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If you have previously set up an email hosting services UK account, you may have been requested which email protocol you would like to use: POP or IMAP. For novice users, this question might be a good idea. However, the choices you make will have a profound effect on your experience of sending, receiving, and other information through email messages. While POP, or the Post Office Protocol, which practiced the most common type of email protocol, IMAP – or Internet Message Protocol – is the selected option for most users these days. Here at the email shop Read more about what IMAP is, how it runs, how it relates to POP, and its key advantages below.
IMAP: The Basics – Email Hosting Services UK
As its name suggests, IMAP enables you to access your email messages from everywhere; Most of the time, it is accessible online. Email information is saved on servers. Every time you go through your inbox, the email client gets connected with the server so that you can easily reach your messages. If you view an email message employing IMAP, you do not download or store it to your PC; rather, you read it off-server. Because of this, you may be able to check your email from different devices without missing an item.
Mail Servers, Email Clients and IMAP
An easy way to understand how IMAP works by imagining it as a proxy between your email client and your email server. Email servers are practiced each time you transmit and receive email messages. With IMAP, however, they stay on the server unless you remove them completely. Headers for all your email messages are displayed. If you like to read a message, it is downloaded directly so you can see – emails are not downloaded except you want to open it.
Difference between POP3 and IMAP
There are two chances for recovering emails:
IMAP: Emails are synced among your machine and the STRATO email server. Additionally, you can create folders on your server to filter your messages. If you are using IMAP, and you can access this folder via smartphone (iPhone/Android/etc.). Additionally, you can reach the same database globally through the STRATO Communicator, as well as from your smartphone or home machine.
POP3: Emails are “saved” on your computer and are deleted by the server in default mode. As a result, you don’t have a way to reach these messages – either using a smartphone or with a STRATO Communicator. There are also opportunities to create folders on the server and use them in conjunction with specific devices (or in STRATO Communicator) only.
POP3 and IMAP are the orders to receive emails saved on a mail server. You can configure your email software to reach emails from your email account employing IMAP or POP3. We recommend you IMAP. Here, you will see why.
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol)
- Emails reside on an email server, allowing you to set up an account on multiple computers and devices to access your email, and access it via Webmail.
- Folders can be created on the server to better handle messages. Folders then sync to all devices used to monitor your email.
- Sent messages are also stored in a sent folder, allowing you to view emails sent from any computer or device.
- Initially, only the subject (sender, date, title) of the email is uploaded. You can then decide if you want to download the full email message.
- Messages are removed immediately from the server without being downloaded first.
- You will not lose your emails if your mobile device or PC dysfunctions or stolen.
POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3)
- All your emails are downloaded on a computer or device that monitors email. Later the emails are downloaded, they are excluded from the mail server.
- When emails have already been downloaded to your computer or device, you can also access your emails even if the device has no internet connection.
- Information like emails and advertisements are not synchronized among different devices. This means that when you set up your email on your mobile device with POP3, emails will be sent directly to your mobile device. POP3 removes emails from the mailbox. It will not be feasible for you to see your emails in Webmail because they have previously been downloaded to your portable device.
Advantages when using IMAP – Email Hosting Services UK
When you remove emails, they are originally displayed only as “removed” (hit). To have your emails permanently deleted from the server, for example, select the following: “Permanently delete edited/deleted messages”.
The advantages of an IMAP account:
There are several advantages to using IMAP:
- Allows you to reach your email messages from wherever, with as many complex devices as you need. You can access your emails from multiple computers
- It only downloads a message when you click at it. Because of this, you don’t have to wait for all your new messages to download from the server before reading them.
- Documents are not automatically downloaded through IMAP. As a result, you can view your messages more quickly and have more control when the attachment opens.
- You can share a user mailbox with several users
- IMAP enables you to easily create subfolders/folders on the server. When you use email settings, these are “only” verified “, which means that in fact, all the folders are made private.
- You can perform email operations such as “search” or “filter” even with less powerful computers because processing takes place on a server and not on a local PC
- Also, our IMAP server supports IDLE Extensions (mail), which means that as soon as a new email is received, it will be displayed in your inbox as it is unread and you will be notified. Therefore, you do not need to first click on “Receive” or set a polling interval.
- Lastly, IMAP can be utilized offline as POP – you can relish the advantages of both protocols in one.
Final thoughts:
As I recommended already to go with IMAP. This advanced protocol enables you to be adaptable, and your email is automatically backed up on the server. Also, server space is usually not a problem these days, and you can still save important emails. At The Email Shop, I have described the best email hosting services UK types and also defined why you should go with IMAP then the POP3.
