Setting up and using email: a guide for complete beginners

This guide is for anyone who has never had an email account, or who set one up years ago with someone else's help and would now like to understand what they're actually doing. By the end, you'll be able to create a free account, send a message to a friend or family member, open files people send you, and keep your inbox from becoming a wall of unread clutter. No prior experience needed.

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Step 1: Choose an email provider

Your "email provider" is simply the company that handles your messages. Two providers dominate the UK for personal use: Gmail, run by Google, and Outlook, run by Microsoft. Both are free. Both work on a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

In my experience, Gmail is slightly easier for complete beginners because its layout is clean and its sign-up process is straightforward. Outlook is worth considering if you already use a Windows computer and like things to feel joined up. Either choice is perfectly good, and you can always set up a second account later if you change your mind.

For this guide, I'll use Gmail as the main example, with notes on where Outlook differs.

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Step 2: Create your account

Go to gmail.com in your internet browser (that's Safari on an iPad or iPhone, Chrome on most Android tablets, or Edge on a Windows computer). On Outlook, go to outlook.com.

You'll see a "Create account" or "Sign up" button. Click or tap it.

You'll be asked for:

• Your name
• A chosen email address (something like margaret.jones@gmail.com or davidsmith1947@gmail.com)
• A password

Your email address needs to be unique, so your first choice might already be taken. Try adding a number, or use a middle initial. Keep it simple enough to read out over the phone, since you'll occasionally need to tell people what it is.

Your password should be at least 8 characters and include a mix of letters and numbers. Write it down somewhere safe at home, at least until you're confident you know it by heart.

Google and Microsoft will ask for a mobile phone number during sign-up. This is for your security, not for marketing. If someone tries to access your account from an unfamiliar device, they'll send a code to your phone to check it's really you. It's worth providing.

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Step 3: Sign in for the first time

Once your account is created, you'll usually be taken straight to your inbox. In future, whenever you want to read your email, simply go back to gmail.com (or outlook.com) and sign in with the address and password you just set up.

On a tablet or phone, many people find it easier to use the app rather than the browser. The Gmail app is available free from the App Store (Apple) or Google Play Store (Android). Outlook has its own app on both platforms too. The apps look slightly different from the website versions but work in the same way.

If you're using a phone or tablet that belongs to you alone, you can tell it to remember your password so you don't have to type it every time. On a shared device, don't do this.

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Step 4: Send your first email

This is the heart of it. Sending an email takes about 30 seconds once you've done it once.

In Gmail, look for a large button labelled Compose in the top left corner. On a phone, it may appear as a pencil icon at the bottom of the screen. In Outlook, it's labelled New message.

Tap or click it. A blank message window opens. You'll see:

• A To field: type the email address of the person you're writing to here. Email addresses always contain an @ symbol (on most keyboards, hold Shift and press the 2 key).
• A Subject field: a short description of what the email is about, such as "Lunch next week" or "Photos from Margaret's birthday".
• The large blank area below: this is where you type your message, just as you would a letter.

When you're happy with it, press the blue Send button (in Gmail) or the arrow icon (in Outlook). That's it. The message arrives in the other person's inbox within seconds, wherever they are in the world.

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Step 5: Read and reply to messages

When someone sends you an email, it arrives in your Inbox. You'll see a list of messages, each showing who sent it, the subject line, and when it arrived. Unread messages usually appear in bold.

Click or tap a message to open it and read it.

To reply, look for a Reply button, usually at the bottom of the message or near the top of the screen. In Gmail it's a curved arrow pointing left. Tap it, type your response, and press Send. You don't need to retype the other person's address; it fills in automatically.

One thing that confuses beginners: the difference between Reply and Reply all. If an email was sent to several people and you press Reply, only the original sender gets your response. If you press Reply all, everyone on the original email gets it. In most personal exchanges this doesn't matter, but in group emails it's worth pausing to think.

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Step 6: Open and save an attachment

An attachment is a file someone has included with their email: a photograph, a document, a PDF letter from a solicitor, or a scan of a form. You'll know an email has an attachment because it shows a small paperclip icon in the message list, or you'll see the file listed at the bottom of the open message.

To view an attachment on a computer, click on the file name or the download arrow beside it. It will either open directly, or your browser will ask where you'd like to save it. On a phone or tablet, tap the attachment and it should open in a suitable app (photos open in your photo app, PDFs in a document viewer).

If you want to keep the file permanently, save it to your device. On a computer this usually means saving to your Documents or Downloads folder. On a phone, photos often save automatically to your camera roll.

A word of caution: if an email arrives from someone you don't recognise, and it contains an attachment you weren't expecting, don't open it. This is one of the most common ways that harmful software reaches people's devices. Age UK has useful advice on spotting suspicious emails at ageuk.org.uk.

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Step 7: Keep your inbox tidy

After a few weeks, inboxes can fill up fast. Newsletters, receipts, messages from family, appointment reminders - it all arrives in one place unless you do something about it.

The simplest approach is to delete anything you no longer need. In Gmail, select a message by ticking the box beside it (or pressing and holding on a phone), then press the bin icon. In Outlook it's the same process.

For messages you want to keep, Gmail uses Labels and Outlook uses Folders. Both work the same way: you create a named category (say, "Family", "NHS letters", or "Bank") and move relevant messages into it. To create a label in Gmail, look in the left-hand panel for "More" and scroll down to "Create new label". In Outlook, right-click (or press and hold) in the folder panel and choose "New folder".

One small habit that makes a real difference: spend five minutes on your inbox every few days rather than letting hundreds of messages pile up. Easier said than done, I know. But a cluttered inbox makes it harder to spot something that actually matters.

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