Lesson 2 / 26

Creating an AWS Account

The root user, billing basics, and keeping your account safe from day one.

Signing up

Creating an AWS account needs an email, a payment method, and phone verification. That email/password pair becomes the root user — the account's most powerful identity.

Protect the root user

Turn on MFA on the root user immediately, and stop using it for daily work. Create a separate IAM user for yourself instead — root should be locked away for emergencies only.

Billing from day one

The Billing dashboard shows what you owe and forecasts. Set up a budget alert early so an accidental large resource doesn't surprise you with a bill.