What is an email client and how I can use it for the email accounts I've created on my web site?

An email client software allows you to send and receive emails from your accounts. Some of the popular email clients are Outlook Express, Outlook, Thunderbird, Windows Live Mail etc. I am sure you would have heard of at least one of them. If not, no need to fret - this page has been written for people like you!

Email client software lets you connect to your email account and download emails. It also lets you compose (or create) emails which you can send later. An email client stores all your emails on your system and you can sort and manage the email messages in the way you want. Many email clients also allow you to spice up your messages using pictures and templates.

This article looks at Outlook Express which is a free email client that comes along with the Windows operating system or the free Internet Explorer browser from Microsoft. However, the suggestions and advice hold true for any email client.

Configuring Outlook Express email client for your email accounts

Outlook Express, like other email clients, requires you to configure each email account that you want to use. This is quite a simple process and you need the following:

1. The username and password of your email account
2. The incoming email server address
3. The outgoing email server address

You would definitely know the username and password of your email accounts. If you are not sure of the incoming and outgoing email server addresses, refer to the email send by your web hosting company. If you cannot find it there, refer the support or the FAQ pages on their web site. It you are completely lost, contact the web host technical staff to help you with this information.

For step-by-step instructions, please read configuring Outlook Express email client for your email accounts.

Why is an email client so important?

Accessing and managing your email accounts through a web based interface such as that provided by webmail is nice for the short-term (read, a few days). If you are serious about email, and you should be, you need a dedicated program through which you can manage your email messages. An email client is just that.

Any email client worth its salt will not only allow you to send, receive, delete emails but will also let you organize and search messages. Additionally, messages from multiple email accounts are stored at one place (your system) and can be accessed together even when you are offline because the messages now reside on your machine's hard drive. There are several other benefits of an email client... trust me!