An SMTP (Simple mail transfer protocol) server is an application or computer that sends, receives and relays emails. For Course Assist I set up a Gmail SMTP server on the backend to send verification code emails to users when they want to access the Course Assist apps. In this blog, I'll talk about how I set up a Gmail SMTP server for Course Assist. Let's get straight to it🏃♂️
Setting up the SMTP server🛰
If you read the previous blog you'll remember that I created a professional business email with Microsoft Outlook via GoDaddy because the Course Assist domain is registered under GoDaddy. Long story short I decided to cancel that business email and instead set up a regular Google email address😅. This was because the process of setting up an SMTP server with Microsoft Outlook was honestly very difficult, I spent hours trying to learn how to get it done but found nothing and the instructions on the Outlook website were also difficult to follow😬.
I created a new Gmail email address which is courseassist.zm@gmail.com please feel free to drop me an email if you've got any questions about Course Assist😄. After creating the email I set up the SMTP server, to do this I had to first enable 2-factor authentication under security settings. After that still under security settings I had to create a new app and generate an app password for the app I created. This app password is required to send emails to users using the Course Assist Gmail email address. The whole process was very straightforward, I tested it out and it was working the way it should. Though for a regular Gmail account like mine, there is a limit on the number of emails that can be sent a day, I don't remember how much it is but I'm sure for a small project like Course Assist it should suffice🤔.
The setting up of this SMTP server marks the completion of the Course Assist backend🥳, by the time I'll be publishing this article I would've already redeployed the backend to Digital Ocean and started conducting final system tests. The launch of Course Assist will be happening before the end of the month and is something you'll not want to miss so stay tuned to the blog to find out what happens next. Thanks for reading and see you in the next one🙏.