Brevo (formerly Sendinblue) is the recommended option for sending transactional emails from your FluffCams site. It is free to sign up, requires no credit card, and gives you 300 outbound emails per day at no cost — plenty for a new or growing site.
Part A — Create Your Brevo Account
1
Go to the Brevo signup pageOpen your browser and navigate to https://app.brevo.com/account/register — you do not need a credit card.
2
Enter your email address and click "Get started for free"Use a real email address you have access to — you will need to confirm it in the next step.
3
Confirm your email addressCheck your inbox for an email from Brevo. Click the "Confirm my email address" button inside it. This will bring you back to Brevo to complete your profile.
4
Fill in your account detailsBrevo will ask for your first name, last name, company name, and website. Fill these in with your site's information. When asked to choose a plan, select the Free plan.
5
Your account is now createdYou will land on the Brevo dashboard. Continue to Part B to get your SMTP credentials.
Part B — Get Your SMTP Credentials
1
Open your account settingsIn the top-right corner of the Brevo dashboard, click on your account name or profile icon to open the dropdown menu.
2
Click "SMTP & API"This option is in the dropdown menu. It will take you to the credentials page.
3
Make sure you are on the "SMTP" tabThe page has two tabs: SMTP and API Keys. Click the SMTP tab.
4
Generate a new SMTP keyClick the button labeled "Generate a new SMTP key". When prompted, enter a name for this key (e.g. "My FluffCams Site") and click Generate.
⚠ Important: The full SMTP key is shown only once. Copy it immediately and save it somewhere safe — such as a text file or password manager. If you close the window without copying it, you will need to generate a new key.
5
Note your SMTP Login (Username)On the same SMTP page, you will also see a field called SMTP Login. This is a unique email address that serves as your SMTP username — it is not your Brevo account email. Copy this value as well.
Your Brevo SMTP Credentials
SMTP Server (Host) smtp-relay.brevo.com
Port 587
Encryption TLS
Username (Login) Your SMTP Login from Brevo (not your account email)
Password The SMTP key you generated
Part C — Enter Settings into Your FluffCams Admin Panel
1
Log in to your FluffCams Admin PanelGo to your site's admin area (e.g. https://yoursite.com/admin) and log in.
2
Navigate to SMTP SettingsFind the Email / SMTP Settings page in your admin panel.
3
Enable SMTPToggle the Use SMTP option to On.
4
Fill in the SMTP fields exactly as shown below
SMTP Host smtp-relay.brevo.com
SMTP Port 587
SMTP Username Your Brevo SMTP Login (from the SMTP tab)
SMTP Password Your generated SMTP key
Encryption Method TLS
From Email Address Any verified sender email (e.g. noreply@yoursite.com)
From Name Your site's name (e.g. "My Cam Site")
Note about "From Email Address": Brevo requires that the From address either matches a verified sender or belongs to an authenticated domain. The easiest option is to use the same email address you signed up to Brevo with. If you want to use a custom address like noreply@yoursite.com, you will need to verify that sender inside Brevo first (Settings → Senders & IP → Add a new sender).
5
Save and send a test emailClick Save Settings, then use the Send Test Email function to confirm everything is working. Check your inbox — if you receive the test email, setup is complete.
Free plan limit: Brevo allows up to 300 outbound emails per day on the free plan. If your site grows and you exceed this, you can upgrade to a paid plan (starting at around $25/month for up to 20,000 emails/month).
Gmail can be used as an SMTP provider for your FluffCams site. Google no longer allows apps to connect using your regular Gmail password — instead you must create an App Password, which is a special 16-digit code generated specifically for this purpose. This requires that 2-Step Verification is enabled on your Google account.
Part A — Enable 2-Step Verification (Required First Step)
Already have 2-Step Verification enabled? Skip to Part B. You can check by going to myaccount.google.com → Security → How you sign in to Google.
1
Go to your Google AccountVisit https://myaccount.google.com and log in with the Gmail account you want to use.
2
Click "Security" in the left sidebar
3
Scroll down to "How you sign in to Google"Click on 2-Step Verification.
4
Click "Get Started" and follow the promptsGoogle will walk you through setting up a second factor — typically a text message to your phone. Complete the process and confirm it is enabled.
Part B — Create a Gmail App Password
1
Go directly to the App Passwords pageNavigate to https://myaccount.google.com/apppasswords — you may be asked to re-enter your Google password to continue.
2
Enter an app nameIn the text field provided, type a name to help you remember what this password is for — for example: "FluffCams Site". The name does not affect functionality.
3
Click "Create"Google will generate and display a 16-character App Password.
⚠ Important: Copy this 16-character password immediately. Google will not show it again after you close the dialog. If you lose it, you must delete it and generate a new one. When you enter the password into your FluffCams settings, you can type it with or without the spaces Google displays — both work.
4
Click "Done"The App Password is now active and ready to use.
Part C — Enter Settings into Your FluffCams Admin Panel
1
Log in to your FluffCams Admin Panel and navigate to SMTP Settings
2
Enable SMTP and fill in the fields as shown below
SMTP Host smtp.gmail.com
SMTP Port 587
SMTP Username Your full Gmail address (e.g. you@gmail.com)
SMTP Password The 16-character App Password (no spaces)
Encryption Method TLS
From Email Address Must be your Gmail address (Google enforces this)
From Name Your site's name (e.g. "My Cam Site")
3
Save settings and send a test emailClick Save Settings, then use the test email feature to confirm it is working.
⚠ Gmail SMTP — Known Limitations
✕ 500 emails per day maximum. Gmail accounts are capped at 500 outbound emails per day via SMTP. If your site sends more than this (e.g. heavy registration activity, mass notifications), emails will start bouncing until the next 24-hour window resets.
✕ From address is forced to your Gmail address. Google does not allow you to send "From" a different email address through their SMTP. Whatever you put in the "From Email" field in the admin panel, the recipient will see your @gmail.com address.
✕ App password is invalidated if you change your Google account password. If you ever reset or change the password on the Gmail account, the App Password stops working immediately. You will need to generate a new App Password and update it in your admin panel.
✕ Not available for Google Workspace / organization accounts. If the Gmail account is managed by a school, employer, or other organization, the admin may have disabled App Passwords. In that case, a personal @gmail.com account must be used instead.
✕ 2-Step Verification is mandatory. There is no way around this. If 2FA is ever removed from the Google account, the App Password will stop working.
✕ Google may flag unusual sending patterns. If your site suddenly starts sending large volumes of email (e.g. a registration spike), Google may temporarily suspend the SMTP connection pending a review.
