How to Seamlessly Integrate EmailJS Library in Your React.js App?

Sending emails from a web application is a common requirement, whether it’s for user registrations, password resets, or notifications. Integrating email functionality into a React.js web app can be a complex task, but thanks to libraries like EmailJS, the process becomes much simpler and more straightforward.

In this blog post, we will explore how to integrate the EmailJS library into your React.js web app and demonstrate a code example to get you started quickly.

EmailJS is a JavaScript library that simplifies the process of sending emails from a client-side application, such as a web app or a mobile app. It provides an easy-to-use API that allows developers to send emails directly from the client-side code without the need for a server-side backend.

The main advantage of EmailJS is that it eliminates the need to set up and maintain a server-side email server or SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) configuration. Instead, it offers a client-side solution for sending emails by leveraging third-party email services like Gmail, SendGrid, Outlook, and more.

EmailJS provides a straightforward and intuitive API that handles the email-sending process. It allows you to define email templates using HTML and placeholders for dynamic content. You can customize email templates with rich text, attachments, and even inline CSS styles.

To use EmailJS, you need to sign up for an account on the EmailJS website. Once you create an account, you’ll obtain the necessary credentials, including a user ID, service ID, and template ID, which are used to authenticate and configure the email-sending process.

The library supports various use cases, such as sending contact form submissions, password reset emails, user notifications, and any other scenario where you need to send emails from a client-side application.

Overall, EmailJS simplifies the integration of email functionality into your web or mobile application, providing an efficient and reliable solution for sending emails without the need for a server-side infrastructure.

Integrating the library

Step 1: Set Up Your React.js Project

Assuming you have a basic understanding of React.js,

Step 2: Install and Configure EmailJS

Next, install the EmailJS library by running the following command in your project directory:

npm install emailjs-com

Once the installation is complete, you can import EmailJS into your React component using the following line of code:

import emailjs from 'emailjs-com';

Step 3: Create an Email Template

Before sending emails, let’s define an email template. EmailJS allows you to use pre-designed templates or create your own using HTML and placeholders. For example, let’s create a simple template for a contact form:

<!-- Template ID: template_example -->
<p>Hi {name},</p>
<p> Welcome to {business name} </p>
<p>Thanks for reaching out! We'll get back to you soon.</p>

Step 4: Sending Emails

Now that we have the necessary setup in place, let’s see how to send an email using EmailJS. In your React component, define a function that handles the email-sending process:
userID, serviceID, and templateID are used to authenticate and configure the email-sending process, you can find these once you sign up on EmailJS official site.

Note: Ensure that you keep sensitive information such as service IDs, template IDs, and user IDs secure. It is recommended to use environment variables or a configuration file to store such sensitive data securely.

function sendEmail(e) {
e.preventDefault();

emailjs.sendForm('YOUR_SERVICE_ID', 'YOUR_TEMPLATE_ID', e.target, 'YOUR_USER_ID')
.then((result) => {
console.log('Email sent successfully!', result.text);
}, (error) => {
console.log('Error sending email:', error.text);
});
}

In the above code, replace ‘YOUR_SERVICE_ID’, ‘YOUR_TEMPLATE_ID’, and ‘YOUR_USER_ID’ with the appropriate values from your EmailJS account. The e.target represents the form element containing the user’s input.

Step 5: Add a Form to Your Component

To trigger the email-sending process, let’s create a form in your component and associate it with the sendEmail function:

function ContactForm() {
  return (
    <form onSubmit={sendEmail}>
      <input type="text" name="name" placeholder="Your Name" />
      <input type="email" name="email" placeholder="Your Email" />
      <textarea name="message" placeholder="Your Message"></textarea>
      <button type="submit">Send Email</button>
    </form>
  );
}

Step 6: Render the Component

Finally, render the ContactForm component within your main app component or any other desired location:

function App() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Contact Us</h1>
      <ContactForm />
    </div>
  );
}

Exploring Similar Options Available in the Market

These libraries offer different features and integration options for sending emails from JavaScript web applications. Depending on your specific requirements and preferences, you can choose the one that suits your needs the best. Listed down below are some of the similar options available in the market.

➡️ Nodemailer: Nodemailer is a widely used library for sending emails from Node.js applications. It can also be used in JavaScript web apps. Nodemailer provides a flexible and comprehensive solution for sending emails with features like attachments, HTML content, and template rendering.

➡️ Gmail.js: Gmail.js is a JavaScript library specifically designed for interacting with Gmail in the browser. While it focuses on Gmail-specific functionality like reading and composing emails within the Gmail interface, it also provides the ability to send emails programmatically.

➡️ MJML: MJML is not a direct email-sending library, but it is a markup language and engine for creating responsive HTML emails. It simplifies the process of designing and coding responsive email templates. Once you have a template designed using MJML, you can use any email-sending library to send emails using the generated HTML.

➡️ SMTPJS: SMTPJS is a client-side library that enables sending emails directly from the browser using SMTP protocols. It provides a simple API to send emails with attachments and HTML content. SMTP.js is lightweight and easy to integrate into web applications.

➡️ SendGrid: SendGrid is a popular cloud-based email service provider that offers an API for sending transactional emails. It provides libraries for various programming languages, including JavaScript. SendGrid offers features like email templates, analytics, and email deliverability management.