An email address has become as essential as a phone number in modern South Africa. You need one to apply for a job, to register on a government portal, to do online banking, to shop online, to receive a booking confirmation, and to set up almost any account on the internet.
If you don’t have one yet — or if you have one you’ve forgotten the password to and have simply avoided — this article walks you through creating a Gmail address from scratch. Gmail is Google’s free email service and is the most widely used email provider in South Africa. It works on any phone, tablet or computer, costs nothing, and once set up requires very little maintenance.
By the end of this article you’ll have a working email address that will serve you for years.
Before you start — a few things to decide
Your email address name
Your Gmail address will look like this: yourname@gmail.com
The part before the @ is yours to choose. Once chosen it cannot be changed, so it’s worth thinking about for a moment before you type it in.
For everyday personal use: firstname.lastname is the cleanest format — for example thabo.nkosi@gmail.com or sarah.vandenberg@gmail.com. It looks professional, is easy to remember, and is easy to give to someone verbally.
If your preferred name is taken: Gmail has hundreds of millions of users, so common names are often unavailable. Try adding a middle initial, a full stop between names, or a meaningful number — your birth year works, though be aware this reveals your age. For example thabo.n.nkosi@gmail.com or sarah.vandenberg1968@gmail.com.
What to avoid:
- Nicknames or playful names —
coolmom1960@gmail.comlooks unprofessional on a job application or when communicating with a doctor, bank or government department - Your full ID number — never include sensitive personal information in an email address
- Very complicated combinations that are difficult to spell out verbally — you’ll need to give this address to people over the phone and at counters
Write your chosen address down before you start the setup process so you don’t forget it mid-way through.
Setting up Gmail on a computer
Step 1 — Go to Gmail
Open Chrome and type gmail.com in the address bar. Press Enter.
You’ll see the Gmail sign-in page. Since you don’t have an account yet, look for the option that says Create account — it’s usually below the sign-in fields or accessible via a link at the bottom of the page.
Click Create account and select For my personal use when asked.
Step 2 — Enter your name
Type your first name and last name in the fields provided. Use your real name — this is what recipients will see when you send them an email.
Click Next.
Step 3 — Choose your birthday and gender
Google asks for your date of birth and gender. This information is used to verify your age and personalise your account. It is not displayed publicly.
Enter your date of birth using the drop-down menus — select the month, then type the day and year.
Select your gender or choose Rather not say if you prefer.
Click Next.
Step 4 — Choose your Gmail address
This is where you type the address name you decided on before you started. Google will tell you immediately if it’s already taken — if it is, it will suggest alternatives or you can try a variation of your own.
Once you find an available address you’re happy with, click Next.
Step 5 — Create your password
Your Gmail password protects your entire Google account — and because your email is used to reset passwords for other accounts, it is one of the most important passwords you have.
Use the three-random-words method from the Safety module — three unrelated words with a capital letter at the start of each and a number at the end. For example BlueMountainChair7. This is strong, memorable and far more secure than a short complicated password.
You’ll be asked to type it twice to confirm. Type carefully — passwords are hidden as dots while you type.
Write this password down immediately in your safe password notebook. Do not skip this step.
Click Next.
Step 6 — Add a recovery phone number
Google asks for a phone number to help you recover your account if you ever forget your password. This is strongly recommended — without a recovery option, a forgotten password can mean permanent loss of access to your account.
Type your South African mobile number including the country code — +27 followed by your number without the leading zero. For example if your number is 082 555 1234 you’d type +27825551234.
Google will send an SMS with a verification code. Enter that code when prompted and click Verify.
Step 7 — Review and agree to Google’s terms
Google displays a summary of your account details and asks you to agree to their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Scroll to the bottom and click I agree.
Your account is now created.
Setting up Gmail on an Android phone
The process on a phone is slightly different — and on many Android phones, particularly Samsung, you may be prompted to add a Google account during the initial phone setup. If you skipped that step, here’s how to do it now.
Method 1 — Through phone settings
- Open Settings on your phone
- Scroll down and tap Accounts and backup or Accounts
- Tap Add account
- Tap Google
- Tap Create account → For myself
- Follow the same steps as the computer process above — name, birthday, address, password, recovery number
- Once complete, your Gmail account is linked to your phone
Method 2 — Through the Gmail app
- Find the Gmail app on your phone — it has a red and white envelope icon. If it’s not visible, search for it in your app drawer
- Open it
- Tap Add an email address
- Select Google
- Tap Create account and follow the steps
Once set up, the Gmail app will show your inbox and allow you to send and receive emails directly from your phone.
Understanding your Gmail inbox
When you first open Gmail your inbox will be empty — or may contain a welcome email from Google. Here is what you’re looking at:
Inbox — the main folder where received emails arrive. Unread emails are shown in bold. Emails you’ve read appear in normal weight.
Sent — a folder containing copies of every email you’ve sent.
Drafts — emails you’ve started writing but haven’t sent yet. Gmail saves these automatically.
Spam — emails that Gmail has identified as likely junk or suspicious. Worth checking occasionally — legitimate emails sometimes end up here by mistake.
Bin / Trash — deleted emails. They stay here for 30 days before being permanently removed.
These folders are accessible from the left side of the screen on a computer or by tapping the three horizontal lines (menu icon) on a phone.
Sending your first email
- Click or tap the Compose button — on a computer it’s a prominent button on the left side; on the app it’s a pencil icon at the bottom right
- In the To field, type the email address of the person you’re writing to
- In the Subject field, type a brief description of what the email is about — for example
Booking enquiryorQuestion about my account - Click or tap in the large white area below — this is the body of the email, where you write your message
- Type your message
- Click or tap the Send button — a paper aeroplane icon
Your email is delivered almost instantly. A copy is saved automatically in your Sent folder.
Replying to an email
When you receive an email and want to respond:
- Open the email by clicking or tapping on it
- Scroll to the bottom of the message
- Click or tap Reply
- Type your response in the field that appears
- Click or tap Send
The reply is addressed automatically to the sender — you don’t need to type their email address again.
A few important Gmail habits
Check your spam folder regularly. Important emails from banks, government departments and businesses sometimes end up in spam by mistake — particularly if it’s the first time that sender has emailed you. Check it once a week and mark any legitimate emails as “Not spam” so future emails from that sender go straight to your inbox.
Don’t open attachments from unknown senders. An attachment is a file included with an email — a document, photo or other file. If you receive an email from someone you don’t know with an attachment, do not open it. Malicious files sent as email attachments are a common way of installing harmful software on computers. If you’re not expecting a file, verify with the sender by phone before opening anything.
Your Gmail address is your Google identity. The same address and password gives you access to all Google services — Google Drive for storing files, Google Photos for backing up your pictures, Google Maps, YouTube and more. Setting up Gmail effectively gives you a key to an entire ecosystem of free, useful tools.
Don’t share your Gmail password. Not with family members, not with people offering technical help, not with anyone who phones you claiming to be from Google. Google will never phone you asking for your password.
What to do if you forget your password
This happens to everyone at some point. The recovery process is straightforward if you added a phone number during setup.
- Go to
gmail.com - Type your email address and click Next
- Click Forgot password?
- Google will offer to send a verification code to your recovery phone number
- Enter the code when it arrives via SMS
- You’ll be prompted to create a new password
- Write the new password in your notebook immediately
If you did not add a recovery phone number and have forgotten your password, account recovery becomes significantly more difficult. This is why adding your phone number during setup — and keeping it current — is so important.
Giving your email address to organisations
Once your Gmail address is set up, you’ll need to provide it in various places. Here is a checklist of the most important ones to update or register with:
- ✅ Your bank — so they can send statements, confirmations and notifications
- ✅ SASSA — for grant-related correspondence
- ✅ Home Affairs online portal — for appointment confirmations
- ✅ SARS eFiling — for tax correspondence
- ✅ Your doctor or medical aid — for appointment reminders and accounts
- ✅ Any online shopping accounts you create
- ✅ Your employer — for payslips if issued digitally
Try this now
Follow the steps in this article and create your Gmail address today — or if you already have one, open Gmail and send an email to a family member or friend. Keep it simple — just a few sentences to say hello and let them know your new email address. The first email you send is always the hardest. After that it becomes as natural as sending a WhatsApp.
You’ve completed the Internet module — well done. Head back to choose your next topic, or ask Tina if you have any questions.
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