Most people I think will say an email is just an email is just an email …. however the email system/servers are quite complex, and sending an email to a recipient through the various filters and firewalls trying to remove unwanted SPAM in itself is quite a feat.
We would like to focus on what email services are available and why we recommend the service we do.
A good place to start would be what do you need an email for? Is this for personal use or professional use? How many emails do you send and receive? Do you keep/store your emails on the server or on your own device or both? Do you archive your emails or just hope that the emails on your email account or own device cannot be deleted or damaged?
There are many more such questions, than we realise, this process of selecting and using email accounts needs a bit more thought then we generally give them.
I would like to categorise emails into 3 groups, and briefly discuss each.
Email Categories:
Free Email accounts.
Unfortunately what is free has its limitations, the main issue here is you cannot add your own domain, for some this is not a problem, for a business email account this is not a good idea. Free email account providers also add their own filters and you as the account holder cannot modify these, as a result some emails will not be sent or received. Free email accounts are not recommended, however its good to have one, especially a Gmail account as a backup or use it when you need to register an online account.
Emails combined with hosting, the all in one solution.
This is probably the most common way of creating email accounts with your own domain and quite cost effective, but while this does the job and we offer this product and is used extensively, we do not think its the best option, and in the long run not even the cheapest. Most, all-in-one solutions can be cost effective and can be a good product but can never compete with a specialist provider. Hence our third option will be what we recommend, please read on to see why.
Independent Email providers.
We believe that this option will check all the boxes when it comes to reliable value for money email service. Having emails hosted by an email specialist service is the best way to reduce email non delivery and outage risks. IDS Hosting has sourced such an independent email service after many months of research.
We have had a lot of good results and feedback from our corporate clients who use our independent professional email service.
The email facility works through a webmail interface and can set up groups and admins as required. The interface can also be branded if required when requested.
For a full professional structure we recommend an Independent DNS, with our Professional Email Accounts and a Custom Hosting Package for a website as required.
For more information contact IDS Hosting: support@idshosting.co.za, WhatsApp: +27 72 983 6692
Why is it better to use an independent DNS?
If you are reading this article you probably know what a DNS is.
Here is a brief reminder.
One of the functions of DNS - Domain Name System is an interface between us humans' way of doing things and the machine and its way of doing things.eg humans like using words instead of numbers, machines prefer numbers. So we use a word, we call a domain, eg idshosting.co.za to point to a number which is an IP address and vice versa.
Its the place where all the data traffic linked to a domain no matter what it is, can be emails, website traffic etc all come to the DNS, where it is sent to its correct destination. This destination can all be in the same place or in various locations. Eg a website in one place, emails in another, and the DNS can also be in a separate location.
Hence the reason for this brief article to give our views, based on many years of practical experience on why it is better to have a separate Domain Name System.
Here is a typical flow of information relating to the DNS server. The DNS server is pivotal in directing data traffic to the right place/s and can be used to improve performance and improve security thus reducing risk at a number of levels.
There are a number of independent DNS server providers and each has their range of features, but the basic functionality will all be the same.
Here are some features offered by IDS Hosting DNS.
Extracts from: https://idshosting.co.za/dns/
What is an Anycast server?
These are a collection of servers spread around the world, for this product, 34 are available, that share the same IP address. When you use the premium nameservers we supply, with a 'p' in front, the best location is selected for all round best performance and most secure.
This is also used if there is a DDOS attack where the load is spread and will thus have less affect on your website, keeping it online.
DNS Hosting can thus have a 100% uptime due to the large amount of servers worldwide to catch traffic from one server and pass it on to another. Here is where your risk is reduced and uptime from a DNS point of view will be 100%. This will keep your website online and emails working 100% of the time by having no DNS failures. So keeping DNS separate from your hosting for the business that must stay online is imperative.
You do not need to have a working knowledge of DNS although its a definite advantage but only need to understand the concept. IDS Hosting support can assist in setting your DNS, and very little will need to be done on the zone again, but to relax in the knowledge that your risks of downtime are reduced with the benefit of improved online speed and security.
Additional advantages is the facility to park a domain, have statistics available, redirect a website which standard DNS facility cannot do, and more as indicated in the bullet points above.
For more info: https://idshosting.co.za/dns/
Contact us: support@idshosting.co.za
WhatsApp text: +27 72 983 6692
If you already understand what hosting is in the context of websites, email, and development, then the concept of Custom Hosting is easy to grasp. But if you're unsure, you might want to start with our article: What Is Hosting?
Traditional hosting is made up of fixed components or features—like disk space, email accounts, and databases—which are bundled into static packages. These packages vary between hosting companies and are often rigid in structure.
Let’s say you’re choosing between three packages: 1GB, 3GB, and 5GB. Each comes with a fixed number of features. You might only need 2 email accounts but require 5GB of space. In most cases, you’ll be forced to buy the larger package and pay for features you don’t need.
Custom Hosting solves this by letting you pick exactly what you want. You set the specs—nothing more, nothing less. It’s flexible, scalable, and cost-effective.
We offer two flexible packages based on your disk space needs:
Managing your Custom Hosting plan is simple. Just log in to the IDS Hosting client area, select your active hosting service, and click on the upgrade/downgrade option to make adjustments.
Custom Hosting is hosting on your terms.
