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General Email Guide

This guide explains the main choices you make when setting up email on your hosting account.

Create the Email Account First

Before you set up email on a phone, computer, or tablet, create the mailbox in cPanel.

  1. Log in to cPanel.
  2. Open Email Accounts.
  3. Create the email address.
  4. Set a strong password.
  5. Use Connect Devices if you need the exact settings.

Choose How You Want to Read Email

You can read email using:

  • Webmail in your browser
  • An email app on your phone or tablet
  • An email program on your computer

If you use more than one device, IMAP is usually the best choice.

POP3

POP3 downloads mail from the server to your device.

In its simplest setup, messages are removed from the server after they are downloaded. This can be useful if you only read mail on one computer and want to keep server storage low.

POP3 is less convenient if you use several devices, because folders, read status, and deleted messages may not match everywhere.

IMAP

IMAP keeps mail on the server and synchronises it with your devices.

If you read a message on one device, it will normally show as read on your other devices too.

IMAP is usually best if you use email on a phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, and webmail.

The main thing to watch with IMAP is storage. Sent mail, attachments, folders, and deleted items can all use mailbox space.

SMTP

SMTP is used for sending mail.

Your email program must authenticate before sending. This usually appears as an option such as SMTP authentication, Outgoing server requires authentication, or Use same settings as incoming mail server.

Use your full email address and mailbox password for SMTP authentication.

Recommended Secure Ports

Use SSL/TLS settings whenever possible.

  • IMAP: 993 with SSL/TLS
  • POP3: 995 with SSL/TLS
  • SMTP: 465 with SSL/TLS
  • Alternative SMTP: 587 with STARTTLS

The mail server hostname is usually:

mx.yourdomain

Replace yourdomain with your own domain name.

What We Recommend

For most customers, we recommend:

  • IMAP for incoming mail
  • SMTP port 465 with SSL/TLS for outgoing mail
  • SMTP port 587 with STARTTLS only if your email app specifically asks for STARTTLS
  • Full email address as the username
  • A strong, unique mailbox password

If You Need Help

If you are unsure which settings to use, open Email Accounts in cPanel and click Connect Devices next to the mailbox.

If you still need help, open a support ticket and tell us which device or email program you are using.