What is the difference between an email alias and an email account?

An email account is a mailbox which stores email. An email alias (also known as an "email forward") is simply a pointer to an email account. Email aliases can point either to a Domain Support-maintained email account, or to an email account at your ISP. A typical email alias might be "support@yourname.com" or "info@yourname.com," whereas a typical email address might be "jdoe@yourname.com".