About this plugin
TellbySMS connects your WordPress site to the TellbySMS bulk SMS platform, giving you a complete suite of SMS tools right inside your WordPress dashboard.
Whether you want to notify customers about their WooCommerce orders, secure logins with two-factor authentication, grow an SMS subscriber list, or send scheduled marketing messages — TellbySMS has you covered.
📱 OTP & Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Add an extra layer of security to your WordPress login. When enabled, users receive a 6-digit verification code via SMS after entering their password. The code expires in 5 minutes and is invalidated after 5 failed attempts.
- Works on the standard WordPress login page
- Optional [tellbysms_otp_form] shortcode for custom login flows
- Resend code link included
📤 SMS Outbox
Every SMS sent through the plugin is automatically logged in a clean table — so you always know what was sent, to whom, when and why.
- Recipient, message, sender ID, status and trigger type
- Up to 500 recent messages displayed
- Accessible under TellbySMS → Outbox
📋 SMS Subscribers
Build an SMS mailing list directly on your WordPress site. Visitors opt in using a shortcode or sidebar widget and you can broadcast to all active subscribers with one click.
- [tellbysms_subscribe] shortcode — add to any page or post
- Sidebar widget with customisable label and button text
- Welcome SMS sent automatically on new subscription
- Broadcast message to all active subscribers from WP admin
- Optional auto-sync of subscribers to a TellbySMS contact group
- Manage subscribers under TellbySMS → Subscribers
⏰ Scheduled SMS
Schedule an SMS to go out at exactly the right time — to individual numbers, comma-separated lists or an entire TellbySMS contact group.
- Pick any future date and time using a datetime picker
- WP-Cron processes due messages every minute
- Cancel pending schedules before they fire
- Sent results logged to Outbox automatically
- Manage under TellbySMS → Scheduled SMS
🔔 Admin Alerts
Stay informed about important site activity without having to check your dashboard.
- New post published — receive an SMS whenever a new blog post goes live
- WordPress/plugin update — SMS confirmation when an update completes successfully
- Admin login alert — security SMS with username and IP address whenever an admin logs in
All alert messages are fully customisable with variables like {site_name}, {post_title}, {author}, {user_name} and {ip}.
🛒 WooCommerce Integration
Keep customers informed at every stage of their order journey.
- SMS to customer on new order placement
- SMS to admin on new order (with order total and customer name)
- SMS on order status change — configure a custom message per status (processing, completed, shipped, cancelled, on-hold, refunded)
- Order notes added automatically for every SMS sent
- Personalisation variables: {customer_name}, {order_id}, {order_total}, {order_status}, {site_name}
👤 WordPress Notifications
- Welcome SMS to new users on registration
- Password reset notification SMS
- Admin alert when a new user registers (with name and email)
📊 Dashboard Widget
A quick-glance SMS stats widget on your WordPress dashboard showing your current balance, total SMS sent, scheduled messages and total contacts — with a direct link to Send SMS.
✉️ Manual SMS
Send a message directly from WordPress admin to one or more phone numbers, a specific WordPress user, all users with a phone number, or an entire TellbySMS contact group. Includes a live SMS character counter.
🔄 Contact Sync
One-click sync of WordPress users and WooCommerce customers to your TellbySMS contact list — with optional target group assignment and a detailed sync log.
📌 Shortcodes
- [tellbysms_balance] — Display your current credit balance
- [tellbysms_subscribe] — SMS subscription opt-in form
- [tellbysms_otp_form] — OTP verification form for custom login flows
🔑 Requirements
- A TellbySMS account at https://sms.scopehost.net
- Your API token from the API Access page
External Services
This plugin connects to the TellbySMS bulk SMS service operated by The ScopeHost Operating Company, a division of Cubic Systems Investments (Pty) Ltd.
What the service is:
TellbySMS is a bulk SMS platform that enables businesses to send SMS messages reliably across Southern Africa.
When data is sent:
net/api/v1 in the following situations:
* When sending an SMS notification (WooCommerce order, admin alert, OTP code, subscriber broadcast, scheduled SMS, or manual send)
* When checking your account credit balance (dashboard widget and Send SMS page)
* When syncing WordPress contacts to TellbySMS contact groups
What data is sent:
* Your API token (for authentication on every request)
* Recipient phone numbers
* SMS message content
* Sender ID (if configured)
No personal data is stored by the plugin beyond what is already in your WordPress database. All SMS sending and logging is handled server-side by TellbySMS.
- Service website: https://sms.scopehost.net
- Terms of Service: https://sms.scopehost.net/terms
- Privacy Policy: https://sms.scopehost.net/privacy