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Setup of Outlook Express

Outlook Express has been included in all versions of Microsoft Windows since Windows 95. Outlook Express is one of the easier programs to setup to read your email from our servers.

Naturally, you need to first create your email address using your cPanel Control Panel (for Linux accounts) or Plesk Control Panel (for Windows accounts) before you begin.

Start Outlook Express. It can usually be found on the desktop, or by clicking the start button and looking in the "Programs" menu.

Once Outlook Express has been started, click "Tools" on the top menu bar, and then "Accounts".

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To the right-hand-side of the screen that appears is an "Add" button. Click it, and then the "Mail" button that appears. This starts the "Add an Email Address" wizard.

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The following screen asks for your display name. The name entered here is sent along with every email sent from the account you are creating. Enter your name, and then click "Next".

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Enter the email address of the email account you wish to setup Outlook Express for. As we are doing the setup for jim@jimscompany.com, we enter the full email address. Click "Next" to continue.

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The next screen requires us to enter the incoming and outgoing mail servers. Firstly, confirm that you have "The incoming mail server is a" set to "POP3 server". This is the default, but it is always good to check.

Both the incoming mail server is mail.yourdomainname.com. This mail server information is also included in the setup email you received when you first ordered your hosting.

The outgoing (SMTP) server is either mail.yourdomainname.com or your ISP's outgoing mail server.

Both in Australia, and around the world, many ISPs have brought in restrictions on the sending of email through mail servers outside their own networks. This means that mail.yourdomainname.com doesn't always work.

While you are still able to receive email as normal, you may not be able to send it out due to their blocks. Examples of ISPs blocking email sending are Telstra and OptusNet.

The best way to check is to contact your ISP directly to enquire about whether these restrictions are in place. They may either remove the sending restriction from your account, or provide details of their internal mail servers for you to use for sending.

The outgoing mail server (SMTP) for Telstra is mail.bigpond.com, and OptusNet uses mail.optusnet.com.au. Once you have either our email server or your ISP's, click "Next" to continue.

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The final screen you need to enter settings for is now displayed. It asks for the account name and password. Enter your full email address for your username, and the password you set for the account when you created it.

Ticking the "Remember Password" checkbox is optional.

The final setting on this screen is "Logon using Secure Password Authentication (SPA)". Make sure that this is not ticked.

Click "Next" to continue.

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Finally click "Finish". Your email account has now been fully setup with Outlook Express.

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See further email FAQs or our FAQ categories for more information.

Please contact us if you have a question that is not answered on our site.