The process of signing up for a YouTube account is fairly simple, although it is complicated because Google owns YouTube and links the two for registration purposes. For this reason, you will need to have a Google ID or create a new Google account in order to sign up for a YouTube account.

If you have a Google ID through Gmail or another Google product, you can sign in to YouTube.com with that username and password. When you sign in with a Google ID on the YouTube homepage, you'll automatically be signed up for a YouTube account and your YouTube login will be associated with your Google Account. You don't need to create a new YouTube account if you're happy to associate your existing Google username.

If you don’t have a Google ID or are a business and don’t want to connect your personal Google profile to YouTube, sign up for a new Google User ID. You can fill out a single sign-up form, and it will create and connect both a YouTube account and a Google account at the same time.

Follow these steps to create a basic YouTube account.