How webmail work?
How webmail work?
Webmail, web-based mail is an e-mail system that enables you to read and send your messages from a web browser. It means webmail is hosted on websites instead of being installed on computer systems. All webmail services provide a web-based email client or webmail interface that a user can access using any web browser. Users can access webmail services from websites, or by using web browser extensions like the webmail plugin (such as the now-defunct Google Gears).
Webmail provides users with access to their e-mails through web browsers without requiring local client-side software installation. Webmail is supported on various web server operating systems, including Windows Server, Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Mac OS X Server. A webmail service typically requires web server software of the webmail system to be installed on any separate website/server it is running on.
Webmail services are often offered by Internet service providers or web hosting companies. Web-based email has many benefits over traditional desktop-based email. These webmail systems are accessible from anywhere, at any time as long as web access is available on the web browser used. POP3 or IMAP are usually implemented to allow webmail users to download their messages locally for offline use.
Webmail service companies also save money by not having to purchase and maintain desktop-based email clients. They can also provide webmail users with more storage space than what is allowed by client-based desktop email systems. This makes webmail appealing to web hosting companies, internet service providers, and webmail service companies.
As webmail became popular, webmail interface designs began to emerge. Gmail was the first webmail system that introduced a webmail service with rich webmail interface design and web 2.0 features such as Ajax, page loading progress indicators, and draggable/resizable blocks of messages. Gmail webmail interface later became a model for webmail providers, many webmail systems now have similar webmail interfaces with the addition of new webmail features.
With the introduction of web 2.0 webmail services have added more webmail features, such as draggable/resizable blocks of messages, webmail labels, webmail dialogs, and Ajax chat windows. Gmail webmail interface became a model for webmail providers, many webmail systems now have similar webmail interfaces with the addition of new webmail features.
The webmail access has been integrated as part of web browsers for various operating systems like Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. But webmail services themselves are not bound to a specific web browser or web server software; webmail works on almost all popular servers and web browsers. This has led to webmail services being available from every site which offers web access, webmail websites are usually web publishing websites.
A web browser plugin called webmail is also provided with some web browsers which can be installed into webmail service accounts to allow users to read and send their messages directly within the web browser without launching any external webmails. But this approach does not always work since many webmail websites and webmail service companies start disabling webmail website access without webmail plugins, they keep webmail website access only with an installed webmail client.