Overview
This article lists some FAQs related to Email.
General
Does my web hosting plan include email hosting?
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All DreamHost web hosting plans, except for Shared Starter, include email hosting. If you have Shared Starter and wish to have email hosting, you can upgrade to Shared Unlimited.
How do I access Webmail?
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By default, the URL for Webmail is https://webmail.dreamhost.com. See this article for further details.
Will email still work if my domain registration expires?
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Unfortunately, emails will not work if your registration expires. If a message was sent to you and your domain expired, the sender will receive a bounce notification that the message was undelivered. The domain registration must be active and have updated DNS records to use email.
Do I need an active hosting plan to host email at DreamHost?
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No. DreamHost offers paid email-only hosting plans.
You can also have your site registered at DreamHost, then point your DNS to another hosting company to use their email service. This way, you only pay for the domain registration and point your DNS away from DreamHost. See this article for more information.
How do I set up my address on a mail client?
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See this article, which walks you through how to configure an email client.
Where is email stored?
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Email is stored on a mail server that is completely separate from your web server. You can access the mail server only by using a mail client.
I’m getting too much spam — Can I control this in the panel?
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DreamHost offers anti-spam services you can use to filter spam. You can also create custom message filters to block specific messages.
How can I transfer my email to DreamHost?
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There are several ways to do this. See this article for further details.
Can I create an alias for my email address?
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Yes. DreamHost email accounts allow the use of disposable or on-the-fly email address aliases, where you can instantly generate a unique email address based on an existing mailbox. For more information on how to create and use an on-the-fly email address, see this article.
DNS
How can I change my MX records?
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You can change these records in your panel. See this article for further details.
Can I access mail via an IP address?
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No. You must always use a URL address. PTR records are not supported.
Limits
How many email addresses can I create?
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If you have a Shared Unlimited plan, you can create as many email addresses as you like. There is no set number.
If you have a paid email-only plan, you can only create as many email addresses as you've signed up for.
Is there a limit on how much disk space an address can use?
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Whenever you create a new email user account, you’re given the option to limit the total disk usage. By default, this is set to 1000MB (1GB). DreamHost recommends that if you do set a limit, raise that number if you're expecting to store/save a lot of mail through that new email address and leave it on DreamHost's servers (as opposed to downloading it off the server using a POP3 connection).
You can increase the disk size or remove the disk limit. To learn more about disk usage, see this article.
Are there limits on how large an attachment I can send?
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Yes. The limits depend on whether you’re sending via Webmail, a mail client, or from your domain’s web server. More information on sending limits can be found in this article.
Can I use my email address to send mass messages?
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No. View the SMTP quota article for limitations. If you’re looking to send a mass message, such as a newsletter, you can utilize the Announcement Mailing List service. See the next section for more information.
Lists
What is an Announcement List?
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An Announcement List is an opt-in service that allows you to send a single mass email to your customers. View more information in the Announcement Lists article.
What is a Discussion List?
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A Discussion List is similar to a group text message: it's a way to have a group conversation via email where everyone in the list receives responses from anyone who replies within the group. See this article for further details.
What’s the difference between an Announcement List and a Discussion List?
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An Announcement List is a service used when you wish to send a single email to all of your customers. Customers do not communicate with each other with an Announcement List. A Discussion List is when a single user can send an email to a single address, which is delivered to all users. This way, users of the list can communicate with each other.