Virtual Servers
 Collocation Servers
 Dedicated Servers
 Compare Plans
 Create-a-Server
 Online Support/FAQ
 Web Design
Our Awards

ORDER NOW

Email Handling Options

There are three different methods of handling email on your domain with the hosting service.

1. Redirect/Forward to another mail server
2. Store mail on WHC's mail server and retrieve with a mail client
3. Operate an internal mail server

Control over the way email is handled on your domain can be changed at any time. The control panel allows you to update email settings for your hosting account quickly and easily.

Option 1. Redirect/Forward mail

If you already have an email account, you can simply forward mail on your domain to existing email addresses from the control panel.

E.g. max@webdeveloper.com -> webdeveloper@shaw.ca

The advantage of having your email forwarded to an existing email address is that you can receive email from both addresses and you do not have to reconfigure your email client.

Mail is generally forwarded to an ISP provided email account or existing corporate email account.

Option 2. Store Mail on WHC's mail server

If email is stored on WHC's mail server you have three options for retrieving your email, all options can be used concurrently if required.

Mail is stored on mailboxes on our server. As a general rule you should setup one mailbox per person. All hosting accounts allow for multiple mailboxes. By using email aliases you can direct multiple email addresses to a single mailbox.

POP3

Supported by all popular mail clients, POP3 allows you to download mail from our mail server to your local machine. Illustrated guides for configuring popular email clients are provided here.

Webmail

A webmail client is available requiring only a web browser to collect your email.
http://www.yourdomain.com/webmail/cgi/login.cgi
Webmail is useful if you are traveling/roaming or just out of your office, but is generally not suitable as long term option for handling email.

Mutt/Pine

Text based email clients running in a terminal are supported. These are accessible via SSH. Text based email clients provide a quick and powerful means of managing email for the Unix power user.

Option 3. Operate an internal mail server

An internal mail server can be operated to handle all mail on your domain. This removes the reliance on our mail servers and provides a number of advantages in office environments.

Advantages of an internal mail server include:

• Internal mail is delivered quicker and does not need to go through your Internet connection.
• Lower data usage costs on your hosting account as mail data does not go via WHC's servers.
• Increased flexibility in control over mail accounts.

In order to operate an internal mail server you must have a fixed IP address for the machine which runs the mail server. Note many ADSL services do not provide a fixed IP address.

Internal mail servers can be operated using software such as: Sendmail, Postfix, Qmail, Microsoft Exchange Server, or a variety of windows based shareware mail servers.

Outbound Mail

Mail sent from your machine must always be sent via a mail server which is connected directly to the network to which you use for Internet access. This means you need to use the mail server provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). These measures are required to prevent abuse of the service by spammers, a detailed explanation is available here.