Email Basics - Introduction to Email

In this lesson, you will learn what email is, how it compares to traditional mail, and how email
addresses are written. We'll also discuss various types of email providers and the features and tools
they include with an email account.
Getting to know email.
Email (electronic mail) is a way to send and receive messages across the Internet. It's similar to
traditional mail, but it also has some key differences. To get a better idea of what email is all about, take
a look at the infographic below and consider how you might benefit from its use.

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Email advantages

✓ Productivity tools: Email is usually packaged with a calendar, address book, instant
messaging, and more for convenience and productivity.
✓ Access to web services: If you want to sign up for an account like Facebook or order products
from services like Amazon, you will need an email address so you can be safely identified and
contacted.
✓ Easy mail management: Email service providers have tools that allow you to file, label,
prioritize, find, group, and filter your emails for easy management. You can even easily control
spam, or junk email.
✓ Privacy: Your email is delivered to your own personal and private account with a password
required to access and view emails.
✓ Communication with multiple people: You can send an email to multiple people at once, giving
you the option to include as few as or as many people as you want in a conversation.
✓ Accessible anywhere at any time: You don’t have to be at home to get your mail. You can
access it from any computer or mobile device that has an Internet connection.

Understanding email addresses

To receive emails, you will need an email account and an email address. Also, if you want to send
emails to other people, you will need to obtain their email addresses. It's important to learn how to
write email addresses correctly because if you do not enter them exactly right, your emails will not be
delivered or might be delivered to the wrong person.

Email addresses are always written in a standard format that includes a user name, the @ (at)
symbol, and the email provider's domain.

The user name is the name you choose to identify yourself.

The email provider is the website that hosts your email account.

Some businesses and organizations use email addresses with their own website domain.

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About email providers
In the past, people usually received an email account from the same companies that provided their
Internet access. For example, if AOL provided your Internet connection, you'd have an AOL email
address. While this is still true for some people, today it's increasingly common to use a free web-
based email service, also known as webmail. Anyone can use these services, no matter who
provides their Internet access.

Webmail providers

Today, the top three webmail providers are Yahoo!, Microsoft's Outlook.com (previously Hotmail),
and Google's Gmail. These providers are popular because they allow you to access your email
account from anywhere with an Internet connection. You can also access webmail on your mobile
device.

Visit the links below to compare the features of the three top webmail providers:

✓ Yahoo! Features
✓ Outlook.com Features
✓ Gmail Features
✓
Other email providers
Many people also have an email address hosted by their company, school, or organization. These
email addresses are usually for professional purposes. For example, the people who work for this
website have email addresses that end with @gcflearnfree.org. If you are part of an organization that
hosts your email, they'll show you how to access it.

Many hosted web domains end with a suffix other than .com. Depending on the organization, your
provider's domain might end with a suffix like .gov (for government websites), .edu (for schools), .mil
(for military branches), or .org (for nonprofit organizations).

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Email applications
Many companies and organizations use an email application, like Microsoft Outlook, for
communicating and managing their email. This software can be used with any email provider but is
most commonly used by organizations that host their own email.

Email productivity features

In addition to email access, webmail providers offer various tools and features. These features are
part of a productivity suite—a set of applications that help you work, communicate, and stay
organized. The tools offered will vary by provider, but all major webmail services offer the following
features:
Instant messaging, or chat, which lets you have text-based conversations with other users

An online address book, where you can store contact information for the people you contact
frequently.

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An online calendar to help organize your schedule and share it with others.

A public profile that you can use for basic social networking purposes, like sharing photos, previous
work or school history, and status updates, among other things.

In addition, each provider offers some unique features. For instance, when you sign up for Gmail you
gain access to a full range of Google services, including Google Drive, Google Docs, and more.
Outlook, on the other hand, offers connectivity with OneDrive and Microsoft Office Web Apps. You can
visit our tutorials on Google Drive, Google Docs and OneDrive and Office Online to learn more.

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Getting started with email
You should now have a good understanding of what email is all about. Over the next few lessons, we
will continue to cover essential email basics, etiquette, and safety tips.
Setting up your own email account
If you want to sign up for your own email account, we suggest choosing from one of the three major
webmail providers.
Yahoo
Outlook.com
Gmail

Gmail - Setting Up a Gmail Account

Introduction
Setting up a Gmail account is easy. You will begin by creating a Google account, and during the quick
sign-up process you will choose your Gmail account name. In this lesson, we'll show you how to set
up your Google account for Gmail, add and edit contacts, and edit your mail settings.

Setting up a Gmail account

To create a Gmail address, you'll first need to create a Google account. Gmail will redirect you to the
Google account sign-up page. You'll need to provide some basic information like your name, birth
date, gender, and location. You will also need to choose a name for your new Gmail address. Once
you create an account, you'll be able to start adding contacts and adjusting your mail settings.

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To create an account:
1. Go to www.gmail.com.
2. Click Create account.

3. The sign-up form will appear. Follow the directions by entering the
required information.

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4. Next, enter your phone number to verify your account. Google uses
a two-step verification process for your security.

5. You will receive a text message from Google with a verification

code. Enter the code to complete the account verification.

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6. Next, you will see a form to enter some of your personal information,
like your name and birthday.

7. Review Google's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then click I

agree.

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 8. Your account will be created.

Just like with any online service, it's important to choose a strong password—in other words, one
that is difficult for someone else to guess. For more information, review our lesson on creating
strong passwords.

Signing in to your account

When you first create your account, you will be automatically signed in. Most of the time, however,
you'll need to sign in to your account and sign out when you're done with it. Signing out is especially
important if you're using a shared computer (for example, at a library or office) because it prevents
others from viewing your emails.

Activity:

1. Why is having an email account email important to you?

2. What is your email address?

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