About
This article shows you Mille and one way to send an email (ie known as transport in SMTP.
Sending an email is also known as submitting an email to the server and the connection ports are known as submission port.
How it works?
Before continuing, you need to know the basics of email and how it works with SMTP. If you don't check this page: How does the email system work? SMTP, POP, IMAP explained.
Method
Direct connection at the command line
This is an advanced mechanism where you need to know the SMTP protocol. For an example, see the transaction page: How to send an email at the command line with SMTP? Email transaction explained
Email Client (Mail User Agent)
A user can send an email with a client application (known also as MUA)
Provider
Third party
Professional
Using a dedicated email service provider is the most easy and secure way to send email
See:
- Transactional Email: See A transactional email is an email that is part of an application
- Email - Service Provider (ESP) - Marketing ie (newsletter)
Personal
You should not send professional emails using your personal Yahoo, Gmail, Outlook, AOL, etc. in the FROM address. The emails might:
- not be delivered at all, like on Yahoo,
- or display a warning, like “Be careful with this message” on Gmail which warns about the recipient that he might be spoofed.
It's still possible to use the SMTP with a MTA configuration. See for instance postfix SASL solution but I don't known the repercussion. You should test it.
Dedicated Server
On a dedicated server, you may send:
- via the installation of a MTA
- via the email function of you language
It's free to send with your own host but you need to configure it properly. See How to configure your server to send Email properly?