Setting up Zeptomail in Nigeria? Learn the steps, decisions, costs, and timelines for configuring reliable transactional email for your business
Your customer tries to reset their password. The email never arrives. They call support. You’ve just lost trust and paid for a support ticket that shouldn’t exist.
This happens to Nigerian businesses every day. Not because their code is broken, but because their email infrastructure is.
OTPs that take 5 minutes to arrive. Receipts that land in spam. Order confirmations that disappear. Each failure costs you money, customer trust, and hours of support time.
If you’ve decided to use Zeptomail in Nigeria to resolve this issue, you’re making a smart choice. But setup matters. Done wrong, you waste developer time and still have delivery problems. Done right, you achieve 99%+ inbox delivery and never have to think about email again.
The difference comes down to three key factors: knowing which decisions you can make independently, understanding what your developer handles, and recognizing when to seek professional assistance.
Here’s what you need to know before you start.
(Already understand why transactional email matters? Skip to the setup steps. Need more context? Read our complete guide to email deliverability in Nigeria.)
How Setup Works
Four phases get you from zero to sending emails:
- Account Setup (10 minutes): Create your account, pick your data center, and add your domain.
- DNS Configuration (30-60 minutes): Your developer adds authentication records. Then you wait for the internet to catch up.
- Integration (1-4 hours): Connect Zeptomail to your application. Send test emails.
- Monitoring (30 minutes): Set up alerts and automatic credit top-ups.
Realistic timeline:
- With your developer: 1-2 days
- With PlanetWeb: 24-48 hours
Most of that time is just waiting. The actual work? A few hours.
Decisions You Need to Make
Your developer can handle the technical work. But these choices are yours because they affect your business, not just your code.
Which domain sends your emails?
Use your main domain (yourbusiness.ng). Emails come from noreply@yourbusiness.ng. Simple, professional, what most businesses do.
Why this matters: Emails from your main domain build that domain’s reputation. When customers see yourbusiness.ng in their inbox, they immediately know it’s your business. Using a subdomain splits your reputation across multiple domains.
Only use a subdomain (mail.yourbusiness.ng) if you have complex email routing needs, you’re running multiple brands under one parent company, or your developer specifically recommends it for technical reasons.
SMTP or API?
SMTP if you’re using WordPress, WooCommerce, or standard platforms. Easier to set up. Your developer pastes credentials into a form, and you’re done.
API if you have a custom application and want full control over email sending, error handling, and tracking. More work upfront, more power in the long term.
Most Nigerian SMEs start with SMTP. You can always switch to API later when you need the extra features.
How many email streams?
You can separate OTPs, receipts, shipping notifications, and password resets into different “Mail Agents.” Each one tracks separately in your dashboard.
This helps you spot problems fast. If your password reset emails start failing but OTPs work fine, you know exactly where to look.
Start with one or two main categories. Add more later when you have data showing what you actually need.
Example from an e-commerce business: They started with one Mail Agent for all transactional emails. Three months in, they noticed shipment notifications had lower delivery rates than order confirmations. Split them into separate agents. Fixed the shipment email template. Delivery jumped to 99%.
DIY or hire help?
Go DIY if your developer knows DNS, has experience with email setup, and you’re not in a rush. Budget 1-3 days, including testing time.
Hire PlanetWeb if you want it working within a day, need it done right the first time, or your developer’s time is better spent building your actual product.
The common pattern: businesses try DIY, encounter DNS issues or integration problems, and lose several days before seeking help. If your developer hasn’t done this specific setup before, factor that learning curve into your timeline and budget.
What Your Developer Handles
If you’re doing this in-house, here’s what happens. You don’t need to understand the details, but knowing the steps helps you track progress.
Creating the account
Your developer sets up Zeptomail, picks the data center, and adds your domain.
About Data Centers: Europe or the US? Pick Europe. It’s closer to Nigeria, which means slightly faster API responses, and your data is stored in EU servers (better for customers who care about data privacy). The difference is small, but Europe wins. Learn more about Zeptomail’s infrastructure.
Adding DNS records
The technical heart of the setup. Three records are added to the DNS zone where you manage your domain.
SPF tells email servers that Zeptomail can send emails on behalf of your domain.
DKIM cryptographically signs emails to prevent them from being forged.
DMARC sets the policy for what happens when authentication failures.
Without these, your emails will be rejected or sent to spam. With them configured correctly, you hit 99%+ inbox delivery.
Where this happens: Cloudflare (our recommendation), cPanel, your hosting provider, wherever your domain lives. Adding them takes 10 minutes. Waiting for them to spread across the internet takes 15 minutes to 2 hours.
Verifying ownership
After DNS records are live, your developer verifies in Zeptomail. Green checkmarks mean you’re good. Errors mean typos or timing issues. Usually simple to fix.
Connecting to your app
For WordPress: Install a plugin and paste in your SMTP settings. (If your WordPress site is slow, optimize performance first so you can properly test email delivery.) For custom apps: Add API code or SMTP configuration. For platforms: Update email settings.
Testing delivery
Send to Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo. Check inbox placement. Verify authentication passes. Check if emails arrive within 10 seconds.
That’s it. Not complex, just precise.
What Might Slow You Down
DNS conflicts: If you already use Google Workspace or another email service, records may need to be merged, not just added. Adds 30 minutes to a few hours, depending on the current state of your setup.
DNS propagation delays: Nigerian DNS providers sometimes take 2-4 hours, instead of the typical 30 minutes. Can’t speed it up. Just wait.
Integration quirks: Custom or older applications can be tricky. Allow extra time if your app isn’t built on a standard WordPress or modern platform.
Spam content: Sometimes the setup is perfect, but emails still end up in spam because your templates contain too many links or trigger words. Fixing this takes content review work.
What This Costs
The service itself:
- First 10,000 emails: Free
- After that: ₦2,500-3,500 per 10,000 emails
If you DIY:
A simple setup takes your developer 2-4 hours. Complex migrations might take 1-2 days. Calculate what that costs you. For most Nigerian businesses, developer time runs ₦50,000-200,000.
Also consider: What else could they build in that time?
If PlanetWeb handles it:
One-time setup fee covers everything: DNS configuration, verification, integration, testing, training, documentation, and a guarantee it works.
The decision:
Compare your developer’s hourly rate against a professional setup. Factor in their level of experience with email infrastructure. Consider what else they could build in that time.
DNS conflicts are common when migrating from existing email services. Integration can be tricky with custom applications. These aren’t impossible problems, but they take time to solve if you haven’t done it before.
After Setup: Monitoring
Once it works, management is simple. But you need to actually do it.
Every week (5 minutes): Log into your Zeptomail dashboard. Check three numbers.
Delivery rate should be 99%+. Anything lower means trouble. Either your email list has problems, or your sender reputation is damaged. Don’t wait for it to get worse.
Bounce rate should be under 2%. Higher numbers mean bad email addresses in your database. If customers are typing their emails incorrectly at signup, fix your validation. If you’re importing old lists, clean them first.
Spam complaints should be basically zero for transactional email. If people are marking your OTPs and receipts as spam, your content has issues or you’re sending to people who didn’t request them.
Every month: Review your credit balance. Check if delivery patterns have changed. Add more Mail Agents if you’ve launched new email types. Look for trends. Is Monday worse than other days? Are evening emails slower? Data tells you where to optimize. For Gmail-specific insights, set up Google Postmaster Tools to track your domain reputation.
Warning signs that need immediate attention:
- Delivery drops below 98%
- Bounces jump above 3%
- Multiple customer complaints about missing emails
- Sudden credit usage spikes without corresponding business growth
Don’t ignore these. They compound. Small problems become big ones fast.
About credits and auto-top-up:
For most Nigerian SMEs, monthly expenditures range from ₦2,500 to ₦10,000. No monthly fees, just credits for actual emails sent.
Enable auto-top-up. Set it to buy more when you hit 20% remaining. This prevents the nightmare scenario: You run out of credits on a Friday evening. Your OTP system stops working. Customers can’t complete transactions. You don’t notice until Monday morning.
If auto-top-up fails (due to the card expiring, payment being declined, or the bank flagging the charge), an email queue is created but does not send until you manually add credits. Set up low-balance email alerts. Get notified at 30% and 20% remaining. Check your card on file every quarter.
Running out of credits during high-traffic periods (product launches, sales, and month-end) means lost transactions. Auto-top-up is cheap insurance.
Verifying It Works
Your developer says it’s done. Here’s how to check.
Send to your Gmail. Arrives in under 10 seconds? Good.
Send to Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. Have all reached the inbox? Better.
Test at mail-tester.com. Score 9/10 or 10/10? Excellent. (Mail-tester is a free tool that checks your email authentication, content, and deliverability score.)
Send a real customer email. OTP, receipt, whatever. Customer gets it? Perfect.
Watch your dashboard as 100 real emails go out. All green? You’re live.
Success: Fast delivery, inbox placement, customers receive everything, dashboard shows all clear.
Failure: Slow arrival, spam folder, customer complaints, and delivery errors in the dashboard.
If you see failures, stop and fix them before sending more.
When to Call PlanetWeb
Some situations need experts who’ve done this dozens of times. (Not sure if email setup counts as IT support? Here’s how to decide.)
Get professional help if:
Your setup is complex (multiple domains, migrating from another service, custom integrations, high volume).
You tried DIY and hit walls (DNS keeps failing, emails go to spam, and integration breaks).
Time matters (need it working this week, current system is failing, product launch depends on it).
You want certainty (no mistakes, guaranteed delivery, and ongoing support included).
What you get:
Complete implementation: DNS setup, verification, integration, testing, optimization.
Training: Your team learns to monitor and manage it.
Documentation: Specific to your business, not generic guides.
Support: When things break, we fix them. When you grow, we optimize.
When it makes sense:
If your transactional emails are critical to your business (e.g., fintech OTPs, e-commerce order confirmations, SaaS password resets), downtime is costly. A professional setup removes the risk of extended troubleshooting or configuration mistakes.
The cost comparison is straightforward: professional setup fee vs. your developer’s time multiplied by days spent debugging. Factor in the opportunity cost of what else they could build.
Timeline: 24-48 hours from first contact to sending emails.
Ready to Get Started?
If you’re doing it yourself:
Head to zeptomail.com and create your account. Give your developer 2-3 hours for setup. Test thoroughly the first week.
If you want professional setup:
Contact PlanetWeb with your email volumes and system details. Most clients are operational within 48 hours.
Have ready either way:
Access to DNS management, a list of email types you send, monthly volumes, application details, and business email for your Zeptomail account.
One thing to remember:
Zeptomail handles transactional emails only. Your team still needs professional email addresses for daily work, and you’ll want a separate platform for marketing emails. That’s the hybrid approach from the email deliverability guide.
Have questions about whether a DIY or professional setup makes sense for your situation? Talk to us.
Frequently Asked Questions
📚 Related Resources
Start here if you haven’t: Email Deliverability in Nigeria – Why this matters for your business
Professional email for your team: Zoho Workplace Deployment
Common email problems: cPanel Email Problems in Nigeria
