Skip to content
MailVitals Email deliverability
Sign inEarly access
Glossary · Message format

Webmail

Email read and written in a web browser, such as Gmail or Outlook on the web, where the mail program's work happens on the provider's servers.

What it means

Webmail is an email client split in two: a thin interface in the browser and most of the work on the provider's servers, a distributed arrangement RFC 5598 describes for MUAs. Because the message is shown inside the provider's own web page, webmail limits what HTML and CSS a message may use.

Rendering differs between a provider's webmail and its apps: Can I email lists Gmail's desktop webmail, iOS app, Android app and mobile webmail separately because their support differs. Webmail is also where providers add their own features around a message, such as unsubscribe buttons, tabs, warnings and image controls.

Sources

What this definition rests on. The wording is ours; the facts are theirs.

All 432 terms in the glossaryThe wiki: blocklists and bounce codes

Beat · paid monitoring

A heartbeat for your email.

Beat runs every check on this site on a schedule: 41 checks, 25 blacklists and real inbox placement. The moment something breaks, it tells you what broke, why it matters, and the exact fix.

Get early access to BeatSee what Beat watches
example.comWatching
  • SPFpass
  • DKIMpass
  • DMARCp=none
  • Blacklists0 of 25

Illustrative. Your domain, every few hours.

Also from us:Pulse: your own sending infrastructureConsulting: $65/hr, no retainer