How do I choose whether to use a POP mailbox or a forwarding alias?

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Confused about whether to choose a POP mailbox or a forwarding alias when you create a new mailbox? Both allow you to create new addresses like sales@example.com and yourname@example.com, but there are a number of differences.

The information below will help you decide which to use.

Forwarding aliases

A forwarding alias is simpler to use than a POP mailbox. It allows you to forward incoming mail to a different address you already have, and you don't have to set up any new accounts in your mail program.

However, forwarding addresses have several drawbacks:

1. Messages forwarded to another address will be mixed with other messages sent directly to that address.
2. If you reply to a message, the recipient will see the address of the other mailbox as the "From" address.
3. You can't read forwarded mail using our Webmail system.
4. Forwarding may be less reliable if the company handling the destination address has problems.

POP mailboxes

If these drawbacks bother you, you should use a POP mailbox instead. This solves the problems of forwarding aliases:

1. A POP mailbox stores your mail separately on our servers. Your mail won't be mixed with mail at other addresses.
2. Your mail program (or Webmail) will insert the correct "From" address when you reply to a message.
3. The messages can be read using our Webmail system.
4. Since the messages stay on our servers, problems at other companies won't make your e-mail less reliable.