Basic Lesson 1: How to Register for a Blogger Account

Getting a blog up and running on blogger requires less than 10 minutes if you are using Blogger.com. Registering for a Blogger account is free and easy and only requires that you have an e-mail address that already exists. Using your college e-mail address will work fine as Blogger doesn't send out spam or other forms of e-mail solicitation.

To register on Blogger.com, just follow these directions:

1) Go to Blogger.com.


2) Click the big orange arrow in the middle of the page that says "Create Your Blog Now".

3) Follow the steps below referring to the image as needed:


3A) Type in a valid e-mail address such as yourname@yourschool.edu.

3B) Enter a password for your account. Make it memorable! Make sure to enter it in the retype password box also. Typing it twice ensures you don't make a typing mistake.

3C) Enter a name that will be displayed on your blog posts as the author name. Your first name will be fine for now (you can always change it later).

3D) Enter the goofy looking letters displayed in the box in the word verification section. This helps ensure you are a human being not an automated agent signing up for blogs that will be used for nefarious purposes.

3E) Click the link for terms of service and read them. Click the check box to indicate your agreement with the terms of service.

3F) Click the orange continue arrow to proceed.

4) Follow the steps below referring to the image as needed:


4A) Enter a title for your blog. You can always change it later if you don't like it.

4B) You now will be picking a web address (URL) for your blog (or at least part of the address). The URL is the web address you will provide to other people so that they can find your blog on the web. All blogs hosted by Blogger end with ".blogspot.com". You can't change this. However, you can specify the first part of the URL. Stick to something relatively easy for people to remember.

Say you enter mymcccteachingblog in this step. The URL for your blog will be mymcccteachingblog.blogspot.com. And yes, you could always change the URL later (but you would have to notify everyone about the change so that they have the correct URL). It is best to think of a good one now and stick with it.

4C) The URL you specify may already be in use by someone else. After entering a URL, click the Check Availability link to determine if the URL you specified is available. If it is already being used, choose another one and keep checking availability until you hit one that you can use.

4D) Click the orange continue arrow to proceed.

5) Follow the steps below to select a design for your blog.


5A) Use the scroll bar to browse through the available design templates.

5B) To see what a blog will look like using a particular template, click the preview template link under that template.

5C) When you find a template you like, choose that template by clicking the radio button next to the template name. You can always change the template later if you decide you don't like it.

5D) Click the orange continue arrow to proceed.

Congratulations! Your blog is now set up and ready for your first post. Click the orange start posting arrow to create your first post.