I’ve said before about getting a free AWS account – well if you want to know how to do it, then read on…
You need – a credit or debit card, and an email address. That’s it really…
Go to https://aws.amazon.com and in the top right, click the orange “Create an AWS Account” button, or you can read more about the free tier here.. https://aws.amazon.com/free/
You will then get asked to put in your email address – you can use any as far as I know, work, home, Gmail, doesn’t really matter.
It then asks for a verification code, check your email and put it in.
Next step – choose a good STRONG password- preferably a lot of random characters at least 20 characters long. Use a password safe, I recommend Keepass https://keepass.info/
It then wants some contact info – so fill out the details. If you are using a credit/debit card then it helps if the address is the same as the card address. Don’t worry, it won’t charge you unless you go over the free tier limit.
Now it’s time for your credit card. Be aware that it may not bill you – if you spend anything – in your local currency so pick a card with good conversion charges if thats goign to be an issue.
It also will ask your support preferences.. if you want to give them money pick one of the paid options but really there is no need – the documentation is going to be good enough and there is always the community to ask for help as well! You can always change the tier later if you do need instant support if that becomes a thing.
It also will want to be sure your phone number is working fine as well as your email – so if you didn’t put a real one in earlier, shame on you and stick the real one in now! You an either have SMS or some computer voice talk to you for verification.
And thats it – you now have a free tier account for the next year which you can use to follow along here and in many other useful places!
