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› Webmail
› How to Use Mobile Webmail
Mobile webmail is the touch-optimised interface SmartXHosting serves when you sign in from a phone browser. It gives you the same mailbox as desktop webmail, in a layout sized for one-handed use on the move. This tutorial describes the main screens, navigation patterns, and features you will use day-to-day.
Mobile webmail is best for:
- Quick inbox checks on your phone without installing a dedicated app.
- Occasional access on a phone you do not own (client's device, public kiosk — always use private browsing).
- Low-storage devices where a native mail app would consume too much space.
- A fallback when your usual mail app misbehaves.
For heavy daily use on your own phone, a native client (iOS Mail, Gmail app, eM Client mobile) configured against SmartXHosting's IMAP gives better push notifications and offline support.
Mobile webmail uses a single-column layout optimised for portrait phone orientation. From top to bottom:
- Top toolbar. Menu icon, folder name, search icon, settings icon.
- Message list. One message per row with sender, subject and preview snippet.
- Floating compose button. Bottom-right corner; tap to start a new message.
Rotating the phone to landscape gives you a two-column layout (list + reading pane) on larger screens.
From left to right:
- Menu icon (three horizontal lines). Opens the side panel with folders, contacts, settings and sign-out.
- Folder title. Shows the currently open folder name (e.g. "Inbox", "Sent"). Tap to see the folder hierarchy breadcrumb.
- Search icon (magnifying glass). Opens the search bar scoped to the current folder.
- Overflow menu (three dots). Contextual actions: refresh, sort order, Select all, Settings.
Each row shows:
- Sender. Display name where available; email address otherwise.
- Date or time. Time if the message arrived today; day name for this week; date for older.
- Subject. Bold if unread.
- Preview snippet. First line or two of the body.
- Status indicators. Unread dot, flag, attachment, importance, reply/forward state.
Tap a row to open the message. Long-press to start a multi-select for bulk actions.
Open with the menu icon. Sections:
- Folders. Inbox, Drafts, Sent, Trash, Spam, Archive, and your custom folders.
- Shared. Folders shared with you by colleagues (when any).
- Contacts. Quick link to the address book.
- Calendar. Quick link (where enabled in your plan).
- All email folders. Expands to the full folder tree for less-used folders.
- Settings. Identity, signature, filters, security, display preferences.
- Sign out. At the bottom — always use this rather than just closing the tab.
Mobile webmail supports common touch gestures:
- Swipe right on a message. Mark as read (or as unread, if already read). Configurable in Settings.
- Swipe left. Quick delete to Trash, or an archive shortcut if you prefer. Also configurable.
- Tap-and-hold. Enter multi-select mode. Tap additional messages to build the selection.
- Pull-down to refresh. Pulls in any new messages without a full page reload.
- Pinch-zoom on a message body. Zooms the body content (useful for messages with small fonts).
Tap the floating + button. The compose screen takes full-screen:
- To, Cc (expand from link), Bcc (expand from link).
- Subject field.
- Body editor with basic formatting: bold, italic, lists, links.
- Attachment icon for picking files from device storage or cloud apps.
- Send (red arrow) in the top-right.
- Save as draft and Close (X) in the top-left.
Keyboard tip: on iOS and Android, the email field gets an appropriate keyboard (with @ shortcut). The subject and body get the regular keyboard.
Settings worth reviewing for mobile use:
- Swipe actions. Configure what left-swipe and right-swipe do on the message list.
- Default folder on sign-in. Inbox by default; change to All mail or any other folder if you prefer.
- Display density. Compact, comfortable or spacious row heights.
- Image loading. Default off for privacy; change to "Ask every time" or "Always load".
- Signature. Simple plain-text works best on mobile; reserve rich HTML signatures for desktop.
- Notification behaviour. Web push notifications (if your browser supports them) — useful on Android Chrome.
Add to home screen. On iOS Safari, tap Share › Add to Home Screen to install mobile webmail as a progressive web app. Gives you a tap-to-open icon with offline support for recently viewed messages. Similar on Android Chrome via the overflow menu › Install app.
Q: Will mobile webmail work on iOS and Android?
A: Yes. Modern Safari (iOS 15+) and Chrome (Android 10+) both fully supported.
Q: Can I set it as default mail handler on iOS?
A: Not directly — iOS only allows native apps to handle mailto: links. The PWA icon on your home screen is the closest equivalent.
Q: What if mobile webmail falls back to the desktop layout?
A: Append /m to the URL (e.g. https://mail.epost.plus/m) to force mobile mode, or turn off "Request desktop site" in your mobile browser.
Q: Does mobile webmail support multiple accounts?
A: One at a time per browser session. Sign out and sign in with a different account to switch.
Q: Does it use less data than a native app?
A: Comparable. Both sync incrementally; webmail re-renders HTML for each view, a native app keeps local state.