How to sign up to Facebook

To use the site, you need an account. Go to facebook.com, and fill out your basic details – your name, email address, date of birth and a password. This will start the registration process.

At the end of the process, an email will be sent to you explaining how to activate the account. If you are on a phone or tablet, first download the Facebook app.

That depends. The point of Facebook is to connect with people you know. And the quickest way to find those people is to give the website permission to import your contacts' email addresses – which is what it is asking to do.

But you can do this at any stage, and there are other ways to find people on the site. So if you feel uncomfortable about letting Facebook have access to your email account for any reason, just skip this stage.

I'll say yes, just for the fun of seeing who else is on Facebook.

You'll now see a list of people you know – each with his or her name and usually a picture too. Click on the Add friend button next to anyone you want to contact.

It's a good idea to decide now whether you want to keep your Facebook account for friends and family, or whether you want to include work colleagues and clients. If in doubt, stick to people you know very well – you can always widen your circle of contacts later on.

The more information you add, the easier it will be for you to find people you know on Facebook and for them to find you.

Facebook asks for basic information about you – where you grew up, where you live, where you work and so on – but it is entirely up to you how much you share.

You might be happy to include your home town, for example, but not your school or workplace. If you are not sure, you can skip this stage altogether (again, you can add the information later). But the more information you add, the easier it will be for you to find people you know on Facebook and for them to find you.

It is definitely worth adding a photograph of yourself to help people find you on Facebook. Unless you have an incredibly unusual name, there will be others on the site who share it – and a photograph will allow your friends to distinguish you from someone else.

You can upload a favourite snap, or take one now with your computer's webcam. But, of course, you don't have to add a photo – you can use a picture of, say, your garden or a cartoon character or you can leave the space blank for now.