Every Fast Hive shared hosting plan includes email management in cPanel, with unlimited mailboxes on the Ultimate plan. This guide covers creating mailboxes, setting quotas, using webmail, and the three features people most often confuse with each other - aliases, forwarders and autoresponders.
- Your domain must be added to the hosting account.
- Its MX records must point to Fast Hive. If your email is hosted elsewhere, mailboxes created here will not receive mail.
Creating an email account
- Log in to cPanel from My Products & Services.
- Under Email, open Email Accounts.
- Click + Create.
- Choose the domain, then enter the part before the @ in Username.
- Set a password. Use the generator - mail accounts are attacked constantly and a weak one will eventually be used to send spam from your domain.
- Set Storage Space. A fixed quota such as 5 GB is better practice than Unlimited, because a runaway mailbox cannot then consume the whole account.
- Click + Create.
Choosing sensible mailbox names
| Address | Make it a | Why |
|---|---|---|
| name@yourdomain.com | Mailbox | One real person, one inbox. |
| info@ / sales@ / support@ | Mailbox or forwarder | Shared roles. Forward to whoever handles them today. |
| noreply@ | Mailbox with a filter | Real replies do arrive. Do not send from an address that bounces. |
| Catch-all (anything@) | Avoid | Catch-alls attract enormous volumes of spam. Create the addresses you need instead. |
Accessing your mail
Webmail
Reach webmail three ways:
- From cPanel, click Check Email beside the account in Email Accounts.
- Directly at
https://yourdomain.com/webmail. - On port
2096:https://yourdomain.com:2096.
Log in with the full email address as the username and the mailbox password.
Mail applications
To use Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird or a phone, click Connect Devices beside the account in cPanel. That screen lists the exact server names and ports for your account. See the companion article on setting up mail clients for full step-by-step instructions.
Aliases, forwarders and autoresponders
| Feature | What it does | Uses a mailbox? |
|---|---|---|
| Forwarder | Redirects mail for one address to another | No storage used |
| Autoresponder | Sends an automatic reply, such as an out-of-office | Yes, alongside a mailbox |
| Filter | Sorts, files or discards mail by rule | Yes |
Creating a forwarder
- In cPanel, open Email → Forwarders.
- Click Add Forwarder.
- Enter the address to forward from, choose the domain, and enter the destination address.
- Click Add Forwarder.
Setting an out-of-office reply
- Open Email → Autoresponders and click Add Autoresponder.
- Set the interval - hours to wait before replying again to the same sender. Use at least 24 to avoid reply loops.
- Fill in the email address, the From name, subject and body.
- Set a start and stop time so it turns itself off when you return.
- Click Create.
Managing quotas and storage
- Check usage in Email Accounts - each mailbox shows a usage bar.
- Change a quota with Manage → Storage Space beside the account.
- A full mailbox rejects new mail. Senders receive a bounce, so it is visible to your customers.
- Mail storage counts against your hosting account's disk usage. Emptying Trash and Junk in webmail genuinely reclaims it.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Mailbox created but no mail arrives | MX records point elsewhere, or Email Routing is set to Remote Mail Exchanger. Check both in cPanel. |
| "Mailbox is full" bounces | Raise the quota, empty Trash and Junk, and archive old mail locally. |
| Webmail login rejected | The username is the full email address, not just the part before the @. Reset the password in cPanel if unsure. |
| Can receive but not send | Your ISP is blocking outbound port 25, or SMTP authentication is switched off in your mail client. Use port 465 with SSL and enable authentication. |
| Suddenly flooded with bounce messages you did not send | A mailbox password has been compromised and is being used to send spam. Change every mail password immediately and open a ticket with Technical Support. |
| Forwarded mail never arrives | The destination provider is rejecting forwarded mail on SPF grounds. See the note above. |
| Autoresponder replying to every message repeatedly | The interval is set to 0. Set it to 24 hours or more. |
Frequently asked questions
How many email accounts can I have?
It depends on your plan. The Ultimate shared hosting plan includes unlimited email accounts; lower tiers include a generous fixed allocation. Check your plan details in the client area.
Is my email included with hosting, or is it a separate product?
Mailboxes are included with shared hosting at no extra cost.
Can I keep email with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 and host the site here?
Yes, and it is a common arrangement. Point the website's A record at us, and leave the MX records pointing at your mail provider. Set Email Routing to Remote Mail Exchanger in cPanel.
Do you keep backups of email?
Yes. Nightly snapshots include mailboxes, and an individual mailbox can be restored on its own from cPanel.
How do I stop my mail going to recipients' spam folders?
Publish SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. The dedicated deliverability article in this knowledgebase walks through all three.
