Email is still one of the most convenient ways to communicate professionally. Users send over 2.4 billion emails every second, and over half of those are business communications.
That fact means your decision on email hosting is vital to your business. You must ensure your service will be secure, efficient, and reliable.
If you find the different options and jargon confusing, use this guide to understand the essential points of email hosting.
Key Takeaways:
- Email hosting handles the sending, storing, and securing of your business’s electronic mail.
- Free email addresses and those from web hosting services are rarely suitable for organizations.
- Professional email hosting supports your branding, improves productivity, and gives you control over your communications.
- Email hosting is inexpensive and easy to transfer when using a top provider, such as Intermedia.
A Brief Explanation of Email Hosting
Email hosting is a service that lets people in your organization have custom accounts using your company’s domain name. For example, someone who works for Intermedia will have an address in the format of [firstname]@intermedia.com.
Email hosting handles sending messages and storing them on a remote server. The provider can securely store other files and data as well.
How Email Hosting Works
A communications provider manages data centers with servers that have emailing capabilities. The provider helps you set up your unique domain and accounts. A user-friendly dashboard lets you oversee and control your system.
You have the choice between shared and dedicated email hosting. Dedicated hosting is when your organization is the only one using the server. While this can provide the highest level of security and control, the installation and maintenance cost is very high.
Shared hosting is when multiple groups use the same servers. Still, shared hosting can be as secure and reliable as dedicated hosting if you work with a reliable vendor, just as with other cloud services.
The Difference Between Web and Email Hosting
Both web and email hosting require you to have a registered domain name. Many businesses opt to have both services, but you can also choose to have one without the other.
In other words, just because you have web hosting doesn’t mean you have email hosting and vice versa. Many web hosting services provide email hosting, but these companies don’t always have the professional features that a commercial operation requires.
The Types of Email Hosting Servers
Servers for email hosting fall into four categories:
- ISP: Internet service providers often offer customers personal email addresses on the ISP’s servers. However, this type of email has many limitations and cannot handle heavy loads, such as emails used for marketing campaigns.
- POP3: Post office protocol downloads emails from the server to your device, letting you read your emails offline. The server doesn’t necessarily store your emails, which can create issues when you check email on different devices.
- IMAP: Internet message access protocol syncs the emails on all your devices with the server. This setup offers excellent convenience and efficiency.
- MAPI: Messaging application programming interface has a direct live connection to a mail server like IMAP does. This protocol also connects seamlessly to scheduling and productivity features.
IMAP or MAPI are generally the best choices for businesses. Fortunately, you can use an app and dashboard to monitor and sync your other email addresses, even those on ISP and POP servers.
Why Businesses Needs a Premium Email Hosting Service
You may wonder why you and your team can’t simply use free email services through providers such as Google or Microsoft. Consider why premium email hosting is always the right choice for your organization.
Branding
A personalized domain builds your brand’s visibility and is easy for others to remember. Additionally, business email hosting offers advanced security and recovery solutions in case of an outage or technical problem.
Productivity
Free email services often fill your team’s inboxes with distracting banners and advertisements. However, a premium service can minimize that diversion. You can also integrate your email with other communication channels to streamline workflows.
Professional email hosting also has the storage capacity and productivity tools to create high-powered marketing campaigns. Since email marketing has a high return on investment, budgeting for a top-tier service is a no-brainer.
Control
Finally, business owners are responsible for communications that occur over their channels. With email hosting, you can monitor activities and easily access messages for legal, human resources, and training purposes.
How To Transfer Email Hosting Services
You may already have email hosting but see the need to switch to a better provider. Transferring your email accounts can be as simple as transferring your phone number to a new service.
Top providers offer free expert migration to ensure you experience no data loss. Even better, the vendor can do it on your schedule to eliminate any downtime.
How To Choose the Best Email Hosting Provider
Now that you better understand email hosting, you must locate a provider who can offer everything you need. Look for these features:
- Ample storage: You should be able to have enough email accounts that can handle a high volume of data.
- Security: Look for access to security features that deter unauthorized use and protect your data.
- Customer support: If any issues arise, you should be able to turn to your provider for quick assistance to get things back on track.
- Reliability: Your provider must guarantee a high uptime that allows you to stay productive.
Fortunately, Intermedia provides all these benefits and more with its Microsoft 365 and Exchange Email options.
How To Work With Intermedia To Set Up Email Hosting
Installing or migrating your email hosting to a more professional setup is easy with Intermedia’s help. Request a call from our team to discuss which options can enhance your productivity.
Craig Woods
Craig Woods is the Director of Product Marketing at Intermedia.
August 21, 2023
Explore other posts on these topics:
