On how many occasions has a password slipped your mind? I don’t know about you, but it sure is a recurring theme in my life. I mean, there’s just so many password protected sites out there and it’s almost impossible to keep track of them all! This makes password reset emails a very standard, day to day form of communication between businesses and their customers, which is exactly why you should put some thought into writing them. We put together the top best practices that will elevate your password reset emails so you can make the process for your customers as efficient as possible.

How do password reset emails work?

When a user forgets their password and is no longer able to log in, they can click on a “Forgot password?” link that will lead to a password reset email sent to their inbox. That email contains a password reset link that, in turn, leads to a password reset page where the user is asked to create a new password to complete the account recovery process.

7 best practices for writing a standup password reset email:


1. Send it immediately

First thing first, when asking for a password reset, customers expect your instant response in order to quickly regain access to their account. You don’t want your customers getting frustrated and losing interest in your service due to bad timing. Always send password reset emails the moment a request is made, which may also be done using an automated service.

2. Write a straightforward subject line and “from” address

Password reset emails call for subject lines that are clear and direct. There’s no need for getting fancy with it, just simply let users know that this is the email that holds the link towards their account recovery process.. A clear and direct subject line is all you need to make users open this email, since they’re the ones who requested it in the first place.

Useful examples: “Reset your Mailer To Go password” and “Mailer To Go: Reset your password”.

As for your “from” address, make sure that the sender’s address matches the name signed at the bottom of the email. Although sending your email from a no-reply address is not always recommended from a customer service point of view, it is considered more secure since replying to this email exposes the password reset link to your customer support agent. A good compromise in this situation would be to not use a no-reply address, but still state explicitly that it’s not recommended to reply directly to the email. As an incentive, add a link for the customer to contact customer support in case they have further questions.

It may be number 3 on this list, but including a password reset link is by far the most important part of this email.

When sending a password reset email, it’s very important to remember the reset part! Don’t ever include a physical password (not even a temporary one), since it’s a security threat. Instead of a password, include a link for the user to click on and safely reset their password. Another way to ensure a safe password reset is to make the resetting link time-limited. When using an expiring link, remember to inform the customer of its validity period in a clear and obvious manner.

4. Provide information about who requested the reset

Give your customers additional information regarding the person who requested the password reset, in case they are not the ones who did so. You can add information about the browser or operating system from which the request was made from or even an IP address.

5. Keep things short and to the point

Short and sweet is always the smart choice when it comes to transactional emails. When a user sends a password reset request, they’re most likely anxious to log back in to their account, so help them do just that and efficiently. But that doesn’t mean it’s a crime to add a little value-driven content to your email, just make sure that it doesn't hijack the spotlight from the password reset link.

6. Include text as well as HTML

If you want to increase the chances of your email reaching its destination, make sure it includes both an HTML and plain text. By doing so, you will improve delivery rates given that HTML-only emails don’t often pass spam filters.

7. How to contact support

Make your business as approachable as possible and don’t leave your customers hanging out to dry. Sending just the reset email, by itself, isn’t enough. What if the link doesn’t work or if the customer happens to have more questions? Make it easy for them to reach out by adding different ways to get them connected to your support team.

Mailer To Go can automate your password reset emails

Password reset emails should not be taken for granted, but rather viewed as an opportunity to show your customers how valued they are by your business. We recommend using an automated, transactional email service to send customized emails based on the best practices we wrote above.

Mailer To Go provides a simple, secure, and scalable automated email delivery service and it’s very easy to install and utilize; there’s no need to learn a new API and you can simply use your programming language of choice's SMTP library.

Click here to find out more and give it a try.