Free Email Provider Key Terms

Know what to look for when considering free email providers

When it comes to free email providers, key terms can help you better understand the services offered by them. Email comes in two forms, either web-based email or email that you download to your email client. Free email providers make money by selling advertisements on their page or by adding a tagline at the end of user's emails. Other free services you might look for include email forwarding or a messaging service that combines email and other messages, such as fax and voicemail. You may also consider becoming an email provider by offering email services to your website visitors.

 

Web-based email

Web-based email is email that you access directly on the web, in your web browser. You don't need a separate application or email client, you just go to the website and log in. Many free email providers offer web-based email.
Try: Read about web-based email and how it works at Learn the Net.

Email client or email software

Email software, often called an email client, is the software that runs on your hard drive, and you use it to read and send email. This software interacts with the server on your email host to download new emails and to send out email messages that you write.
Try: Find a list of email-related terms and their definitions, including email client, at Microsoft.

Advertising tagline

One way free email providers make money is by placing a tagline advertising their website at the end of email sent by those using their services.
Try: Check out a list of free email providers and learn which ones append a tagline onto emails sent from their service at freebielist.com.

Email forwarding

Email forwarding is a service in which the provider re-routes and sends your email to a different address, which you specify ahead of time. You can use it to collect email from several different addresses at your main address, to send your work mail to a co-worker who covers for you while you're on vacation and for many other useful purposes.
Try: Get an extensive explanation of email forwarding and how you can use it at WiseGEEK.

Messaging service

A messaging service combines email, fax and voicemail into one offering to make it easier to manage all of the ways people can send you messages.
Try: Find out about a service that lets you receive faxes and voicemail in your email box at K7.net, a division of International Telcom.

Free email for webmasters

One way to drive traffic to your website is to provide free email to your users. This is also a good way of ensuring repeat visitors, and it can help raise awareness of your site with people your users email.
Try: Find out how you can offer free email on your website at Everyone.net.

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