Standard email module in 1C-Bitrix starts failing with a database of over 10,000 contacts. Clients complain about missed emails—the default subscribe becomes a bottleneck. Without queues and tracking, scaling email marketing is impossible. Our team with 10 years of experience builds custom subscription and email modules turnkey: with queues, tracking, and flexible segmentation. Estimated development time—from 2 weeks. Contact us to discuss your project.
Why the standard subscribe module doesn't work for large mailings?
The standard module stores subscribers in the b_subscribe_subscr_addr table and email templates in b_subscribe_posting. Sending logic uses CAgent agents that run synchronously during HTTP requests. With over 10,000 contacts, this leads to timeouts and missed emails. Additionally: no built-in open tracking, no retry queue for SMTP errors, no support for transactional emails with dynamic content via API. In one project, we replaced the standard module with a custom one and reduced email marketing costs by 35% by abandoning expensive third-party services. The custom module processes 3 times more emails per unit time and reduces spam complaints by 5 times, ensuring up to 95% deliverability.
How does a custom module improve deliverability?
The module registers in the standard way via /bitrix/modules/vendor.mailer/install/index.php with the class vendor_mailer. Namespace is \Vendor\Mailer.
Key components
- SubscriberTable — ORM table
b_vendor_mailer_subscriber(id, email, name, status, groups, created_at, unsubscribed_at) - CampaignTable —
b_vendor_mailer_campaign(id, name, subject, template_id, status, scheduled_at, sent_count, open_count) - QueueTable —
b_vendor_mailer_queue(id, campaign_id, subscriber_id, status, attempts, last_error, sent_at) - EventTable —
b_vendor_mailer_event(id, subscriber_id, type, payload, created_at) — open and click tracking
Tables are created via \Bitrix\Main\ORM\Data\DataManager with full D7-ORM support. For reliability, we use tagged cache for information blocks—this speeds up work with large data volumes.
Send queue implementation details
Synchronous sending via CAgent is a dead end. We use a queue:
// Enqueue when campaign starts
public function enqueue(int $campaignId): void
{
$subscribers = SubscriberTable::getList([
'filter' => ['=STATUS' => 'active', '=GROUPS' => $this->campaign->getGroups()],
'select' => ['ID', 'EMAIL', 'NAME'],
]);
while ($row = $subscribers->fetch()) {
QueueTable::add([
'CAMPAIGN_ID' => $campaignId,
'SUBSCRIBER_ID' => $row['ID'],
'STATUS' => 'pending',
'ATTEMPTS' => 0,
]);
}
}The queue handler runs as an agent every 2 minutes, fetches a batch of 100 records with status pending, sends via the selected transport, and updates the status to sent or failed.
Transports: SMTP and API providers
Transport abstraction is implemented via MailTransportInterface:
interface MailTransportInterface { public function send(Message $message): SendResult; } Concrete implementations: SmtpTransport (via PHPMailer or native mail()), SendGridTransport (REST API v3), MailgunTransport, AmazonSesTransport. The transport is selected in module settings (b_option, namespace vendor.mailer).
On send error, status changes to failed, attempts counter increments. When attempts >= 3, the record is marked as dead and not retried.
Open and click tracking
A transparent 1×1 pixel is inserted into the email:
<img src="https://site.ru/mailer/track/open/?uid=UNIQUE_TOKEN" width="1" height="1"> On GET request, the controller logs the event in b_vendor_mailer_event and returns a 1×1 GIF. Clicks are tracked via redirect: all links in the email are replaced with https://site.ru/mailer/track/click/?uid=TOKEN&url=ENCODED_URL.
Event handler:
EventTable::add([
'SUBSCRIBER_ID' => $subscriberId,
'CAMPAIGN_ID' => $campaignId,
'TYPE' => 'open', // or 'click'
'PAYLOAD' => json_encode(['url' => $url, 'ip' => $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']]),
'CREATED_AT' => new \Bitrix\Main\Type\DateTime(),
]);Subscriber segmentation
Groups are stored in b_vendor_mailer_group, links to subscribers via b_vendor_mailer_subscriber_group. Segmentation supports conditions based on Bitrix user profile fields (b_user) via JOIN.
Dynamic segments are built using a filter builder in the admin interface—the same approach as in Bitrix CRM: a set of conditions with AND/OR operators that are translated into an ORM filter when enqueuing.
Transactional emails
For system emails (email confirmation, password reset, order notifications), the module provides an event API:
// Send transactional email
\Vendor\Mailer\Transactional::send('order_confirmed', [
'USER_ID' => $userId,
'ORDER_ID' => $orderId,
'ORDER_SUM' => $orderSum,
'ITEMS' => $orderItems,
]);Transactional email templates are stored in b_vendor_mailer_template and editable via the admin section with support for variables like {{ORDER_ID}}.
Admin interface
The module adds sections in /bitrix/admin/:
-
vendor_mailer_subscribers.php— subscriber list and management -
vendor_mailer_campaigns.php— campaigns, status, statistics -
vendor_mailer_templates.php— template editor -
vendor_mailer_settings.php— transport settings, DKIM, limits
The interface uses standard CAdminList, CAdminForm classes—full compatibility with the Bitrix theme.
Unsubscribe and GDPR
An unsubscribe link in every email leads to https://site.ru/mailer/unsubscribe/?token=TOKEN. On click, subscriber status changes to unsubscribed, and unsubscribed_at is filled. Re-enqueuing such records is blocked at the filter level.
For GDPR compliance: export subscriber data on request (GET /mailer/export-personal/?token=TOKEN), full deletion via SubscriberTable::delete() with cascading deletion from all related tables.
What is included?
- Documentation: architecture description, DB schema, installation manual.
- Module source code with license.
- Training: 2-hour webinar for administrators.
- Support: 30 days after launch (bug fixes, consultations).
- Compatibility guarantee with Bitrix 20.0+ and PHP 8.1+.
Comparison of standard and custom modules
| Criteria | Standard subscribe | Custom module |
|---|---|---|
| Send queue | Synchronous via CAgent | Async, up to 100 emails per tick |
| Segmentation | Only by groups | Dynamic AND/OR filters, JOIN with b_user |
| Open/click tracking | Absent | Transparent pixel + redirect |
| Transactional emails | No | Event API, templates with variables |
| SMTP integration | Only built-in | Transport abstraction, any provider |
| GDPR / unsubscribe | Basic unsubscribe | Unsubscribe link, export, data deletion |
Typical mistakes when developing an email module
- Ignoring queues—sending in a loop freezes the site. Always use an async queue.
- Lack of retries—if an email fails, must retry up to 3 times, otherwise you lose subscribers.
- No tracking—cannot evaluate campaign effectiveness. Build in statistics collection from the start.
- Rigid binding to one SMTP—if the provider goes down, mailing stops. Use failover transports.
Timeline and cost
| Stage | Time |
|---|---|
| Module structure, ORM tables, installer | 2 days |
| Queue and send agents | 2 days |
| SMTP transport + 1 API provider | 1 day |
| Open and click tracking | 1 day |
| Segmentation, groups | 1 day |
| Transactional emails | 1 day |
| Admin interface | 2 days |
| Unsubscribe, GDPR, testing | 1 day |
Total: from 11 working days for a basic version. Connecting additional API providers (Mailchimp, UniSender) — +1 day each.
Development cost is calculated individually after analyzing your requirements. Order module development today. Get a consultation—we will help you choose the optimal solution.
For an in-depth understanding of Bitrix ORM, we recommend studying the official documentation. Also useful to read about SMTP protocol and REST API.