Introduction

Email technology has been around for decades.  In today’s world, we use it more than ever.  Whether it’s for school, work, or personal use, thanks to its widespread popularity, there’s no sign of it going away any time soon.

What is an Email Client?

An email client is simply a program that reads and sends emails. These programs can be found on computers, tablets, and smartphones.

How is an email client different from an email server?

Here’s where many people get mixed up and tend to confuse both terms. An email server transports and saves electronic mail into a central location for potentially millions of users. An email client on the other hand, is what you are using.The client will download messages from the server when you wish to view them and will upload your messages when you want to send them to someone.

What Does An Email Client Allow Me To Do?

An email client will allow you to read, reply, organize, and send new messages.

Finding what you want in an email client is really easy. Typically, they’ll come with various organization tools that are bound to save you plenty of time. These include: folders to store your messages in, labels to make it easier to distinguish your emails, and a built-in search engine that lets you find your emails based on things such as the subject matter, the sender, or time of receipt.

Not only does an email client handle text, but it is also capable of handling attachments as well. For those of you that don’t know, attachments are the files on your computer, in which you would like to send through an email. Attachments allow you to share files such a spreadsheets, documents, and images via email.

I send email via a web browser, so does that make my web browser an email client?

No, but close.  

There are email clients that access your messages through a web-based application. So if your browser is able to run these apps, then you can use it to run your favorite email client.

Here’s a simple example: If you access Gmail on Google Chrome, for instance, then the Gmail page on Google Chrome will act as your email client, since it will let you organize, send, and read messages straight from your browser. These clients are also referred to as “web-clients.”

What are the most popular email clients out there?

Although there are many of them out in the market, the most sought-after and used clients include: iOS Mail, Mailbox, IncrediMail, OS X Mail, Thunderbird, and Microsoft Outlook.

Why should I use an Email Client As Opposed To A Web Client?

The biggest benefit of an email client is security. When you leave your email on a web-client’s server, you put yourself at risk.  Providers talk about how secure they are all the time, but the truth is, you have no idea how safe they really are. You don’t know who has access to those servers, and you surely don’t know what is being done with your information behind the scenes.

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. Email clients are safer, faster, and a lot more organized than web-clients. If you are looking to get the most out of your emails, then be sure to check out some of the email clients we recommended and let us know what you think.