Hi @wh418,
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review and we are sorry to hear that you found the setup process to not be user-friendly. We honestly strive to make the setup process as straightforward as possible by implementing a Setup Wizard that breaks each mailer setup process into steps.
Also, we try to make each instruction clear or provide links to our documentation where necessary.
Is there a specific aspect that you found particularly unfriendly? Please let us know so that we can continue to streamline our setup processes.
As for the upgrade notifications, we clearly specify what features are specific to the Pro version of WP Mail SMTP on our plugin page.
We have no intention of hiding what features are available in the lite vs the Pro version. Nor do we force users to use one or the other. The Lite version as it stands can improve email deliverability once a mailer has been set up successfully. The Pro version does this and allows for additional useful features for email delivery monitoring like email logging, email alerts etc.
Please note that if you are ever stuck during the setup process or run into any issues, you can use the WP Mail SMTP support forum where we provide limited complimentary support. That would be the ideal location to share details of any issues or clarifications you might need.
If you do decide to give WP Mail SMTP another chance, we do hope to hear from you in the forums.
Thank you.
