Search our site for answers
Help Docs Email What Is a Mailserver (SMTP, POP3, IMAP)?

What Is a Mailserver (SMTP, POP3, IMAP)?

Every day, you engage with email sent through mailservers, operating like a digital post office. Learn about SMTP, POP3, and IMAP in this article.
Email
2 min read

You probably send and receive email every single day. All of that email is handled by mailservers, which behave very similarly to a regular post office. This article will describe general mailserver operation and the three main protocols: SMTP, POP3, and IMAP.

Mailservers work just like the post office: they move messages from your server to the receiving server. Outgoing mailservers use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to send mail away from your server. Your email client on your phone or computer then uses Post Office Protocol (POP3) or Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) to retrieve email from your server.

SMTP stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It is used to transport your email from your server through the internet. Eventually, it reaches the server where your recipient stores their mail.

POP3 stands for Post Office Protocol, and the current version is version 3. POP3 downloads all your emails to the computer where your email client is running. It does not leave your emails on the server, so the only place you can access your emails once they are retrieved is from that specific computer. POP was developed before smartphones, so not many people were accessing their mail from more than one computer.

IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. It keeps all your email on your server even after you sync your email client with your server, so you can retrieve your email on multiple devices. Because most people access their email on more than one device, IMAP is generally going to be a more useful option to get your mail from your server to your devices.

You can either maintain your own mailserver or use a paid email service. The best option for you depends on your situation. Some paid services (like Google) have reputations for doing email exceptionally well. Using your own mailserver allows you to customize your settings however you want, but it will take a little longer to get everything exactly how you want it. You can click to  learn more about Liquid Web’s hosted email solution, Premium Business Email.

Was this article helpful?