Email Hosting
Email hosting is the service that runs mail at your own domain, so you can send and receive as you@yourbusiness.com rather than from a free gmail address.
In plain English
Web hosting serves your website. Email hosting handles your mail. Many hosts bundle both, which is why people assume they are the same thing, but they are separate services that happen to share a domain.
Once it exists, you connect it to Apple Mail, Outlook or your phone, or you use the provider’s webmail in a browser.
Why it matters
An address at your own domain is the cheapest credibility you can buy. It also survives changing providers, which a free address tied to one company does not.
It matters for deliverability too. Sending business mail from a free account makes you look, to a spam filter, exactly like everyone else pretending to be you.
How it works
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You create the mailboxIn your hosting or mail provider’s control panel, with a password.
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DNS points the mail at itMX records tell the internet which server accepts mail for your domain.
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You connect a deviceIMAP for normal use, SMTP for sending, with the settings your provider lists.
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Authentication proves it is youSPF, DKIM and DMARC records stop others sending as your domain.
Moving hosts moves your mail too
If your host provides both, changing host means recreating every mailbox and downloading anything stored only on the server. Plan that part before you move the website.