# Create your HelpCenter.io account _Category: Getting started_ Sign up to start your 14-day free trial. You create your account in one step, then a short setup wizard helps you name your help center, choose its address and bring in your content. You don't need a credit card. **Who can do this:** Anyone ยท **Plans:** 14-day free trial, no credit card needed ## Create your account 1. Go to [helpcenter.io/app/signup](https://helpcenter.io/app/signup), or click **Start free trial** on our [pricing page](https://helpcenter.io/pricing). 2. Under **Work email**, enter your work email address. 3. Under **Your name**, enter your full name. It's shown as the author on the articles you publish. 4. Under **Password**, enter a password of at least 8 characters. You type it once: click the eye icon to check what you typed, and watch the strength meter below the field. 5. Tick **I agree to the Terms of Service**. The box **Email me product tips and offers and get $10 off, one time** is optional. See [Choose a plan and start your subscription](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/activate-your-subscription). 6. Click **Create my account**. Next, you choose your help center's address. ![Screen recording. Enter your work email, your name and a password. Accept the terms and click Create my account.](https://helpcenter-io.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/self/rzAhMloW2P5n4kBb5DsZ7ia9lWT8MdCPmWbAVeuJ.gif) If something is missing, the form says what to fix under the field. ## Or sign up with Google Click **Continue with Google** at the top of the sign-up page and pick your Google account. The form comes back as **Finish creating your account**, with your Google address under **Your email** and no password field. Check your name, tick the terms box and click **Create my account**. Next, you choose your help center's address. You sign in with that Google account from then on, and your email address counts as verified, so no verification email is sent. You can add a password later in **Account Settings**. To go back to the email form, click **Use email instead**. ## Choose your help center's address Your help center's address is its subdomain, such as `acme.helpcenter.io`. It's where your customers find answers, so pick something short they'll recognize, like your company or product name. 1. Under **Help center address**, type the name you want. If you signed up with a work email, we suggest one from your email's domain: keep it or make it your own. 2. Wait for the page to say the address is available. It checks as you type, and the preview shows how your help center will look. 3. Click **Create my help center**. Your help center is created and the setup wizard opens. Your help center is created only when you click **Create my help center**. If you leave before that, you have no help center yet, and the next time you sign in you're back on this screen. ## Set up your help center The setup wizard takes about 3 minutes, and you can skip any step. With the address, it has seven steps: **Address**, **Goal**, **Basics**, **Content**, **Look**, **Team** and **Finish**. On **Basics**, you name your help center and choose its main language. Need a break? Click **Finish later**. Your answers are saved, and **Resume setup** on the Articles page takes you back where you left off. See [Set up your help center: a first-hour checklist](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/set-up-your-help-center). A subdomain is 3 to 63 characters long and uses letters, numbers and dashes. Capital letters are saved as lowercase. Reserved words, such as `app`, `help`, `support` and `www`, and some protected brand names aren't available. You can change your subdomain later, but links to the old address stop working, so it pays to choose carefully. See [Change your help center's address](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/change-your-subdomain). You can also serve your help center from your own domain, such as help.yourcompany.com: see [Use your own domain](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/custom-domain). ## What you get - **A help center with the name you gave it** on the **Basics** step. To rename it later, change **Site name** under **Brand** in the template editor, then publish. - **Your first content.** Starter categories for what you're building, the articles you brought over, or a draft sample article to edit or delete. - **The design you picked** on the **Look** step, which you can change in the template editor. - **Privacy while you build.** New help centers start unpublished: only you and the people you invite can see yours. [Publish it](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/make-your-help-center-public) when you're ready: that needs an activated plan, and activating early keeps your trial. - **A 14-day free trial** of the plan you picked on our pricing page, or of Growth if you signed up without picking one. See [How the free trial works](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/free-trial). ## Verify your email If you signed up with Google, skip this step. Otherwise, we send you an email to confirm your address. Open it and click **Verify Email Address**. The link works for 60 minutes. You need a verified email to activate your subscription, and an activated subscription to publish your help center. If the email doesn't arrive, check your spam folder. To get a new link, click your avatar at the bottom of the dashboard's left menu, then **Account Settings**, and click **Resend** under your email address. ## Joining a teammate's help center? If someone invited you, don't sign up here. Open the link in your invitation email. It shows which help center you're joining and your role. Under **Set up your account**, the invited address is already filled in, and you join with that address. Add a password, then click **Join** followed by the help center's name. Already have an account? Click **Sign in to accept** instead. See [Invite your team](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/invite-your-team). ## Troubleshooting **"The email has already been taken."** You already have an account with that address. [Sign in](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/sign-in) instead, or reset your password from the sign-in page. **"Use at least 8 characters."** Make your password at least 8 characters long. **"That address is taken. Try another one." or "That address is reserved. Try another one."** Try another address, for example your company name with your product name added. **"Use only letters, numbers and dashes."** Remove dots and other symbols. **"That address contains a protected brand name."** Addresses that contain certain well-known brand names are blocked. Choose one based on your own company's name. **"The captcha verification failed. Please try again." or "The captcha has expired. Please refresh and try again."** Reload the page and sign up again. ## Related articles - [Set up your help center: a first-hour checklist](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/set-up-your-help-center) - [Sign in to HelpCenter.io](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/sign-in) - [Publish your help center](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/make-your-help-center-public) - [How the free trial works](https://self.helpcenter.io/content/free-trial)