Getting Started Guide: Email
Details on actually setting up your email are further down in this artic;e, but before you can check your email you need to make a few important decisions such as choosing which email client to use and deciding which protocol to choose (POP3 or IMAP).
Email Clients Explained
An email client is a program used to manage your email. Email clients allow you to send and receive mail among other things. There are many different email clients you can choose from some of which are free to use. You are free to use whichever email clients you wish however we will highlight a few here. There are two types of email clients available: webmail which is web-based and desktop clients.
Included in your hosting plan are three different webmail clients that are offered free of charge. Since the webmail clients available are web based one of the advantages is that you can check your email from any computer with an internet connection. SquirrelMail is the most basic of the clients and is recommended for new users, while Horde and RoundCube have more advanced features. For more information on how to use webmail click here.
Desktop clients are applications or programs used to access your email account from your desktop. There are many popular clients such as Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Mac Mail. The remainder of this article below, will discuss setting these email client up.
The Differences between POP3 and IMAP
POP3 Protocol Explained
If you set up your email client address using POP3 and you check your email, all of the emails are downloaded into the email client and removed from the server completely. Think of POP3 like the post office. If you go to the post office because they have your mail and pick it up, it's no longer there once you retrieve it. In this analogy, the post office is the email server, and you are the email client. One major advantage to POP3 over IMAP is if you have emails with large attachments, they will open up much faster if they are on your desktop. Also, email that you have already received you can read anytime, even without an internet connection. There are a few disadvantages to POP3 as well. If your email client crashes, you will lose all your emails and there are no copies on the server. Also, if you plan on checking your email from multiple devices such as a smart phone, laptop, desktop computer, or webmail itself - once the email is read it will not be able to be viewed on any other devices. Most POP3 accounts can be set up in an email client to leave a copy of the message on the server.
IMAP Protocol Explained
If you set up your email using the IMAP protocol and you check your email, the emails will remain on the server.
Using the same analogy as the POP3, if you were to visit the post office and check your post office box. If you have mail, you read it but place it back in the post office box so you can read it later. The mail actually never leaves the post office or server in this case.
The biggest advantage to IMAP is it allows you to check your email from multiple clients and/or webmail since all of the messages remain on the server. This advantage also allows multiple people check the same email account and view all the emails associated with that particular account.
There are a few disadvantages to IMAP though. Since the email does remain on the server, you may need to periodically delete or archive your emails so the account does not reach it's quota or become unmanageable. Also, if you have a large number of emails, it may take longer to check your email since each time you check your email it will download a copy every time you connect.
And Now To The Details Of Setting Up Emails
What Email Settings Do I Need?
Right up front, here are a few of the more common settings needed to set up your email on your computer. If something doesn't work, let me know and we can get it sorted out.
I will use an example below of an email set up for my website www.mobiusmbl.com.au, you of course, will change the details to your own :-) :-)
password is testingpassword
POP Server: mail.mobiusmbl.com.au
Incoming Mail Server: mail.mobiusmbl.com.au
Outgoing Mail Server: ** this generally depends on the provider you use. Often you can use your webserver (eg mail.mobiusmbl.com.au), but other times, it will need to be the internet providers outgoing mail server. Check with your ISP (Internet Service Provider). Here are a few common examples:
The remainder of this tutorial below, is written and hosted by InMotion Hosting
In this tutorial:
Your Email Accounts have Already Been Created
Youe email accounts will have already been created on your web server (by MobiusMBL). The next sections will guide you on how to access your email.
How to access your Email Account
Before you begin to setup your email client, you must first decide how you would like to access your email. You can use many different programs to check your email. You can use a Desktop Program like Outlook, Mac mail, or Thunderbird. You can use the browser based programs Squirrel Mail, Horde, or Round Cube to check from any location using your web browser. Also, you can use a third party like Google Apps or your iPhone, Android, or other mobile device.
Configuring a desktop email client
Common email clients that most users are familiar with include Microsoft Outlook and Mac Mail. You can use any program you want as long as is it can connect to our servers. There are tutorials for setting up various email clients, sush as Outlook 2010, Outlook 2007 on this site.
Basic Email Settings
You will need the settings to configure your email client. While each client is different in its layout, there is still a basic set of information that the email client will need. Below is an example of common email settings.
Common email settings
The following settings are the non Secure settings. Use this only if you cannot use the SSL settings. Otherwise, you will want to use the SSL setup. Note that you will need to change "your-domain.com" to your domain name.
- Incoming Server: mail.your-domain.com
- Outgoing Server: mail.your-domain.com
- Username: Your full e-mail address
- Password: Your e-mail account password
- Incoming Port: POP3 110 or IMAP 143
- Outgoing Mail server (SMTP) Port: 587
- SSL: NO
- SMTP Authentication Required
- Secure Authentication or SPA needs to be turned off
Accessing your email through Webmail
Webmail allows you to check your email from within your browser, such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla FireFox, or Safari. To learn how to log into your webmail, please see our tutorial on how to log into webmail. A big advantage to using Webmail is that you do not need to configure any settings. You can simply log into webmail and begin using it. Another advantage is that your information is stored on the server so it can be accessed from any computer you're logging in from.