Chillidog Hosting supports email accounts, linked to your domain names. So instead of having an email address like firstname.lastname83@hotmail.com you can instead have something like me@example.com. This is easier for people to remember and generally looks a bit more professional. You can access your email using POP3 or IMAP - the latter of which is generally better to use and is covered in detail within this knowledgebase article.
Mailboxes share the same disk space and bandwidth quota as your web hosting accounts do. Bare this in mind if you are a heavy email user and / or you are working with large attachments. Other providers like Gmail are generally geared towards heavier email flows and may be able to provide more storage and bandwidth. Chillidog Hosting is compatible with Google Apps.
This document explains how to get a new email account setup in your Chillidog Hosting control panel, and then configure popular email software to send and receive email messages through the new email account.
POP3 and IMAP - what's the difference?
With POP3, messages and attachments are downloaded from the server each time you connect. Once downloaded, those files are deleted from the server. So POP3 is a good way to keep disk usage down, but it rather inconvenient in that you cannot share emails or attachments between multiple devices or computers. IMAP keeps all messages and attachments stored on the web server and available to all devices and computers with access. With IMAP, the only time emails and attachments get deleted are if you delete them yourself. IMAP allows emails and attachments to be synced across multiple devices and computers. So if for example you start drafting an email on one computer, you can pick up from where you left off on another computer. Because of its flexibility, IMAP is often preferred by many. Most email software supports IMAP now.
Setting up a new email account
Email accounts can be created or deleted at any time through your control panel. Follow these steps to create a new email account:
Step 1
Login to your CPanel (control panel) using your normal username and password combination. Scroll down to the section headed Mail.
Step 2
Click on the Email Accounts button (the first option shown). On the new page that opens, enter the details for the new email account you want to create. Start by typing an email address and use the pull-down menu to choose the desired domain name (if you have multiple domain names to choose from). Enter a very strong password or use the Password Generator option provided. The mailbox quota can be changed if you wish. When done, click the Create Account button shown.
Step 3
It may take a short while for you instruction to be sent to the server and to be processed. When the new email account has been created, you will be shown a success message. If you scroll further down the page, you will see the new email account, the quota and a list of actions, as pictured below.
Step 4
In the Actions section, click on the More menu option and select Configure Email Client from the list. On the new page that opens, scroll down and take a close look at the Manual Settings shown. You should either copy these details shown into a plain text document, or take a screengrab. You will need these settings for configuring your email software.
The basics of configuring email software
Typically most email software requires exactly the same settings, in order to connect to your email account and send or receive messages. However the difficultly is that some software companies have changed the terminology over time and skewed the setup of email software towards their own email services. This means that sometimes, things can be more tricky then they should be, for standard email accounts. Also the automatic 'setup wizards' sometimes omit important things, meaning that you've got to go back and change things again afterwards. Typically here are the basic things to remember when setting up a new IMAP email account in email software:
- The servername or hostname or host will normally always be bell.chillidoghosting.com
- Email comes in through Port 993
- The incoming connection type or protocol should be set to IMAP
- The outgoing connection type or protocol should be set to SMTP
- Outgoing email goes to the web server via Port 465
- If you are asked for a user or client name, that is normally your full email address
- Password is the same password you setup for the email account in CPanel
- Username and password authentication is required for both incoming and outgoing mail
- If the option is provided, the IMAP path prefix must be set to INBOX
- Descriptions are simply used to identify an email account and give it a title
You can always get you latest email configuration settings by logging into your CPanel. Click on the Email Accounts button, under the Email section heading. In the Accounts section, click on the More button shown next to the email account. Then click the Configure Email Client option in the more menu. On this page, CPanel will generate all the required settings for different email software.
The first table on this page lists different email applications. In the righthand table cells are links to auto-configuration scripts you can download and run on your computer. We always recommend you use the IMAP over SSL/TLS templates, as these offer the most secure connections.
The second table on the page lists settings for when you need to manually configure email software or setup email for use with software for which configuration scripts are not available. Again, we always recommend you use IMAP over SSL/TLS.
Manually configuring Mail.app
Mail.app is included with all newer Mac computers. It can be found in your Applications folder, or by searching for it using Spotlight. Follow these instructions carefully for setting up Mail.app to send and receive emails, through your new email account. If you have never used Mail.app before, you will be prompted to create a new email account, the first time you launch Mail.app. If you are an existing Mail.app user, then you can begin the new account setup process instead, by clicking Mail > Preferences in the menu, clicking Accounts in the preferences window, and then click the '+' button to start the setup process.
Step 1
You will get a welcome message and a prompt to setup a new account. Enter a name, email address and your email password, then click Continue.
Step 2
As per the details you saw in CPanel, set the set the 'Account Type' to IMAP and provide a brief description like Incoming Server. Set the incoming mail server to bell.chillidoghosting.com. Enter your email address for the 'User Name' and the password for the email account. Then click Continue. Things like the description can be easily changed at a later time.
Step 3
For the outgoing server settings, provide a short description like Outgoing Server. Set the outgoing mail server to bell.chillidoghosting.com and tick the Use only this server option. Next, tick the Use Authentication checkbox and enter your email username (address) and password once again. Then click Continue.
Step 4
If all has worked so far, Mail will confirm the details you have entered are correct. An account summary is displayed (as pictured below). Click the Create button shown.
Step 5
In the Mail.app menu, click Mail > Preferences. In the preferences window that opens, click onto accounts. Select your Chillidog email account in the sidebar. Here you can change aspects like the Description and Mailbox Behaviours. Check carefully that the 'IMAP Path Prefix' is set to INBOX and that the 'Port' number is set to 993, as shown below.
Step 6
The final stage is to click the Account Information tab in Mail.app preferences. In the menu next to Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP), select Edit SMTP Server List... from the menu. Set the 'custom port' number to 465. Ensure that Authentication is set to Password and that your user name and password are present, as shown below. Click OK when done and close Mail.app preferences. If asked, save changes.
From this point onwards, you should be able to send and receive emails via your Chillidog Hosting email account, in Mail.app. Using correct settings ensures that emails will be sent quicker and securely. If you have another email account, it is wise at this stage to test sending and receiving some simple emails.
Setting up email on iOS devices
You can setup IMAP email accounts on iOS devices, like an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. Although each has a slightly different user interface, much of the terminology and settings to be used are identical between all devices.
Step 1
Tap Settings on the home screen and then tap Mail, Contacts and Calendars. Tap on the Add Account option shown.
From the Add Account... menu, choose Other at the bottom. On the next screen, tap the option to Add Mail Account.
Step 2
Enter your name, email address and password carefully in the boxes shown. For description, you can just provide a loose description like 'Emails' to identify the account by. This can be changed at a later time if you prefer. Click Next when done.
Step 3
Tap IMAP at the top (if it is not already selected). 'Host name' needs to be set to bell.chillidoghosting.com. 'User name' is your email address. 'Password' is the password for your email account. Type these in each box carefully.
Scroll down the screen a bit further, and enter the details for the outgoing connection. Host name, user name and password are exactly the same as before. Click Next When done.
Step 4
After the account settings have been verified, return back to the home screen. Click Settings again, and navigate through to Mail, Contacts and Calendars. Tap on the name of email account to reveal its settings.
Verify that the 'IMAP Path Prefix' has been set to INBOX and that the 'server port' is set to 993. Return back to the mail account and check the other settings are all correct.
From this point onwards, your email account should be properly functioning on your iOS device. You can test it by trying to send and receive some emails through the new email address.
Configuring a new email account in Mozilla Thunderbird
Thunderbird is a free email application, which can be downloaded and installed on Mac, Windows and Linux systems. Some other email applications like Postbox are based on Thunderbird, so quite a few of these applications all share the same settings and configuration. Follow these steps for setting up Thunderbird to use your new email account:
Step 1
With Thunderbird open, click File > New > Existing email account... from the menu. In the correct fields, type in your name, email address and password. Tick the Remember password option. Click Continue when done.
Step 2
Thunderbird will try to connect to the email account automatically using it's ISP database. However it will not have enough information to proceed any further. So at this point click on the Manual Config button. Set the incoming mail server to IMAP. The incoming server hostname needs to be set to bell.chillidoghosting.com, with a port number of 993 and authentication set to Normal password. The outgoing server hostname needs to be set to bell.chillidoghosting.com, with a port number of 465 and authentication set to Normal password. For the username, type your full email address.
When you have entered these settings, click the Re-test button to probe the server again for more information. Then click on the Done button. From this point onwards, everything should be setup and working correctly for you. Rather conveniently, Thunderbird automatically gets information from the server, like the IMAP Path Prefix, saving you from having to add these yourself.
Configuring a new email account in Airmail
Airmail is a new email application for Mac OS X, with emphasis on simplicity and speed. It works with most email providers, including Chillidog Hosting. Setup is straightforward, as explained here.
On the new account page, start by entering the name, email address and password for your email account.
In the Advanced section, enter your email address for the username and set the incoming server to bell.chillidoghosting.com. The port number for the incoming mail server must be set to 993 and set the connection type to Full TLS.
For the outgoing (sending) server, set the server to bell.chillidoghosting.com. The port number for the outgoing mail server must be set to 465 and set the connection type to Full TLS.
Ensure the Authentication option is ticked. Enter your email address for the username and the password for the email account. The connection type must be set to LOGIN.
Check your settings carefully and then click the Add button. It should not take more than about twenty seconds for Airmail to validate your settings and conenct your account. A screenshot is shown below, with the correct settings shown. The greyed-out details are just the name and email address for the account (you replace these with your own).
Once your account has been added to Airmail, you can go into the Preferences and click Accounts. Here you can change any settings relating to your email account, mapping and signatures. More information on using Airmail can be found in the Help menu.
