Do you prefer webmail or an e-mail client like Outlook? Do you use an e-mail address associated with your Web site? I use both webmail and Outlook, but I am no longer using the e-mail addresses that come with my Web site. I’ll share the reason for that in a minute, but, first, I want to cover the pros and cons for webmail and Outlook.

Webmail: I’ve tried Yahoo, Hotmail (Windows Live), Gmail, Mail.com, Lycos, and AOL webmails. They all work pretty much the same except for Gmail, which has a totally different operational model. All are free services, so you can sign up for an account and try them out. Gmail is the only one that allows you to send and receive from Outlook or other e-mail clients without paying for the privilege. Just sign up for the free Gmail account and go the Help section to see how easy it is. The others can be set up in Outlook only if you pay a fee of anywhere from $9.99 a year to $19.99 a year. (more…)