An email (electronic mail) is a digital message sent from one address to another over the internet. It can contain text, images, links, and attachments, and is delivered almost instantly to the recipient's inbox.
How Email Works
You compose a message in an email client and send it to a recipient's address. Behind the scenes, mail servers route it across the internet using standard protocols, and the receiving server places it in the recipient's inbox. An email can be a simple plain-text email or a richly formatted HTML email with branding, buttons, and images.
Types of Email
Emails fall into broad categories by purpose. A transactional email is triggered by an action, like a receipt or password reset. A marketing email promotes products or content to a list of subscribers. Personal email is everyday one-to-one correspondence. The same underlying technology carries all of them; the difference is intent, audience, and design.
Email and Topol
From a single notification to a full campaign, design matters. Build professional, client-tested emails with Topol, start free at Topol signup, or explore related terms in the Topol glossary.