Professional email settings: IMAP, POP3 and SMTP explained

The three protocols in plain language

Email uses separate systems for receiving and sending, and knowing which is which makes every setup screen far less confusing.

• IMAP receives mail and keeps it on the server. Every device sees the same inbox, the same folders and the same read or unread status. This is what you want in almost every case.
• POP3 receives mail by downloading it to one device, and often deletes it from the server afterwards. It suits a single computer and nothing else. It is the reason people find mail missing on their phone.
• SMTP sends mail. It has nothing to do with receiving. If you can receive but not send, the problem is always on the SMTP side.

Your settings

Replace yourdomain.co.za with your actual domain throughout.

If you specifically need POP3 rather than IMAP, the incoming port is 995 with SSL.

Which one should you choose

• Using your email on a phone and a laptop, or with more than one person: choose IMAP.
• Using one computer only, and you want mail stored locally: POP3 is acceptable, but back it up.
• Adding your address to Gmail's fetcher: Gmail only offers POP3 for this, so expect one way behaviour.
• Setting up a printer, booking system or website contact form to send mail: use SMTP with port 587.

Mailbox size and housekeeping

Because IMAP keeps everything on the server, your mailbox has a size limit set by your hosting plan. A full mailbox silently stops receiving new mail, which is one of the most common support issues we see.

• Empty Trash and Junk every month or two.
• Delete large attachments you have already saved elsewhere.
• Ask us to increase your quota if you genuinely need more space, rather than deleting things you may need.
• If mail suddenly stops arriving and nothing else changed, check the mailbox size first.

Using SMTP for websites, forms and printers

SMTP is not only for people. Contact forms, invoicing software, booking systems and office printers all need it to send mail.

Create a separate mailbox for automated sending rather than using your personal address. If something goes wrong or the credentials leak, you change one password and nothing else breaks.

The words you will see, explained

• SSL and TLS are encryption. TLS is the newer name for the same idea. Always use one of them.
• STARTTLS begins an unencrypted connection then upgrades it to encrypted. It is normal and safe on port 587.
• MX record is the DNS entry that tells the internet which server handles mail for your domain. Wrong MX records mean no mail arrives.
• SPF, DKIM and DMARC are DNS records that prove your mail is genuinely from you. Without them, your mail is far more likely to land in spam.
• Quota is the size limit on your mailbox. Hit it and new mail stops arriving.
• Alias is an address that forwards into an existing mailbox, without needing its own inbox or password.

A sensible mailbox setup for a small business

If you are starting from scratch, this structure works for most South African businesses and costs nothing extra to arrange.

• info@ or hello@ as your public address, shown on the website and business cards.
• accounts@ for invoicing and statements, so financial mail is separate.
• yourname@ for personal business correspondence.
• noreply@ for automated mail from your website and systems.
• Aliases rather than full mailboxes for anything low volume, since aliases do not use storage.

Tell us the addresses you want and we will create them on your hosting at no extra charge while you are on a care plan.

How Digitalx can help

Digitalx is a South African creative studio helping businesses launch, market and grow. WhatsApp us for a free consultation, or start a project.