This wikiHow teaches you how to use Twitter, including how to create an account and upload tweets.
Step
Part 1 of 7: Creating a Twitter Account
Step 1. Open Twitter
Visit https://www.twitter.com/ through your computer's web browser.
Step 2. Click Sign Up
It's a blue button on the right side of the page.
Step 3. Enter a name
Type your first name (and last name if desired) into the " Name " field.
Step 4. Add phone number
Type your phone number into the "Phone" field.
If you don't want to add a phone number, click the option “ Use email instead ” below the " Phone " text field and enter an email address.
Step 5. Click Next
It's in the upper-right corner of the window.
Step 6. Click Sign up
It's a blue button at the bottom of the page.
Step 7. Verify the phone number if you created an account using a mobile number
Skip this step if you used your email address to sign up for Twitter. To verify your number, follow these steps:
- Click " OK ' when prompted.
- Open the messaging app on your phone.
- Touch a message from Twitter (usually marked with a five-digit number).
- Take note of the code that is included in the message.
- Type the code into the " Verification code " text field on the Twitter website.
- Click " Next ”.
Step 8. Enter the password
Click the " Password " field, then type in the password you want to use to log in to your account.
Step 9. Click Next
It's in the top-right corner of the page.
Step 10. Verify the email address if it was selected when you created the account
Skip this step if you have verified your phone number before. To verify your email address, follow these steps:
- Click " OK ' when prompted.
- Open your email inbox and log into your account if necessary.
- Open the message from "[email protected]".
- Take note of the code included in the email.
- Type the code into the " Verification code " text field on the Twitter website.
- Click " Next ”.
Step 11. Click Skip for now
It's in the top-right corner of the page.
Step 12. Select the people you want to follow
Click the button " Follow ” under the suggested celebrity or profile you want to follow, then click “ Next " after it finishes. You will be taken to the Twitter account page after that.
You can also directly click the “ Next ” to skip this step.
Part 2 of 7: Setting Profile
Step 1. Click the profile icon
It's a circle icon with a human silhouette in the upper-right corner of the screen. A drop-down menu will appear after that.
Step 2. Click Settings and privacy
This option is in the drop-down menu. After that, the account settings page (“Settings”) will open.
Step 3. Click the "Username" text field
This column is at the top of the page.
Step 4. Replace the automatic username with the desired name
You can type the username you want to use to check its availability. If available, a green confirmation message will appear above the text field.
If someone else is already using that username, you may see a red warning message
Step 5. Scroll down and click Save changes
It's at the bottom of the page.
Step 6. Enter the account password when prompted
Type in the password that was set in the account creation process.
Step 7. Click Save changes
It's at the bottom of the command window.
Step 8. Click the profile photo icon
This icon is on the left side of the page. After that, you will be taken to the profile page.
Going forward, you can visit your profile page by clicking on the profile circle in the top right corner of the page and selecting the name that appears at the top of the drop-down menu
Step 9. Upload a profile photo
A profile photo is the photo that appears on the left side of each tweet and reply. To set a profile photo, follow these steps:
- Click the camera icon” + ” in the top left corner of the page.
- Click " Upload photo ” in the drop-down menu.
- Select a photo from the computer.
- Click " Open ”.
- Adjust the photo as necessary, then click “ Apply ”.
Step 10. Fill in the profile information
When you enter the " Edit profile " view, you can add information to each of the text fields in the following sidebar if you want to make the profile more prominent or complete:
- ” Name” - Type the name according to the desired display. For example, if you created an account with a first and last name, but you want to display only the first name, delete the last name shown in this column.
- “Bio” - Type a description of yourself in the “Bio” text field.
- “Location” - Add the city or area where you live.
- “Website” - Add a link to the website if available.
Step 11. Choose a theme color
Click the option Theme color ” on the left side of the page, then select the color you want to use.
Step 12. Click Save changes
It's on the right side of the page. After that, the changes to the profile will be saved and you will exit the "Edit profile" view.
In the future, you can edit your profile by clicking the “ Edit profile ” at the top of the profile page.
Part 3 of 7: Following Users
Step 1. Click the "Search Twitter" text field
This column is at the top of the Twitter page.
Step 2. Enter the person's name (or username)
Type the name (or username) of someone you want to add to your following list.
Step 3. Select a user
Click the name of the user you want to add/follow in the drop-down menu. After that, you will be taken to the user's page.
Step 4. Click the Follow button
It's in the top-right corner of the page.
If the user profile is protected, click the button “ Follow ” to send a follow request to the user concerned.
Step 5. Make friends through popular email services
You can search for friends from the contact list of supported email accounts by following these steps:
- Click the profile circle in the top right corner of the page.
- Click " Settings and privacy ” in the drop-down menu.
- Click " Find friends ” on the left side of the page.
- Click " Upload contacts ” next to the desired account.
- Sign in to the account, then follow the on-screen instructions to import the contact list.
Part 4 of 7: Tweeting
Step 1. Click Tweets
It's in the top-right corner of the page. After that, the column " Tweet " will be displayed.
As long as you're not on the tab" Messages ”, this button will always be in the top right corner of the Twitter page.
Step 2. Enter the tweet text
Type whatever you want to upload as a tweet into the text field in the " Tweet " window.
You can type text with a maximum number of 280 characters in the text field. This character limit includes spaces
Step 3. Add photos to the tweet
If you want to add a photo to your tweet, follow these steps:
- Click the " Photo " icon which looks like a mountain.
- Select a photo or video from the computer.
- Click " Open ”.
Step 4. Complete your tweet with an animated GIF
If you want to use animated photos instead of regular photos from your computer, follow these steps:
- Click the button " GIF ” below the tweet text field.
- Select a-g.webp" />
- Click the animated-g.webp" />
Step 5. Add another tweet to the current tweet to create a thread (thread)
If you want to create a tweet thread, click the “ + ” at the bottom of the window and enter the text of the second tweet.
You can repeat this process for each additional tweet
Step 6. Click Tweets
It's in the lower-right corner of the window. The tweet will be uploaded to the profile page.
If you want to upload the entire tweet thread, click the “ Tweet all ”.
Step 7. Upload the vote
One aspect or feature of Twitter that is rarely used is the voting feature or "Poll". This feature allows you to upload a vote that followers can fill in/follow:
- Click " Tweet ”, then enter the question in the main text field of the tweet window.
- Click the “Poll” icon which looks like a bar graph.
- Add voting options in the " Choice 1 " and " Choice 2 " columns. You can add more options by clicking the “ Add a choice ”.
- Set a time limit by clicking “ 1 day ” and specify the day, hour, and minute (you can set a voting limit of up to 7 days).
- Click " Tweet ”.
Step 8. Respond to the tweet
If you want to reply to a friend's tweet, you can do so from the Twitter main page:
- Click the tab " Home " if necessary.
- Go to the tweet you want to respond to or reply to.
- Click the speech bubble icon below the tweet.
- Type an answer. You can also add photos, animated GIFs, or voting if necessary.
- Click " reply ”.
Step 9. Paste the tweet at the top of the profile
You can paste a tweet into your profile to keep it at the top of the page until you decide to paste another:
- Go to your profile page and visit the tweet you want to paste (the tweet must be written yourself, not someone else's tweet that you re-upload or retweet).
-
Click
in the top right corner of the tweet.
- Click " Pin to your profile page ” in the drop-down menu.
- Click " Pin ' when prompted.
Part 5 of 7: Re-uploading Other People's Posts (Retweet)
Step 1. Go to the news feed page (“home feed”)
Click the tab Home ” in the top left corner of the Twitter page.
Step 2. Find the post or tweet you want to reupload
Browse the news feed until you find the tweet you want to add to your profile.
Step 3. Click the “Retweet” icon
This icon looks like a rectangle formed by two arrows and is located below the tweet. Once clicked, a pop-up menu will appear.
Step 4. Add comments if you want
If you want to add a comment to the tweet yourself, click the " Add a comment… " text box below the tweet, then type in a comment before continuing.
Step 5. Click Retweet
It's below the original tweet in the pop-up menu. After that, the tweet will be uploaded to your profile page.
Part 6 of 7: Sending Messages
Step 1. Click Messages
This tab is at the top of the page. After that, the “Messages” pop-up window will open.
Step 2. Click New Message
It's in the upper-right corner of the pop-up window.
Step 3. Select followers
Click the name of the follower you want to message. You can also type the follower's name in the text field if you don't see the follower in the existing list.
- You can choose more than one follower, but you need to select at least one user.
- Keep in mind that while you can select users who don't follow you, messages you send will be placed in that user's "Requested" messages folder, and not the main inbox folder.
Step 4. Click Next
It's in the lower-right corner of the window.
Step 5. Enter the message
Type your message into the text field at the bottom of the window.
Step 6. Add photos or animated-g.webp" />
As with tweets, you can also add photos or animated GIFs to messages. However, you cannot insert both (or more than one content) at the same time:
- Photos - Click the “Photo” icon that looks like a mountain, select a photo or video from your computer, and click “ Open ”.
- Animated-g.webp" />GIF ”, find the animated-g.webp" />
Step 7. Click Send
This button is to the right of the message. Once clicked, the message will be sent to the recipient.
A gray check mark below the message indicates that the message has been sent. A blue check mark indicates that the message has been viewed or read
Part 7 of 7: Using Twitter on Mobile
Step 1. Download the Twitter app
You can download the free Twitter app for iPhone and Android devices:
-
iPhone - Open
App Store, touch " Search ”, touch search field, type twitter, touch “ Search, select the button " GET ” to the right of the Twitter app icon, and enter your Apple ID or Touch ID password when prompted.
-
Android - Open
Play Store, touch search bar, type twitter, touch “ Twitter ” in the search results, and touch the “ INSTALL ”.
Step 2. Open Twitter
Touch the button “ OPEN ” in the App Store or Google Play Store window, or tap the blue and white Twitter app icon.
Step 3. Log in to your Twitter account
Once the application is open, touch “ Sign in ” and enter the account email address and password.
If you don't have a Twitter account yet, create one and set it up before using Twitter on a mobile device
Step 4. Create a tweet
Tap the " Tweet " icon that looks like a quill in a box, in the top right corner of the screen (iPhone) or bottom right corner of the screen (Android), then type in the content of the tweet and tap the “ Tweet ” in the upper right corner of the screen.
- As with the desktop version of Twitter, you can add photos, animated GIFs, voting, and additional tweet threads to the created tweet.
- To respond to a tweet, open the tweet in question, touch the speech bubble icon below the tweet, enter a reply message, and tap the “ reply ”.
Step 5. Re-upload or retweet the content
You can re-upload unprotected tweets by going to the relevant tweet on the feed page Home ”, touch option “ Retweets ” with a rectangle icon, and choose one of the following options:
- ” Retweets ” - Touch this option to instantly re-upload the tweet.
- ” Retweet with comments ” - Type a comment into the text field, then touch the “button Retweets ”.
Step 6. Look for Twitter users
If you want to search for a specific user, touch the " Search " icon
at the bottom of the screen, touch the search bar at the top of the screen, and type in the name of the user you want to view. You can touch the user's name in the list of search results to open their profile.
If you want to follow the user in question, touch the “ Follow ” in the top right corner of their profile page.
Step 7. Check notifications
Tap the " Notifications " icon shaped like a bell at the bottom of the screen. After that, all Twitter-based notifications (e.g. comments, messages, recent likes from followers, etc.) will be displayed.
Step 8. Send the message
You can send messages from the Twitter mobile app with these steps:
- Touch the icon “ Messages ” which looks like a mailing envelope in the lower-right corner of the screen.
- Tap the "New Message" icon in the top right corner of the screen (iPhone) or the bottom right corner of the screen (Android).
- Select the message recipient.
- Touch the "Start a message" text field.
- Enter a message and make sure you add a photo or animated-g.webp" />
-
Touch the "Send" icon
Step 9. Go to your profile
Tap the profile photo at the top of the screen, then select “ Profile ” from the drop-down menu to go to your profile page.
You can edit your profile by touching the option “ Edit profile ” and select the aspect/information you want to change (eg profile photo).
Tips
- You can turn off Twitter notifications if you don't want to see notifications from Twitter, on both desktop and mobile platforms.
- If you want to control who can follow you and prevent followers from re-uploading or “quoting” your tweets, lock your profile by going to the “ Settings and privacy ", click " Privacy and safety ”, and ticked the " Protect your Tweets " box.
- Uploading visual content (e.g. photos and videos) is more likely to attract attention and build engagement with other users than just text content.
Warning
- You can be held in “Twitter jail” for several hours if you tweet excessively (eg over 100 tweets in an hour, or over 1,000 tweets in one day). When you're in jail, you can access your profile, but you can't upload any tweets.
- As with any other social network, be careful about the information you share with others.