When it comes to choosing a provider for email hosting, “webmail” is one of the most important components that you should take into consideration when evaluating your options and engaging in comparison shopping. “Webmail” is a term that refers both generically to any web application that enables you to access and manage your -mail account over the Internet using any web browser, as well as it refers to the proper name of an actual open source application that is used for accessing and managing your email account.
Many hosting companies offer with their email hosting, webmail, as a free add on. They provide you with a web-based interface through which you can log onto the email accounts that you create on this particular hosting providers’ platform. If you are evaluating various companies to see which one can provide you with the best deal with the best features for hosting your email solution, then you should not even consider a company that doesn’t offer or support its own webmail solution. Otherwise, you will be forced to rely on traditional e-mail client programs in order to download and manage your email.
And then it is also important to evaluate and make sure that this webmail solution that is being provided, is robust, secure, customizable, and extensible. You do not want to be locked into using a substandard webmail client that hinders your ability to productively manage your inbox.
In fact, webmail is nowadays regarded as a de facto standard with any email hosting solution. Think about it. Every day, millions of people access their email accounts at Yahoo.com, Gmail.com, and Hotmail.com, for example. Each of these three are examples of webmail applications. When you are checking your email or composing an email through one of these services, you are using a derivative or a variation of a webmail application.
The days of using desktop email clients are numbered, in much the same way that the DVD’s days are numbered, with the advent of streaming media available in real time via the Internet. Desktop email clients force you to be tied down to a single machine. If you are using a desktop machine, that means you can only access your email when you are in front of that computer. If you are using a laptop, then you have to have easy access to your laptop wherever you are, in order to be able to check your email. This is extremely limiting, particularly now that we are living in a world where we are constantly on the go and need instant access to be able to check our email from anywhere, without the need for loading a software client program on your computer or your smart phone.
Webmail is an example of “cloud computing”, since your email is being kept on a remote server rather than locally on your own machine.
As alluded to above, there is also an open source program known as “webmail” that can be installed and configured on your own web hosting provider or you may consult an seo consultant. But this requires additional technical knowledge and skill to implement and to maintain. That is why it is in your best interests to ensure that when choosing the best provider for email hosting, webmail is something that is available and included for free.
