Signing Up for an Email Account
Follow these steps to sign up for Gmail. Your Google account will give you personalized access many other Google products and services—like YouTube, Google Photos, and Calendar—as well. Note that the following signup screens may vary.
Creating a new Gmail account
- Open a browser and go to gmail.com.
- From the Sign in screen, click Create account.
- Type in your first and last name.
- In Username, type in the email name you wish to have. If available, this will become the first part of your email address. Gmail will alert you if the name is already taken and suggest alternatives.
- In Password, type in a password at least 8 characters long. Your password should contain upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols like”@”. Don’t use a password you use elsewhere, and don’t use information like your birthdate or address.
- In Confirm, retype your password. Passwords are case-sensitive, so be careful to repeat any capital letters.
- Follow the instructions to enter your date of birth and gender.
- Add a mobile phone number and a backup email address if you have them. This can help you recover your email account if you lose access, forget your password, or are hacked.
- Click Next. If you make a mistake or forget something, Google will prompt you for a correction.
- Read Privacy and Terms and click I Agree.
It is extremely important to use a strong password for your email account. It is also very important that you do not use the password for any other account—it must be unique to your email account. Unique passwords limit the damage a hacker can do if they do gain access to one account. Your email address is especially important because email is often used to verify password changes to your online accounts. If your email password is stolen, a cybercriminal can reset your other accounts, locking you out.
September 26, 2022