Penalis Emailer

A WordPress plugin that automatically notifies post authors via HTML email when their posts are published, with a comprehensive admin interface for manual email management including background queue processing and draft management.

Note: This plugin was originally developed for internal use at Penalis. It is publicly available so others can use it in their own projects if they find it useful.

Why This Plugin Exists

Most WordPress email plugins focus on newsletters or marketing automation.
Penalis Emailer was built specifically for editorial workflows and contributor communication inside content-driven teams.

The plugin focuses on:

• simple author notifications
• internal editorial communication
• background-safe delivery
• lightweight architecture without external dependencies

Features

• Automatic email notifications to post authors on publish
• Manual email sending to selected authors and contributors
• Emails sent in background batches via WP-Cron, fully configurable
• Email draft management with auto-save and team transparency
• Queue Monitor page for job tracking and configuration
• Real-time progress banner with AJAX polling
• Markdown-based email composer with responsive HTML rendering
• Email activity history with bulk cleanup tools

Requirements

• WordPress 6.6 or higher
• PHP 7.4 or higher
• No external dependencies required

Installation

1. Download the latest ZIP from the Releases page
2. In WordPress admin, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
3. Upload the ZIP and click Install Now, then Activate
4. (Optional) Configure an SMTP plugin for reliable email delivery
5. (Optional) Adjust queue settings at Penalis Email → Queue Monitor

Usage

Automatic Notifications

Once activated, the plugin automatically sends an email to the post author whenever a post is published. No configuration required. The email template can be customized at Penalis Email → Template Settings.

Manual Email Sending

Go to Penalis Email → Compose:

1. Enter subject and from name
2. Write the message in markdown
3. Select recipients from authors and contributors
4. Preview, then click Send Email

Emails are sent asynchronously in the background. A progress banner shows real-time delivery status after sending.

Drafts

Go to Penalis Email → Drafts to manage saved drafts. Drafts are auto-saved every 60 seconds while composing. Each draft records who created it, who last edited it, and who sent it.

Queue Monitor

Go to Penalis Email → Queue Monitor to view active jobs, configure batch settings, and monitor queue statistics.

Template Customization

Go to Penalis Email → Template Settings to customize the automatic email template using markdown and placeholders such as {AUTHOR_NAME}, {POST_TITLE}, and {POST_URL}.

Email History

Go to Penalis Email → Email History to view all sent emails. Manual and automatic emails are shown in separate tabs. Supports bulk delete and clear all per tab.

Known Limitations

• WP-Cron must be functioning correctly for queued emails to process
• Queue processing speed depends on WP-Cron frequency and SMTP provider rate limits. Default settings send 30 emails/minute.
• Designed primarily for editorial and contributor workflows, not bulk marketing campaigns

Documentation

• Developer Guide — architecture, file structure, key components, configuration
• Hooks Reference — all filters and actions with usage examples

License

GPL v2 or later. See license.txt for details.