Why is imap better

To get to your webmail account, you access the Internet and sign in to your email account. Outlook, Apple Mail, and Thunderbird are email apps : programs that you install on your computer to manage your email. They interact with an email service such as Gmail or Outlook. You can add any email account to your email app for it to manage your email. For example, you can add webmail accounts - Gmail, Outlook. When you add your email account to your email app, it will usually attempt to set it up with IMAP access, without any input from you.

If the email app has difficulty adding your email account, it's usually because the email account is set up for POP access. In this case, you need to go to your email provider and find out the name of their POP and SMTP server so you can enter the info into the email app.

The info usually looks something like this:. Sync basics - what you can and cannot sync. Need more help? Expand your skills. Get new features first. Was this information helpful? Backing up the emails and then resetting up the email account as IMAP will fix the problem. Please select a 2 hour preferred callback timeframe from the drop-down and we will do our best to get back to you then.

We are also available for live chat at name. We will try our best to reach you within your chosen time window, or as soon as possible. Two-Step Verification Login Blocked. You've been blocked from signing in for 30 seconds. Grab a cup of coffee and try again in a little bit. Have questions? With IMAP, the message does not remain on the local device, such as a computer, it remains on the server. With POP3 mail, it will connect and attempt to keep the mail located on the local device computer or mobile.

POP3 is a protocol that has been around for a very long time. POP3 is the current version that was created in and remains one of the most popular email protocols in use. If you delete, copy, move or send messages, they will exist only on your local computer. Anyone accessing your email from another location will not know what you have done. Many POP clients have an option to leave a copy of your messages on the server, but this is not the default behavior, and still would not show subsequent changes or sent messages.

Whenever you log into an email client configured with the IMAP protocol, it will mirror any changes you make to the email server. It will keep any replies you make, read status, and record all other actions. Whenever you log into your email server from your tablet or smartphone, your emails will sync across multiple devices.

Doing so will cause all sorts of problems. I use IMAP with private hosting for business purposes. It allows the maximum flexibility, and companies such as Google and Microsoft have excellent business email products that use IMAP.

The benefit of a reputable company for your email is that because mail is stored on the remote server, you need to ensure security is reliable. Alternatives are companies like Namecheap , or any other host for that matter, who offer private email services. Most hosting companies a few specialize Managed WordPress Hosting companies excluded allow you to create email accounts with your hosting plan, although your storage amount may have a per mailbox limit.

If you store a lot of emails, you may want to check before purchasing. So, quite plainly, if you want to access your emails anywhere, and for it to remain synced, choose IMAP. If you do not wish to do that, there are some other ways you can tell which protocol you are using. If any of the statements are correct, then you are using POP3.

This will save all your old emails into your new account and allow you to access them on other computers and mobile devices. You can find Jonathan on Twitter as thewebmastercom. Hosting Web Hosting. Web Development. Best Web Hosting See Hosting Reviews sidebar for more menu options. Hosting Deals. The ultimate showdown between IMAP vs. We take a look the differences, and most importantly, why you should be using IMAP. Author: Jonathan Griffin. Last updated: November 22, Web Hosting.