> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.florists.digital/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Communications

> How Digital Florists sends emails and texts — the difference between Notifications and Automations, and where to look when one goes missing.

**Communications** is where you control every email and text message your shop sends — from the order confirmation that goes out the moment a customer clicks Pay, to the bespoke follow-up you set up yourself.

<Info>
  **This page covers features gated by Admin-tier permissions** — typically Settings access. Admins have these by default; your administrator can adjust who has them in [Settings > Team](/settings/team).
</Info>

There are two different tools under this heading. They look similar at first, but they solve different problems — and knowing which one fired (or didn't fire) is the fastest way to answer "why didn't the customer get their email?".

## Notifications vs Automations

Both can send an email or SMS to a customer. The difference is who decides when.

|                    | **Notifications**                                                                            | **Automations**                                               |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **What they are**  | Template-driven messages tied to built-in product events                                     | Custom rules you write yourself                               |
| **When they fire** | When a specific product event happens (order confirmed, out for delivery, proposal accepted) | When a trigger you pick matches the conditions you've set     |
| **What you edit**  | The template wording, channel (email/SMS), and per-order-type rules                          | The trigger, the conditions, the action, and the message      |
| **Typical use**    | "Tell the customer their order is on its way"                                                | "Send a thank-you email three days after a wedding completes" |
| **Where it lives** | [Settings > Notifications](/settings/notifications)                                          | [Settings > Automations](/settings/automations)               |

A useful way to think about it. Notifications are the messages Digital Florists already knows how to send for you — you just turn them on and check the default wording. Automations are the messages only you know you want, so you build the rule from scratch.

The two can overlap. If the built-in **Order Confirmed** notification doesn't quite fit your workflow, you can leave it off and build an automation that fires on the same event with your own wording and conditions. Most shops use both — notifications for the standard customer journey, automations for the bits unique to their business.

## Why didn't the customer get their email?

Before checking either logs page, work out which system was meant to send the message.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Was it a built-in event?">
    If the message was a standard one — order confirmed, out for delivery, ready for collection, invoice sent — it's a notification. Check [Notifications Logs](/settings/notifications-logs).

    If the message was something you set up yourself — a custom reminder, a follow-up, anything not in the [event reference](/settings/notifications-events) — it's an automation. Check [Automations Logs](/settings/automations-logs).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the matching logs page">
    Each logs page shows whether the message was **Sent**, **Failed**, or **Blocked**, with a plain-English reason. That answers the question 90% of the time.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Still not sure?">
    Open the order itself and look at its notification section. It lists every message sent for that order, with its status and timestamp — across both notifications and automations.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  **Notification didn't send?** Common causes include the customer being opted out, the order having notifications silenced, the notification being switched off, or the email address being invalid. The [Notifications Logs](/settings/notifications-logs) page has a full troubleshooting table.
</Info>

## What's next?

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Notifications" icon="bell" href="/settings/notifications">
    Turn on the built-in emails and texts, edit their wording, and control who receives them.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Automations" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/settings/automations">
    Build your own rules — send messages and create tasks when the conditions you choose are met.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Notifications Logs" icon="list-check" href="/settings/notifications-logs">
    Check whether a built-in notification was sent, failed, or blocked.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Automations Logs" icon="list-check" href="/settings/automations-logs">
    See what your custom automations have done and troubleshoot failures.
  </Card>
</Columns>