If you have a shared hosting package and you create an e-mail address, you might consider the option to send and receive emails for granted, but in fact, that isn't always the case. Sending emails is not always a part of the hosting packages that providers will offer you and an SMTP service is required to be able to do that. The abbreviation means Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and that is the software application that permits you to send out e-mails. If you use an e-mail program, it creates a connection to the SMTP server. The latter then searches the DNS data of the domain name, which is a part of the receiving address to find out which mail server manages its emails. After some system data is exchanged, your SMTP server delivers the message to the remote IMAP or POP server and then the e-mail is finally delivered in the matching mailbox. An SMTP server is required if you work with some kind of contact page as well, so in case you use a free hosting package, as an example, it's probable that you will not be able to make use of this type of form since many free website hosting companies do not allow outgoing email messages.