A webmail application allows you to send out and receive messages from browser without the need to create an e-mail address in a program like Thunderbird or Outlook. If you take a trip, for example, it is possible to check your emails from an Internet café and you will not need to download, install or set up anything at all. Webmail clients are advanced enough to provide you with a number of options such as having an address book or creating folders that will later on come in your e-mail client. As a webmail application works with the messages on the server, it is vital that you employ the IMAP protocol if you create an email account on your desktop. You may still use webmail if you choose POP, but old e-mails will not be available as they will have been downloaded on your computer. You can use webmail provided that there is any sort of e-mail created with your web hosting account and using an e-mail app before being able to use webmail is not a requirement, so you can handle your electronic communication entirely via a web browser.