable / temporary address detection

Where it plugs in

  • WordPress user registration
  • Comment author emails
  • Contact Form 7 email fields
  • WPForms email fields

Reliable by default

  • Results are cached, so the same address is never re-checked (fast, and no wasted API calls).
  • If the Mail7 API is briefly unreachable, the plugin fails open – your forms keep working, no one is ever locked out by an outage.

API key

Works out of the box on Mail7’s free anonymous tier (rate-limited). For higher volume, paste a Mail7 API key in the settings – get one at mail7.net.

External services

This plugin sends each submitted email address to the Mail7 API (https://mail7.net/api/validate-single) to determine whether it is deliverable. Only the email address being validated is sent. See the Mail7 Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

  1. Upload the plugin to /wp-content/plugins/, or install it from the Plugins screen.
  2. Activate it.
  3. Go to Settings -> Mail7 Validation to choose where validation runs and, optionally, add your API key.
  1. A fake address is caught right in the form: Contact Form 7 submission stopped, the visitor sees exactly which field to fix.

    A fake address is caught right in the form: Contact Form 7 submission stopped, the visitor sees exactly which field to fix.

  2. User registration with an undeliverable address is rejected before the account is created.

    User registration with an undeliverable address is rejected before the account is created.

  3. The settings: one optional API key and six switches. Blocking unverifiable (Unknown) addresses is off by default on purpose.

    The settings: one optional API key and six switches. Blocking unverifiable (Unknown) addresses is off by default on purpose.

Do I need a paid account?

No. It works on the free anonymous tier. A Mail7 API key raises the rate limit and volume.

Will it block real users?

Not for unverifiable addresses. By default only addresses Mail7 reports as Not Valid (do not exist / no mail server) are blocked. “Unknown” addresses are allowed. You can optionally block Unknown too, but it is off by default on purpose.

What happens if Mail7 is down?

The plugin fails open: submissions are allowed. Validation never becomes a single point of failure for your forms.

1.0.0

  • Initial release: registration, comments, Contact Form 7 and WPForms validation with honest Valid / Not Valid / Unknown handling, result caching and fail-open behavior.
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