Hosting services should include proper Email Accounts and Email Services.

Email Accounts

Hosting solutions should include email accounts for each person in your company. Email addresses should appear like this:

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Most common is to use first name or first initial and last name.

POP Email

POP stands for Post Office Protocol. POP is a standard client/server protocol for sending and receiving email.

The emails are received and held on your internet server until you pick it up with a client email program, like Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, etc. POP email programs are built into Netscape and Internet Explorer browsers (i.e. Microsoft Outlook Express).

IMAP Email

IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. IMAP is another standard protocol for sending and receiving email.

The emails are received and held on your internet server until you pick it up with a client email program, like Outlook, Outlook Express, Netscape Messenger, etc.

IMAP represents an improvement over POP because email stored on an IMAP server can be manipulated from several computers (a computer at home, a workstation at the office, etc.) without having to transfer messages back and forth between computers. POP was designed to support email access on a single computer.

Web-based Email

Web-based email services enable you to access email via a web browser. You log into your email account via the Web to send and retrieve email. Being able to access your email from any browser anywhere in the world is a very attractive option.

Examples of web-based email services are Yahoo! Mail and Hotmail.

Email Forwarding

Email forwarding allows you to have multiple email personalities.

With email forwarding, you can setup aliases for other email accounts like

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This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it should be forwarded to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Mailing Lists

Some service providers offer mailing list capabilities. This is a valuable plus if you plan sending out email to a large number of users.