Setting Up Professional Email Hosting

One of the most valuable features of a web hosting account is the ability to create email addresses on your own domain name. Instead of using a generic address like [email protected], you can have [email protected], [email protected] or [email protected]. Professional email addresses build trust with customers, reinforce your brand identity and give your business a polished, established appearance.

This guide walks you through the process of setting up email on your hosting account, configuring your email client and making the most of the email features available through cPanel.

Creating Email Accounts in cPanel

The first step is to create your email accounts through cPanel. Here is how:

Log in to cPanel using the credentials provided when your hosting account was set up.
Look for the "Email Accounts" tool in the Mail section of the cPanel dashboard.
Click "Email Accounts" to open the account creation form.
Enter the email address you want to create. You will type the part before the @ symbol (for example, "info" to create [email protected]). If your account has multiple domains, select the correct domain from the dropdown.
Set a strong password for the email account. cPanel includes a password strength indicator to help you choose a secure password.
Set a mailbox quota. This is the amount of disk space allocated to this email address. A typical starting point is 250 MB to 500 MB per account, though you can allocate more if needed.
Click "Create Account" and your new email address is ready to use.

Repeat this process for each email address you need. Common addresses for a business include info@, sales@, support@ and personal addresses for team members like [email protected].

Understanding POP3 and IMAP

When you configure an email client to receive email from your hosting account, you need to choose between two protocols: POP3 and IMAP. Understanding the difference will help you choose the right option for your needs.

POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3)

POP3 downloads email from the server to your local computer. By default, once the email is downloaded, it is removed from the server (though most email clients can be configured to leave a copy on the server for a set period).

POP3 is a good choice if:

You primarily check email from a single computer
You want to keep your email stored locally on your hard drive
You have limited server disk space and want to free up space by downloading email
You want to be able to read your email even when you are offline

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)

IMAP keeps your email stored on the server and synchronises it across all your devices. When you read, delete or move an email on one device, the change is reflected everywhere.

IMAP is a good choice if:

You check email from multiple devices (computer, phone, tablet)
You want your email to be in sync across all devices
You have enough server disk space to store your email on the server
You want to access your full email history from any device

For most business users today, IMAP is the preferred choice because it allows you to access your email seamlessly from your office computer, your phone and the webmail interface. However, if server disk space is a concern or you primarily use a single computer, POP3 remains a perfectly good option.

Email Server Settings

To configure an email client, you will need the following server settings. These are the standard settings for hosting accounts using cPanel:

Incoming Mail (POP3)

Server: mail.yourdomain.com (replace with your actual domain)
Port: 995 (with SSL) or 110 (without SSL)
Username: Your full email address (for example, [email protected])
Password: The password you set when creating the account in cPanel
Encryption: SSL/TLS (recommended)

Incoming Mail (IMAP)

Server: mail.yourdomain.com
Port: 993 (with SSL) or 143 (without SSL)
Username: Your full email address
Password: Your email account password
Encryption: SSL/TLS (recommended)

Outgoing Mail (SMTP)

Server: mail.yourdomain.com
Port: 465 (with SSL) or 587 (with TLS) or 25 (without encryption)
Username: Your full email address
Password: Your email account password
Authentication: Required (use same credentials as incoming)
Encryption: SSL/TLS (recommended)

Always use SSL or TLS encryption when possible. This encrypts the connection between your email client and the server, preventing anyone from intercepting your email credentials or message content as they travel over the network.

Configuring Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is one of the most popular email clients for business use. Here is how to add your hosting email account to Outlook:

Open Outlook and go to File, then Add Account (or Account Settings, depending on your version).
Choose "Manual setup or additional server types" and click Next.
Select "POP or IMAP" and click Next.
Enter your name as you want it to appear on outgoing emails.
Enter your full email address.
Select IMAP or POP3 as the account type.
Enter the incoming and outgoing server settings as listed above.
Enter your full email address as the username and your email password.
Click "More Settings" and go to the Outgoing Server tab. Check "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication" and select "Use same settings as my incoming mail server."
Go to the Advanced tab and enter the correct port numbers and encryption settings.
Click OK, then Next. Outlook will test the settings and, if everything is correct, your account will be added.

Configuring Mozilla Thunderbird

Thunderbird is a free, open-source email client available for Windows, Mac and Linux. It often detects email settings automatically, but here is the manual process:

Open Thunderbird and go to Account Settings.
Click "Account Actions" and select "Add Mail Account."
Enter your name, email address and password.
Click "Manual config" to enter the settings yourself.
For Incoming, select IMAP (or POP3), enter mail.yourdomain.com as the server, the appropriate port number and SSL/TLS for security.
For Outgoing (SMTP), enter mail.yourdomain.com, port 465 with SSL/TLS.
For both incoming and outgoing, set the authentication method to "Normal password" and enter your full email address as the username.
Click "Re-test" to verify the settings, then "Done" to complete the setup.

Configuring Apple Mail

On a Mac, you can add your hosting email to Apple Mail:

Open Mail and go to Mail, then Preferences, then Accounts.
Click the plus button to add a new account.
Select "Other Mail Account" and click Continue.
Enter your name, email address and password, then click Sign In.
If automatic configuration fails, you will be prompted to enter the settings manually. Enter the incoming and outgoing server details as listed above.
Select the appropriate account type (IMAP or POP) and save your settings.

Using Webmail

Webmail allows you to access your email through a web browser without installing any software. This is particularly useful when you are away from your main computer, using a shared computer or need to check email quickly from your phone.

To access webmail, go to yourdomain.com/webmail in your browser and log in with your email address and password. cPanel typically offers multiple webmail interfaces. Choose the one you find most comfortable to use.

Webmail provides full email functionality including reading and composing messages, managing folders, searching your inbox and configuring filters. While it may not have all the features of a desktop email client, it is a reliable way to access your email from anywhere with an internet connection.

Email Forwarders and Aliases

cPanel allows you to create email forwarders that redirect incoming messages from one address to another. This is useful in several scenarios:

Consolidating inboxes: Forward [email protected] and [email protected] to your main email address, so you only need to check one inbox.
Team distribution: Forward [email protected] to multiple team members' addresses simultaneously.
Transition periods: When changing email addresses, forward the old address to the new one to ensure you do not miss any messages.

To create a forwarder, go to the "Forwarders" section in cPanel's Mail area, enter the source address and the destination address, and click "Add Forwarder."

Managing Spam

Spam is an inevitable nuisance with any email address. cPanel includes SpamAssassin, a powerful spam filtering tool that analyses incoming messages and assigns a spam score based on various characteristics. Messages that exceed your chosen threshold are marked as spam.

To enable and configure SpamAssassin:

Go to "Spam Filters" in the Mail section of cPanel.
Enable SpamAssassin if it is not already active.
Adjust the spam threshold score if needed. The default score of 5 works well for most users. Lower numbers are more aggressive (catching more spam but risking more false positives).
Optionally, enable auto-delete to automatically remove messages that score above a high threshold (for example, 10 or higher).

Even with spam filtering, some unwanted messages will get through. Never click links or open attachments in suspicious emails, and report persistent spam senders to your hosting provider if the volume becomes excessive.

Best Practices for Business Email

Use professional addresses: info@, sales@, support@ and firstname@ all look professional. Avoid casual or obscure addresses for business use.
Set up a signature: Include your name, title, company name and contact details in your email signature.
Back up your email: If using POP3, your email is stored locally, so include your email data in your regular computer backups. If using IMAP, export your email periodically as an additional backup.
Monitor mailbox size: Large mailboxes consume server disk space. Archive or delete old messages regularly to stay within your quota.
Use encryption: Always configure your email client to use SSL/TLS encryption for both incoming and outgoing connections.

Email is included with every Web Hosting Ireland plan. Our Starter plan includes 5 POP3 email accounts, and our Business plan includes unlimited email. All accounts include webmail access. View our hosting plans.