How To... Create An Email Account
An email address is a necessary tool these days. It is a fast, easy way to communicate with people and business and it’s getting tougher and tougher to go without. Technology advancements mean that you can now operate your email from your smart phone or tablet which means you don’t even need to own a computer!
There are many free email applications. For ease of use (and an easy to remember email) we recommend Gmail.
Visit www.gmail.com
Click on ‘Create Account’ – this is usually in small blue letters.
Type in your details:
First Name – then click into the next field or press ‘tab’ key (this is in the top left hand corner under the ‘esc’ key on your keyboard)
Last Name – the click into or tab to the next field
Choose Your Username – THIS WILL BE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS so choose wisely.
It will end with @gmail.com which makes it easy to remember.
Some suggestions we recommend are to use your first name, middle initial, lastname and the two digit number of the day you were born
i.e. if your name is John Charles Smith and your birthday is 19th June your email could be: johncsmith19@gmail.com.
If your name is Elizabeth Mary Smith and your birthday is 5th January you could use elizabethmsmith05@gmail.com.
REMEMBER: When typing in your username DO NOT type @gmail.com this part is already provided.
If your username is already taken (meaning someone else already has that as an email address) then a red message with “Someone already has that username. Try another?”
You could then try the two digit number of the month you were born (instead of day).
However we do not recommend using the year you were born. Then click into or tab to the next field.
Create a Password – up to at least 8 characters (letters and/or numbers). If you have a book you keep important information in then it may be worth writing your password in this book (just the password as you should be able to remember your username if you follow the instructions above. Then click into or tab to the next field
Birthday – click in each box and select your birthday details then click into the next field
Gender – select your gender then click into the next field
Mobile Phone – type in your mobile phone details and then click into the next field
Your Current Email Address – YOU CAN LEAVE THIS FIELD BLANK and then click into the next field.
Prove You’re Not A Robot – for this you need to read the text in the picture and type it into the field provided.
Location – Australia
Click in the box next to ‘I agree to the Google Terms of Service and privacy policy’ then click NEXT STEP
This will take you to the next screen which will ask you to verify your new email. The fastest way to do this is to select by ‘Text Message’ and a text message will appear on your phone within seconds (or up to 15 minutes). OR You can choose to receive a voice call – make sure your phone is nearby as the call comes through within seconds. Make your selection and click ‘CONTINUE’
Type the verification code into the field provided and click ‘CONTINUE’
Once this verification is complete click the button that says ‘Continue to Gmail’.
Congratulations! You now have a working email. Tune into next edition for basic instructions on Sending and Receiving emails (on your computer and on your mobile phone)!