In this tutorial, we will demonstrate how to set up SMS notifications for contact form submissions in Elementor using the email-to-SMS gateways of the top 10 U.S. mobile carriers. Using a carrier’s email-to-SMS gateway is a free alternative to using dedicated SMS services like Twilio, though it may not be as reliable.
Setting Up SMS Notifications with Elementor and Email-to-SMS Gateways: Follow these steps to set up SMS notifications for your contact form submissions in Elementor using the email-to-SMS gateways of the top 10 U.S. mobile carriers:
Edit your Elementor form: Open the page with the Elementor contact form and click ‘Edit with Elementor’. Select the Form widget to access its settings.
Add an email action: In the Form widget’s Content tab, scroll down to the ‘Actions After Submit’ section. If “Email” is not already added, click the “+” icon and select “Email” from the list of available actions.
Configure the email settings: In the “Email” settings section, set the ‘Email To’ field to include the email-to-SMS gateway addresses for the desired phone numbers.
Here are the email-to-SMS gateway formats for the top 10 U.S. carriers:
- AT&T:
phonenumber@txt.att.net - T-Mobile:
phonenumber@tmomail.net - Verizon:
phonenumber@vtext.com - Sprint:
phonenumber@messaging.sprintpcs.com - US Cellular:
phonenumber@email.uscc.net - Cricket Wireless:
phonenumber@sms.mycricket.com - Metro by T-Mobile:
phonenumber@mymetropcs.com - Boost Mobile:
phonenumber@sms.myboostmobile.com - Xfinity Mobile:
phonenumber@vtext.com(uses Verizon’s gateway as the underlying carrier) - Consumer Cellular:
phonenumber@mailmymobile.net
Replace “phonenumber” with the 10-digit phone number without dashes or spaces. Here is an example for AT&T:
1234567890@txt.att.net
For example, if you want to send notifications to multiple phone numbers across different carriers, you can enter the addresses separated by commas, like this:
1234567890@txt.att.net, 2345678901@tmomail.net, 3456789012@vtext.com, 4567890123@messaging.sprintpcs.com
Customize the email subject and content: You may want to keep the email subject and content brief, as they will be sent as an SMS. You can include the form field values using shortcodes, such as
{field_id}.Save and test: Click the “Update” button at the bottom of the Elementor editor to save your changes. Test your contact form by submitting it, and you should receive an SMS notification on the specified phone numbers.
Weighing the Pros and Cons
Using email-to-SMS gateways is a free and straightforward way to set up SMS notifications for your Elementor contact form submissions. However, it’s essential to remember that this method is not as reliable as using a dedicated SMS service like Twilio and may have limitations or delays in message delivery. Additionally, this method is carrier-specific, so you’ll need to use different gateway addresses for recipients using other carriers.
