What you'll accomplish
- Create a free Gmail account
- Navigate your inbox and send your first email
- Set up a signature
- Organise emails with labels and filters
- Add Gmail to your phone
If you already have a Gmail account, skip to Step 2. If not, here's how to create one for free.
- Open your browser and go to gmail.com
- Click Create account
- Enter your first and last name
- Choose a username — this becomes your email address (e.g. [email protected]). Try a few if your first choice is taken.
- Create a strong password and confirm it
- Enter your phone number for account recovery — this is important if you ever get locked out
- Follow the remaining prompts and agree to Google's terms
📸
Screenshot: Gmail account creation form
💡
Tip: Choose your username carefully — it's hard to change later. Use your real name or a professional variation if you plan to use this for work or business.
Gmail's interface can look busy at first. Here's what the key parts do:
- Compose (top left button) — click this to write a new email
- Inbox — all emails sent to you land here
- Sent — emails you've sent
- Drafts — emails you started but haven't sent yet
- Spam — emails Gmail thinks are junk. Check this occasionally — real emails sometimes end up here
- Search bar (top) — type a name or subject to find any email instantly
📸
Screenshot: Gmail inbox with key areas labelled
Sending an email in Gmail is straightforward once you know where everything is.
- Click the Compose button (top left)
- In the To field, type the recipient's email address
- Click Subject and type a brief description of what the email is about
- Click in the large blank area and type your message
- Click the Send button (blue button, bottom left of the compose window)
📸
Screenshot: Gmail compose window with To, Subject, and message fields
💡
Tip: Use CC to copy someone on an email and BCC to copy someone without the other recipients knowing. Click the CC/BCC links to the right of the To field.
A signature automatically appears at the bottom of every email you send — useful for including your name, phone number, or business name.
- Click the Settings gear icon (top right)
- Click See all settings
- Scroll down to the Signature section
- Click Create new and give your signature a name
- Type your signature in the box — name, phone, website, etc.
- Under "Signature defaults" set it to appear on new emails and replies
- Scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes
📸
Screenshot: Gmail signature settings with example signature
The Gmail app lets you read and send emails from your phone anywhere, with notifications when new emails arrive.
- iPhone: Open the App Store, search for Gmail, tap Get to install
- Android: Gmail is usually pre-installed. If not, open the Play Store and search for Gmail
- Open the app and sign in with your Google account email and password
- Allow notifications when prompted so you're alerted to new emails
📸
Screenshot: Gmail app sign-in screen on mobile
💡
Tip: You can add multiple email accounts to the Gmail app — including non-Gmail addresses like Outlook or Rogers email. Tap your profile picture → Add another account.