Since you are reading this information you must have access to the internet. If you have access to the internet, then you more than likely have an email address, or access to one. When someone gets an internet connection either from a phone company or a cable company, they are typically also given at least one email account. This is not just an "email address", but is an "email account". The difference is that an email account will have a virtual email box on the server where your email will be stored, before your computer retrieves the messages and downloads them into your email program (like Outlook Express). An "email address" however, doesn't necessarily need an account (or virtual mail box). Instead, it can simply be a "forwarder" that whenever an email message is sent to it, it automatically forwards that message to another email account.

So the decision you will want to make before creating your custom email addresses is this: Do you want them to have their own virtual email boxes (stored in your hosting account, on our server), or do you simply want your new custom email addresses to forward to an existing email account that you probably already have?

POP3 Email Accounts
If you want a completely separate email account, then you actually want a POP3 email account. To create a POP3 account, you have to login to your control panel, click on "Mail Manager", then click on "Add/Remove Accounts". There you will be able to setup brand new email accounts within your web hosting account, that will store all incoming email messages for you. You will then want to configure your email client program (like Outlook Express, Eudora, or whatever you use) to be able to retrieve these stored messages, and allow you to send messages using your new address. For more details on creating POP3 accounts, and setting up Outlook Express for retrieving your messages, take a look at the tutorials we've put together for these specific tasks.

Email Forwarders
If you'd rather not complicate things with multiple email accounts, and simply want emails that are sent to your new custom addresses to be forwarded to an existing email address that you already have, then all you want to do is setup email forwarders. To setup an email forwarder, click on "Mail Manager", and then "Forwarders". There you will be able to enter in a new custom email address, and specify the existing email address where you want your messages forwarded.

Note: It is good practice to always setup a default email address when setting up your email. When you click on "Mail Manager", there is another option listed called "Default Address". Setting a default address to either a new custom email address you created, or an existing off-server email address that you already have, will ensure that no email messages will get lost in your account, thus wasting storage space. Let's say you setup email addresses for sales@yourcompany.com and support@yourcompany.com, but someone sends an email to you@yourcompany.com. If you have not specified that email address as either a forwarder or a POP3 box, AND if you not set your default email address, then that message will be stored in your hosting account and you'll never see it (unless you go looking for it). However, if you set a default email address, then any message sent to an address that you have not specified, will be automatically forwarded to your default address.

For more information on setting up your email accounts, take a look at the support tutorials for our Control Panel.