Email in cPanel

cPanel gives you a full-featured business email system with POP3, IMAP, SMTP and webmail access.

Creating email accounts

Opening Email Accounts

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. In the EMAIL section, select Email Accounts.
3. The mailbox management page opens.

Creating a new email account

1. Click + Create.
2. Fill in the form:

Basic settings

Domain

Choose the domain from the drop-down list (if you have more than one domain).

Username

Enter the mailbox name (the part before the @).

Examples: info, support, john.doe

Password

Enter a password or use Generate.

Minimum strength: “Good” (“Strong” is better).

Password (again)

Confirm the password.

Storage quotas

Choose one of the options:

• Unlimited – no limit (uses the account’s overall quota)
• Limit to X MB – a fixed mailbox size

Recommended values:

• Personal mailbox: 1,000–5,000 MB
• Shared mailbox (info, support): 500–1,000 MB
• Temporary or test mailbox: 100–250 MB

Automatic folder creation

Optional Settings → Automatically Create Folders...

• Tick this to create the standard folders automatically:
  • Sent
  • Drafts
  • Trash
  • Junk/Spam

1. Click + Create.
2. The mailbox is created and ready to use.

Managing existing mailboxes

The Email Accounts page lists all your mailboxes:

• Email address
• Quota usage
• Date of last login
• Actions (manage, delete)

Mailbox actions

Each mailbox has these options:

Check Email

Quick access to webmail

Manage

Manage the mailbox settings

Delete

Delete the mailbox (this cannot be undone)

Changing the settings of an existing mailbox

1. Click Manage next to the mailbox you want.
2. The available sections are:

General

• Change Password – change the password
• Update Email Quota – change the quota
• Suspend/Unsuspend – suspend or restore the mailbox
• Delete – delete the mailbox

Access Webmail

Direct links to the webmail clients:

• Roundcube – a modern interface
• Horde – a full-featured client
• SquirrelMail – a lightweight client

Connect Devices

Settings for connecting email clients:

Desktop clients

Mail Client Manual Settings

Incoming mail (IMAP):

• Server: mail.your-domain.com
• Port: 993
• Security: SSL/TLS
• Username: user@your-domain.com
• Password: your_password

Incoming mail (POP3):

• Server: mail.your-domain.com
• Port: 995
• Security: SSL/TLS
• Username: user@your-domain.com
• Password: your_password

Outgoing mail (SMTP):

• Server: mail.your-domain.com
• Port: 465 (SSL) or 587 (TLS)
• Security: SSL/TLS
• Authentication: Required
• Username: user@your-domain.com
• Password: your_password

Automatic setup

cPanel can generate configuration files for you:

• Configure Mail Client – a file for Outlook, Thunderbird and others
• Just download the file and open it in your email client.

Setting up mobile devices

iOS (iPhone/iPad):

1. Settings → Mail → Accounts → Add Account
2. Select Other.
3. Enter your details:
   • Name, Email, Password
4. Use the IMAP/SMTP settings above.

Android:

1. Open the Email or Gmail app.
2. Add account → Other
3. Enter your email address and password.
4. Choose the account type: IMAP (recommended) or POP3.
5. Enter the server settings.

Forwarders

Setting up mail forwarding:

1. In the Forwarders section, click + Add Forwarder.
2. Address to Forward: select the source mailbox.
3. Destination:
   • Forward to email address – send to another email address
   • Discard (Not Recommended) – delete the messages
   • Advanced Options – system-level forwarding
4. Click Add Forwarder.

Email Routing

This controls how mail for a domain is handled:

• Automatic – detected automatically (recommended)
• Local Mail Exchanger – all mail is handled locally
• Backup Mail Exchanger – the server acts as a backup MX
• Remote Mail Exchanger – mail is handled by an external server (for example Gmail)

Autoresponders

Automatic replies (for example, while you are on holiday):

1. In the Autoresponders section, click + Add Autoresponder.
2. Fill in:
   • Character Set: utf-8
   • Interval: the time between replies to the same sender (hours)
   • Email: select the mailbox
   • From: the display name
   • Subject: the subject line
   • Body: the message text (HTML is allowed)
   • Start/Stop: the period during which the autoresponder is active
3. Click Create/Modify.

Example text:

Hello,

Thank you for your email. I am on holiday until 15 January 
and have no access to email.

For urgent matters, please contact my colleague:
john.smith@company.com

Kind regards,
John Doe

Email Filters

Creating rules to filter incoming mail:

1. In the mailbox’s Manage page, select Email Filters.
2. Click + Create Filter.
3. Set up the rule:

Conditions (Rules)

• From: contains a particular sender address
• Subject: contains keywords in the subject
• To: the recipient address
• Reply Address: the reply-to address
• Body: the content of the message
• Any Header: any header
• Any Recipient: any recipient
• Has Not Been Previously Delivered: not delivered before
• Is An Error Message: the message is an error report
• Spam Status: spam status (SpamAssassin score)
• Spam Bar: visual spam rating

Actions

• Deliver to folder – move to a folder
• Redirect to email – forward to another address
• Fail with message – reject with a message
• Stop Processing Rules – stop processing further rules
• Discard Message – delete the message
• Pipe to a Program – pass the message to a program

Filter examples

Sorting automatically by sender:

• IF From contains @important-client.com
• DO Deliver to folder INBOX.VIP

Blocking spam:

• IF Spam Bar contains +++++
• DO Deliver to folder INBOX.spam

System notifications:

• IF Subject contains [ALERT]
• DO Redirect to email admin@company.com

1. Click Create.

Webmail

Accessing webmail

There are several ways to open webmail:

1. From cPanel: Email Accounts → Check Email
2. Direct URL:
   • https://your-domain.com/webmail
   • https://webmail.your-domain.com
   • https://your-domain.com:2096
3. Enter:
   • Email: user@your-domain.com
   • Password: the mailbox password

Choosing a webmail client

The first time you log in, choose a client:

Roundcube (recommended)

• Modern interface
• AJAX support
• Drag and drop
• Folder management
• Address book
• HTML editor

Horde

• Full-featured suite
• Calendar and tasks
• Notes
• File manager
• Advanced address book

SquirrelMail

• Lightweight client
• Fast
• Minimalist interface
• Suitable for slow connections

Roundcube basics

Reading mail

• Your inbox is shown in the central pane.
• Click a message to open it.
• Attachments are shown at the bottom.
• Buttons: Reply, Forward, Delete

Writing a message

1. Click Compose.
2. Fill in:
   • To: the recipient’s address
   • Cc: carbon copy
   • Bcc: blind carbon copy
   • Subject: the subject
   • Body: the text (HTML or plain text)
3. Attach files with the Attach button.
4. Click Send.

Organising your mail

Creating folders:

1. Settings → Folders
2. Click + to create a folder.
3. Enter the folder name.

Moving messages:

• Drag and drop the message into a folder.
• Or: select it → Move to → choose a folder

Address book

1. Go to Address Book.
2. Add a contact:
   • First name, last name
   • Email
   • Phone, company and so on
3. Use groups to organise your contacts.

Settings

Settings → Preferences:

• User Interface – appearance, language, time zone
• Mailbox View – how the message list is displayed
• Displaying Messages – how messages are shown, HTML or plain text
• Composing Messages – composing options
• Contacts – the address book
• Special Folders – the Sent, Drafts, Trash and Junk folders
• Server Settings – checking for new mail

Advanced features

Default Address

A catch-all for every non-existent mailbox in the domain:

1. Go to Default Address.
2. Choose an action:
   • Forward to email address – forward to an email address
   • Discard – discard the message (return an error)
   • Advanced Options – system-level handling

Example: all mail sent to *@your-domain.com is forwarded to admin@your-domain.com.

Mailing Lists

Creating mailing lists:

1. Go to Mailing Lists.
2. Click + Create List.
3. Set up:
   • List Name: the name of the list
   • Password: the administrator password
   • Access: the access level (private or public)

You manage subscribers through the Mailman web interface.

Global Email Filters

Filters that apply to ALL mailboxes in the account:

1. Go to Global Email Filters.
2. Create a filter in the same way as an Account-Level Filter.
3. The filter applies to every mailbox.

Use it for:

• General spam protection
• Blocking particular senders
• Logging incoming mail

Track Delivery

Tracking the delivery of a message:

1. Go to Track Delivery.
2. Enter one of the following:
   • Recipient: the recipient’s address
   • Sender: the sender’s address
   • Subject: the subject line
3. Choose a time range.
4. Click Run Report.

You will see:

• Delivery status
• Timestamps
• Reasons for failure (if any)
• The SMTP conversation

Email Authentication

Protection against email spoofing, and better deliverability:

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

Specifies which servers may send mail for your domain.

1. Go to Email Deliverability.
2. Click Manage next to the domain.
3. Check the record in the SPF section.
4. Recommended record:

v=spf1 +a +mx +ip4:your_IP ~all

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

A digital signature for your messages:

1. In Email Deliverability → Manage.
2. Go to the DKIM section.
3. Click Install DKIM Keys if it is not installed.
4. Copy the public key for DNS (if you manage DNS outside cPanel).

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication)

A policy for handling messages that fail authentication:

Add a TXT record in DNS:

_dmarc.your-domain.com
v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@your-domain.com

Parameters:

• p=none – monitoring only
• p=quarantine – move to spam
• p=reject – reject

BoxTrapper

A challenge-and-response spam protection system:

1. Go to BoxTrapper.
2. Click Manage for the mailbox.
3. Enable it.
4. Set up:
   • Whitelist – trusted addresses (always allowed)
   • Blacklist – blocked addresses
   • Verification Message – the text of the verification email
   • Review Queue – the queue of unverified messages

How it works:

1. A message from an unknown sender is held back.
2. The sender receives an email asking them to confirm.
3. Once they confirm, the sender is added to the whitelist.
4. All later messages are delivered automatically.

Apache SpamAssassin

A spam filter based on rules and heuristics:

1. Go to Apache SpamAssassin.
2. Click Enable Apache SpamAssassin.
3. Set up the options:

Options:

• Required Score – the threshold for treating a message as spam (5.0 by default)
  • The lower the score, the stricter the filter (and the more false positives).
  • Recommended: 5.0–7.0
• Auto-Delete Spam – delete spam automatically
• Spam Box – a folder for spam

Additional settings:

• Whitelist/blacklist of addresses
• Filtering rules
• Score settings

Encryption (GnuPG)

Encrypting email with PGP:

1. Go to Encryption.
2. Import or create GPG keys.
3. Enable encryption for the mailbox.
4. Exchange public keys with your correspondents.

Quotas and limits

Checking usage

The Email Accounts list shows:

• Usage: used / allocated
• A graphical usage bar

Colours:

• Green – under 80%
• Yellow – 80–95%
• Red – over 95%

When a mailbox is full

When a mailbox is full:

1. New messages are rejected.
2. The sender receives a “Mailbox full” error.

Solutions:

1. Increase the mailbox quota.
2. Clear out old messages.
3. Set up automatic archiving.
4. Use POP3 instead of IMAP (this removes messages from the server).

Troubleshooting

I can’t send mail

Check that:

1. SMTP authentication is turned on.
2. The port and encryption are correct (587/TLS or 465/SSL).
3. The email address and password are correct.
4. Your internet service provider is not blocking port 25.

“Relay access denied” error:

• Turn on SMTP authentication in your email client.

I’m not receiving mail

Check that:

1. The domain’s MX records point to the right server.
2. The mailbox is not full.
3. The messages are not in the Spam/Junk folder.
4. Email Filters are not blocking messages.
5. BoxTrapper is not holding messages back.

Checking MX records:

1. Go to Track DNS.
2. Enter your domain.
3. Check the MX records.

My messages end up in spam

For your recipients:

1. Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
2. Check Email Deliverability in cPanel.
3. Make sure the server’s IP address is not on a blacklist.
4. Use reverse DNS (a PTR record).
5. Avoid spam trigger words in the subject and text.

Checking your reputation:

• MXToolbox Blacklist Check
• Mail Tester

Webmail is slow

Causes and solutions:

1. Full mailbox – delete old messages
2. Slow connection – use SquirrelMail
3. Lots of folders or messages – archive old mail
4. Large browser cache – clear the cache

I’ve forgotten a mailbox password

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Email Accounts → Manage for the mailbox
3. Change Password
4. Set a new password.

Migrating mail

Importing from another server

1. Create the mailboxes in the new account.
2. Use the Email Address Importer, or
3. Set up your email client:
   1. Add both accounts (old and new).
   2. Drag messages between the accounts.

Exporting mail

Using IMAP:

1. Connect the mailbox in Thunderbird or Outlook.
2. Select all messages.
3. Export to an .mbox or .pst file.

Using webmail:

• Not all clients support bulk export.
• Use IMAP for large volumes.

Best practices

1. Clear out your mailboxes regularly
   • Delete old messages.
   • Archive locally.
2. Use filters
   • Automatic sorting saves time.
3. Set up SPF/DKIM/DMARC
   • Improves deliverability.
   • Protects against spoofing.
4. Turn on spam protection
   • SpamAssassin plus filters
5. Keep backups
   • Save important correspondence.

See also

• Detailed Outlook and Thunderbird setup
• Advanced filters
• A detailed guide to Roundcube
• Troubleshooting email problems
• Protecting your email