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Add Smart Notifications to WordPress with MsgGO (No Plugin Required)

Piotr Zeludziewiczon April 23, 2025

Introduction

If you're working with WordPress and ever thought “I wish I could get a quick Slack ping or SMS when something important happens on my site” — you're not alone. Whether it's a new user registration, a failed login attempt, or a WooCommerce order, sometimes email just isn’t fast or flexible enough.

In this post, I’ll show you how to use MsgGO, to send real-time alerts from WordPress using nothing more than a bit of PHP and a simple HTTP request. No extra plugins, no bloat — just native WordPress hooks and a flexible external service.

Let’s explore some real-world examples.

What You’ll Need

  • A MsgGO account (Free plan is enough to start)
  • An API Key
  • A configured Event in MsgGO (e.g. new-post, new-user, etc.)
  • Access to your WordPress theme or functions.php

Examples

Notify When a New Post is Published

Why?

  • Let your marketing team know when content goes live
  • Auto-notify a Slack channel for immediate promotion
  • Keep clients in the loop if you manage their site 
add_action('publish_post', 'msggo_notify_new_post');

function msggo_notify_new_post($post_ID) {
    $post = get_post($post_ID);
    $payload = [
        'event_name' => 'new-wordpress-post',
        'title' => $post->post_title,
        'author' => get_the_author_meta('display_name', $post->post_author),
        'url' => get_permalink($post_ID)
    ];

    wp_remote_post('https://msggo.io/inbox', [
        'headers' => [
            'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
            'X-MsgGO-Key' => 'YOUR_MSGGO_API_KEY',
        ],
        'body' => json_encode($payload),
        'method' => 'POST',
        'data_format' => 'body'
    ]);
}

Why?

  • Get instant alerts when someone registers
  • Great for membership sites, gated content, or online courses 
add_action('user_register', 'msggo_notify_new_user');

function msggo_notify_new_user($user_id) {
    $user = get_userdata($user_id);
    $payload = [
        'event_name' => 'new-user-registration',
        'username' => $user->user_login,
        'email' => $user->user_email
    ];

    wp_remote_post('https://msggo.io/inbox', [
        'headers' => [
            'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
            'X-MsgGO-Key' => 'YOUR_MSGGO_API_KEY',
        ],
        'body' => json_encode($payload),
        'method' => 'POST',
        'data_format' => 'body'
    ]);
}

Why?

  • Identify possible brute-force attacks or credential stuffing attempts
  • Alert security teams or trigger temporary lockdowns
  • Track repeated login issues from known IPs or bots

This example uses wp_login_failed and a transient to track how many times a login has failed from the same IP in a short window (5 minutes). You can trigger a MsgGO alert when the threshold is exceeded.

add_action('wp_login_failed', 'msggo_track_failed_logins');

function msggo_track_failed_logins($username) {
    $ip = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] ?? 'unknown';
    $key = 'msggo_failed_' . md5($ip);
    $fail_count = get_transient($key);
    $fail_count = $fail_count ? $fail_count + 1 : 1;
    set_transient($key, $fail_count, 5 * MINUTE_IN_SECONDS);

    if ($fail_count >= 5) {
        $payload = [
            'event_name' => 'security-alert-multiple-failed-logins',
            'ip' => $ip,
            'attempts' => $fail_count,
            'last_username' => $username
        ];

        wp_remote_post('https://msggo.io/inbox', [
            'headers' => [
	              'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
				        'X-MsgGO-Key' => 'YOUR_MSGGO_API_KEY',
            ],
            'body' => json_encode($payload),
            'method' => 'POST',
            'data_format' => 'body'
        ]);

        // Reset after alert
        delete_transient($key);
    }
}

Why?

  • Alert post authors or moderators about new comments
  • Stay engaged with your readers 
add_action('comment_post', 'msggo_notify_new_comment');

function msggo_notify_new_comment($comment_ID) {
    $comment = get_comment($comment_ID);
    $payload = [
        'event_name' => 'new-comment',
        'author' => $comment->comment_author,
        'content' => $comment->comment_content,
        'post_url' => get_permalink($comment->comment_post_ID)
    ];

    wp_remote_post('https://msggo.io/inbox', [
        'headers' => [
            'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
            'X-MsgGO-Key' => 'YOUR_MSGGO_API_KEY',
        ],
        'body' => json_encode($payload),
        'method' => 'POST',
        'data_format' => 'body'
    ]);
}

Why?

  • Deliver messages instantly to Slack, email, or SMS
  • Avoid missing inquiries by checking one place 
add_action('wpcf7_mail_sent', 'msggo_notify_cf7_submission');

function msggo_notify_cf7_submission($contact_form) {
    $submission = WPCF7_Submission::get_instance();
    if (!$submission) return;

    $data = $submission->get_posted_data();
    $payload = [
        'event_name' => 'contact-form-submission',
        'name' => $data['your-name'] ?? 'N/A',
        'email' => $data['your-email'] ?? 'N/A',
        'message' => $data['your-message'] ?? ''
    ];

    wp_remote_post('https://msggo.io/inbox', [
        'headers' => [
            'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
            'X-MsgGO-Key' => 'YOUR_MSGGO_API_KEY',
        ],
        'body' => json_encode($payload),
        'method' => 'POST',
        'data_format' => 'body'
    ]);
}

Why?

  • Track changes to sensitive options like admin_email, siteurl, or plugin settings
  • Detect misconfigurations or unauthorized admin behavior 
add_action('update_option', 'msggo_notify_option_change', 10, 3);

function msggo_notify_option_change($option, $old_value, $new_value) {
    $important_options = ['admin_email', 'siteurl', 'home'];
    if (!in_array($option, $important_options)) return;

    $payload = [
        'event_name' => 'option-changed',
        'option' => $option,
        'old' => $old_value,
        'new' => $new_value
    ];

    wp_remote_post('https://msggo.io/inbox', [
        'headers' => [
            'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
            'X-MsgGO-Key' => 'YOUR_MSGGO_API_KEY',
        ],
        'body' => json_encode($payload),
        'method' => 'POST',
        'data_format' => 'body'
    ]);
}

Why?

  • Instantly alert your team of new orders or refunds
  • Notify customers via preferred channels 
add_action('woocommerce_order_status_changed', 'msggo_notify_order_status', 10, 4);

function msggo_notify_order_status($order_id, $from_status, $to_status, $order) {
    $payload = [
        'event_name' => 'order-status-update',
        'order_id' => $order_id,
        'status_from' => $from_status,
        'status_to' => $to_status,
        'total' => $order->get_total()
    ];

    wp_remote_post('https://msggo.io/inbox', [
        'headers' => [
            'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
            'X-MsgGO-Key' => 'YOUR_MSGGO_API_KEY',
        ],
        'body' => json_encode($payload),
        'method' => 'POST',
        'data_format' => 'body'
    ]);
}
  • ❌ No plugin bloat
  • ✉️ Instant multichannel alerts — deliver messages via Slack, Email, SMS, or even URL webhooks, all tailored to the recipient's preferred channel
  • ⚡ Works with any theme or setup
  • 🔒 Secure: API key stays server-side

Try It Now

  1. Sign up at msggo.io
  2. Create events in MsgGO for the hooks you want
  3. Paste the matching code snippets in your theme's functions.php
  4. Trigger an event and watch the notifications flow!

Need help? Check the docs or contact support. Happy coding!