When you have a shared web hosting plan and you set up 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 e-mail messages isn't always included in the website hosting packages that companies will offer you and an SMTP service is needed to be capable to do that. The acronym stands for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol and this is the set of scripts that enables you to send out e-mails. If you are using an email application, it creates a connection to the SMTP server. The latter then searches the DNS records of the domain name, which is a part of the receiving address to find out what email server deals with its emails. After some system information is exchanged, your SMTP server delivers the e-mail to the remote IMAP or POP server and then the e-mail is finally delivered in the related mailbox. An SMTP server is necessary if you work with some sort of contact page as well, so in case you work with a cost-free hosting package, for example, it is likely that you won't have the ability to make use of this type of form as most cost-free website hosting service providers don't allow outgoing emails.