Filling out Your Hubpages Profile

After signing up for Hubpages, there is one thing you should do before anything else.  Read the FAQ!  Once you've read through that, then you are ready to fill out your profile and begin following topics, forum threads and start thinking about what your first hub will be about.

Giving in to the social networking aspect of Hubpages, with a fully loaded profile page and the ability to follow Hubbers you like the writing of, your profile page is a central item in helping those who visit it figure out a bit more about you than your Hubs will provide.

The first step in editing your Hubpages profile is finding the option to do so.

When on any page other than a Hub creation page, you should see a link bar in the top right of the screen, just like the photo to the right of this step.  Begin the profile editing process by clicking the "my profile" link, which will load your Hubpages profile.

Now that your profile is loaded, you will see a few links at the top, beneath the normal menu bar.  These links say: Edit, change Photo, stats, and start a new Hub.

Your photo will be seen next to every comment you leave, at the top of every hub you write, and beside every forum post you make.  There is no right or wrong photo to choose, as long as it is within the content guidelines for Hubpages.  (That means no naughty bits.)

This is the first thing you should change after registering.  It is the first, and possibly most personal step, especially if you choose to use an image of your real face - or in my case, the awesome Hubpages T-shirt I have. :)

Now that you have your profile picture (also known as your avatar) set up, it is time to fill out the text portion of your profile.

There are blank text boxes for you to put in your location, which is a field you can be either honest or funny with, at your own discretion.  If you are promoting your business, it may be worthwhile for you to fill in the location you operate your business from rather than anything else, particularly if you sell physical products and want local business.

You will also have the option of choosing to allow Hubpages, followers or other people who visit your hubs and/or profile to contact you, and a few other options regarding accolades and the visibility of them.

Your profile is starting to gain some personality by now, with your picture and pertinent small details set up. The main goal lies ahead, though, in your Bio!

There are really no "rules" about your biography for your Hubpages profile, but there are a few pointers to be offered up:

• Refrain from using all capital letters on your profile. Contrary to some belief, typing in all caps creates an unreadable block of text that most people will see and pass by without really reading.
• Choose a style of writing and stick with it. On my profile, for example, I write in the third person.
• Check your bio for spelling and grammar errors!
• Keep in mind that your biography is a place for readers to find out more about you, the writer. To let them know more about your services or business, leave a link on your biography to your website, blog or storefront. Try not to clutter your biography with too much information that is not about you.
• You can insert hyperlinks (urls, site addresses, clickable links) on your profile by highlighting pertinent text and clicking the icon that looks like linked chains.  Try it!
  

You have a profile picture.  You have filled out your location, adjusted your email and accolade settings, and written a biography.  All that remains is for you to click the "Save Changes" button!  Once you have done this, your profile will reload with all your new changes on it for you and the world to see.  Congratulations!