Newsletter Sender for DreamHost Lists

Send newsletters and new blog posts to your DreamHost Announcement Lists using the official API. Manage campaigns directly from WordPress.

Note

Disclaimer: This plugin is developed independently and is not affiliated with, endorsed, or supported by DreamHost. It utilizes the official DreamHost API.

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Description

This WordPress plugin provides a convenient way to interact with DreamHost's "Announcement Lists" feature (often used as mailing lists or newsletters) directly from your WordPress dashboard.

It allows you to:

1. Manually compose and send custom newsletters/announcements to one or more of your DreamHost lists.
2. Automatically send the full content of a new blog post (formatted similarly to how it appears on your site, including processed shortcodes and paragraphs) as a notification to selected DreamHost lists when the post is published for the first time.

The plugin requires a DreamHost API key with permissions for the announcement_list functions.

Features

• Connects securely to the DreamHost API using your private API key.
• Provides an admin page (Settings > DH Newsletter) to manually send custom newsletters.
• Fetches and displays your available DreamHost Announcement Lists on the settings page and in the post editor.
• Includes a meta box on the Post edit screen to enable/disable sending a notification for that specific post upon initial publishing.
• Allows selection of specific list(s) for each post notification.
• Automatically formats the post notification message (Subject: Post Title, Body: Full formatted post content).
• Includes basic rate limiting on the manual sending form to prevent accidental multiple sends.
• Caches the list of DreamHost Announcement Lists for performance (refreshes hourly or when API key changes).

Requirements

• WordPress 6.7.2 or higher (Recommended: Latest version)
• PHP 8.2 or higher (Recommended: Latest stable version supported by WordPress)
• A DreamHost account with at least one Announcement List configured.
• A DreamHost API key with permissions for announcement_list-list_lists and announcement_list-post_announcement.

Installation

1. Download the plugin as a .zip file.
2. Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
3. Navigate to Plugins > Add New.
4. Click the Upload Plugin button at the top.
5. Click Choose File and select the .zip file you downloaded.
6. Click Install Now.
7. Once installed, click Activate Plugin.

Usage

1. Configuration (API Key)

1. After activating the plugin, navigate to Settings > DH Newsletter in your WordPress admin menu.
2. You will see the API Key Settings section.
3. Obtain your API key from the DreamHost Panel:
   • Log in to your DreamHost account.
   • Navigate to API Keys (often found under Billing & Account or similar). You can usually find it directly via: https://panel.dreamhost.com/index.cgi?tree=api.keys
   • Create a new key if you don't have one. Ensure it has permissions for announcement_list-list_lists and announcement_list-post_announcement. Granting all announcement_list-* permissions is usually easiest.
   • Copy the 16-character API key.
4. Paste the 16-character key into the DreamHost API Key field in the plugin settings.
5. Click Save API Key.
6. If the key is valid and saved successfully, the page will reload, and the "Send Custom Newsletter" form should appear below the API key settings.

2. Sending a Custom Newsletter

1. Navigate to Settings > DH Newsletter.
2. Ensure your API key is saved and the form is visible.
3. Under Send Custom Newsletter:
   • Select one or more lists from the Select List(s) checkboxes.
   • Enter a Subject for your newsletter.
   • Compose your message in the Message editor (HTML is allowed).
   • Click the Send Newsletter button.
4. A success or error message will appear at the top of the page. Note the simple rate limiting prevents sending again immediately. Check your PHP error log (/wp-content/debug.log if WP_DEBUG_LOG is enabled) for detailed API error messages if sending fails.

3. Sending New Post Notifications

1. When creating or editing a Post (Posts > Add New or Posts > Edit):
2. Look for the Send Post as Newsletter (DH) meta box (usually in the right-hand sidebar).
3. To enable sending for this post, check the Send newsletter when published? box.
4. Select the specific list(s) you want this post notification sent to.
5. When you click the Publish button for the first time, the plugin will automatically:
   • Use the Post Title as the email subject.
   • Use the full, formatted post content (including processed shortcodes, paragraphs, etc.) as the email message.
   • Send this message to the selected DreamHost Announcement List(s).
6. Important: This only happens on the initial publish event (when the post status changes from something else to 'publish'). Simply updating an already published post will not trigger the announcement again.
7. Check your PHP error log (/wp-content/debug.log if WP_DEBUG_LOG is enabled) for confirmation or error messages related to the send attempt (look for [DH_AL Save/Send] messages).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

• Where do I get my DreamHost API key? Log in to your DreamHost Panel and navigate to the API Keys section. You can usually find it directly via https://panel.dreamhost.com/index.cgi?tree=api.keys. Ensure the key has announcement_list-* permissions.

• Why don't I see the "Send Custom Newsletter" form? You need to enter and save a valid 16-character DreamHost API key in the settings first (Settings > DH Newsletter).

• My new post notification didn't send. Why?

  • Did you check the "Send newsletter when published?" box in the post editor meta box?
  • Did you select at least one list in the meta box?
  • Was this the very first time you clicked "Publish" for that post? Updating an already published post won't resend the notification.
  • Is your API key still valid and saved correctly in the plugin settings?
  • Check your PHP error log (/wp-content/debug.log if WP_DEBUG_LOG is enabled) for specific error messages from the plugin ([DH_AL Save/Send]...) or the DreamHost API.

• Is this an official DreamHost plugin? No. This plugin is developed independently and is not affiliated with, endorsed, or supported by DreamHost.

Changelog

• 1.0
  • Modified post notification feature to send full formatted post content instead of excerpt.
  • Updated meta box description text.
• 0.9
  • Updated plugin name, description, and UI text to focus on "Newsletter Sender" functionality.
  • Added Author URI / Plugin URI placeholders.
• 0.75
  • Implemented sending notifications for newly published posts via meta box (using excerpt).
  • Refined save_post logic to reliably detect initial publish event using date comparison.
  • Added cache clearing for options page to better handle object caching environments.
  • Removed debugging code.
• 0.5
  • Refactored API key saving to use standard WordPress Settings API.
  • Improved API error handling and logging.
  • Improved sending logic and feedback messages.
  • Addressed issues with notice display and option fetching after save.
• 0.1 (Initial version shared)
  • Basic API key saving.
  • Manual announcement sending form.
  • API list fetching with basic caching.

License

GPLv2 or later (Standard WordPress plugin license)