Office 365 is the latest office software by Microsoft which is said to be the best office suite available all over the world at present. Although there are free office products such as Google Docs, LibreOffice suite, etc. available but the majority of businesses are managed with Word, Excel, Outlook, and Powerpoint, and this makes Office 365 a more preferred option. If you are new to Office 365 and wish to subscribe to it, you can follow the step-by-step instructions provided below.
Guide to Sign-Up for Office 365 and Install it on Windows
Before you start using Office 365, make sure that your device has the correct requirements. Generally, you will need to make sure of the following requirements:
- Windows 7 or above
- Minimum 2 GB RAM
- Minimum 3 gigabytes hard disk space
- 1 GHz processor with SSE2 instruction set
Subscriptions Packages
1.) To begin with, you will need to first visit the official website of Microsoft Office – https://www.office.com/. Click on the Get Office button. You will find two options there like these:
- For Home
- For Business
2.) Select the relevant options as per your requirement. If you select the For Home option, you will get the following three options:
- Office 365 home
- Office 365 personal
- Office home and student
While the first option – Office 365 home comes with a Try Now button apart from the obvious “Buy Now” button, the other two options are only available for purchase. Also, Office 365 Home can be installed on 5 computers whereas Office 365 Personal offers installation on a single system. The Student version of Office 365 has limited features compared to the other two.
On the other hand, if you choose the “For Business” option, you will the following three options:
- Office 365 Business
- Office 365 Business Premium
- Office 365 Business Essentials
The difference between the above three options is that Office 365 Business comes with a full office suite along with cloud storage but no email. Office 365 Business Premium includes all the features of Office 365 Business along with Business Email and additional service. However, with Office 365 Business Essentials, the subscriber gets only a Business email but no Office suite.
After choosing the appropriate version of Office 365, if you click on the Buy Now option, you will be directed to the shopping cart showing your selected product. However, if you select the Try Now option, you will be directed to sign in using your Microsoft account. In case you don’t have a Microsoft account, click on the Create One link.
After you have logged in or created a new Microsoft account, you will be directed to the payment page. Enter your payment details and make the required payment.
NOTE:
- Even if you have selected a trial subscription, you will be directed to the payment page and asked to provide payment. You will not be charged until you cancel the subscription before completing the trial package.
- You can make the payment using Paypal or credit card.
Installation of Microsoft Office 365
1.) Once you are done subscribing for a paid or trial subscription to Office 365, go to the Office web page via https://www.office.com/ and click on the Sign-in button. Once signed in, click on the Install Office option. You will be directed to the next page.
2.) On the next page, click on the Install button to begin the installation of Office 365. Downloading off Office 365 will begin.
3.) Once the setup file gets downloaded and a big banner appears prompting to install the Microsoft Office. Follow the instructions provided on the banner to begin the installation.
NOTE: Alternatively, you can also double-click on the downloaded file and click Yes to begin the installation.
4.) Now, wait until the installation of Office 365 gets completed.
NOTE: The installation process can take a lot of time depending on your internet and system speed.
5.) Once all the products get installed, a message will appear on your screen that you can use Microsoft Office.
You can begin using the products by clicking the Start button and searching for the appropriate application from the system. For example, type Word in the Start Search field to open Microsoft Word. Moreover, it is recommended to visit https://www.office.com/ again and log in using the username and password you used or created earlier. By logging in using this page, you will be able to install a newer version of Office whenever it becomes available.
Access the Applications Online
Once you would have logged into https://www.office.com/, you will be able to see links for all the online versions of the Office application and you will also be able to edit files you have saved previously. However, you will not find the complete features online as they are available in your application. To use complete features, you can access the particular office application through your computer anytime.
So, this is how you can easily sign up for Office 365 and install it on your Windows computer.