How Email Works? explained: End-to-End Email Working (visual cheat sheet)

📨 End-to-End Email Working ⚙️

Email is a method of exchanging digital messages across the internet. When you send an email, your message travels through several steps:

Composition: You write and send an email using an email client (e.g., Gmail, Outlook).
SMTP Server: The email is sent to a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server, which forwards it to the recipient’s server.
DNS Lookup: The SMTP server looks up the recipient’s domain to find their mail server using DNS (Domain Name System).
Recipient’s Server: The email is delivered to the recipient’s mail server, stored until accessed.
POP/IMAP Protocols: The recipient uses an email client to fetch the message via POP (Post Office Protocol) or IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol).