Professional Email Hosting and Management

1. Check the mailbox allowance for the plan

Email is available with shared hosting, but mailbox counts and storage allowances depend on the selected plan. Use the live product table as the entitlement source rather than assuming one universal limit.

• Confirm mailbox count before migrating an organization.
• Confirm storage allowance per plan/account.
• Leave headroom for growth instead of filling the limit on day one.

2. Create and manage mailboxes

The Email section of GreatHosts CP exposes Mailboxes for creating and managing hosted email accounts.

• Use role addresses such as support@ or sales@ only when someone is responsible for them.
• Use strong, unique mailbox passwords.
• Document aliases and forwarding rules so mail flow remains understandable.

3. Forwarding and filters

Email Forwarding redirects messages from one mailbox to another, while Filters apply rules to incoming mail. Keep both simple enough that delivery problems can be diagnosed later.

• Avoid circular forwarding chains.
• Test critical filters with real sample messages.
• Do not silently discard business mail unless the rule is intentional and documented.

4. Spam controls and SPF

GreatHosts CP exposes Spam controls and an SPF Manager. SPF helps receiving systems verify which servers are authorized to send mail for a domain; it is one part of email authentication, not a guarantee of inbox placement.

• Keep SPF aligned with actual sending services.
• Do not create multiple conflicting SPF records.
• Use spam controls conservatively for business-critical addresses.

5. Webmail and mail protocols

Webmail is available through Roundcube, and the hosting environment supports normal SMTP/IMAP/POP access according to the verified service baseline.

• Use IMAP when mail should remain synchronized across devices.
• Use SMTP settings supplied for the account rather than guessing ports/hosts.
• Webmail is useful when a local mail client is unavailable.

6. Mailing lists and throwaway mailboxes

The live Email menu also exposes Mailing Lists and Throwaway mailboxes. These are purpose-specific tools and should not replace a proper transactional-email or marketing platform when the use case grows beyond ordinary hosted mail.

• Use mailing lists only within acceptable-use and consent rules.
• Use throwaway mailboxes for the workflow they are designed for, not as permanent business identities.
• For high-volume transactional email, evaluate a specialized sending service.

7. Diagnose delivery methodically

When mail fails, separate DNS/authentication, sender reputation, mailbox quota, filtering and client configuration rather than changing everything at once.

• Confirm the mailbox exists and has capacity.
• Check DNS authentication records.
• Review forwarding/filter rules.
• Test through webmail to separate server-side from client-side problems.

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