How to Set Up and Host a Zoom Meeting

How to host, set up, and schedule a meeting.
Ash Ash (362)
2 minutes

You've got a few options when it comes to setting up a meeting with Zoom. You can start a meeting immediately or schedule one for a later time.

In this guide, I'll show you how to set up (or host) a Zoom meeting—including scheduling the meeting for a future date if you desire.

What is Zoom?

Zoom is an online video conferencing tool available for PCs and mobile devices. It provides both video and audio conference tools that can be accessed from multiple sources. You'll need a Zoom account to use the service.

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You'll need access to Zoom to create a meeting. Zoom is free to install and available on the Zoom website.

  1. Visit the pricing page.
  2. Choose a plan.
  3. Go to the download page.
  4. Download the Zoom Client.
  5. Run the downloaded file and complete the installation.
Create Zoom Meeting

You can start a Zoom meeting immediately using the Zoom application—making you the Zoom meeting host.

  1. Launch Zoom.
  2. If you aren't logged in yet, log in to your Zoom account.
  3. Under the Home tab, click the New meeting icon.
  4. Invite attendees to the meeting with the Invite link at the bottom of the window.
Schedule Zoom Meeting

You can schedule a meeting for a later time and synchronize it with applications like Outlook.

  1. Launch the Zoom application.
  2. Sign in to your Zoom account if you haven't yet.
  3. Choose Schedule Meeting under the Home tab.
  4. Enter the details for your meeting, including the date, duration, and any permissions you want to apply.
  5. Click Schedule.
Delete Zoom Meeting

Once you've created a scheduled meeting, you can delete the entry to cancel it.

  1. Open Zoom.
  2. Log in to your Zoom account.
  3. Look under the Meetings tab.
  4. Locate the meeting you want to remove.
  5. Click Delete.
Edit Zoom Meeting

Meeting details can be edited after it has been created.

  1. Open Zoom.
  2. Log in to your Zoom account, if prompted.
  3. Select the Meetings tab at the top.
  4. Look for the meeting you want to edit.
  5. Click Edit.

Once your meeting is scheduled, you may want to look into how to record a Zoom meeting to archive it. You can also add custom effects, like changing the background.

Zoom Meeting Invitation

Once you've created the meeting, you'll need to share the invitation link.

  1. Launch the Zoom application.
  2. Open the Meetings tabs.
  3. Click Copy Invitation. This will copy a snippet of text containing instructions for your attendees to join.
  4. Send the invitation information to your meeting attendees. You can paste the information into an email or any other preferred method of contact.

Personal meeting IDs are a permanent number used for connecting to your Zoom meetings. It's ideal for use with frequently recurring calls, but you may want to avoid using the personal meeting ID for short-term meetings. Each meeting has a randomly generated ID that can be used instead.

When you want to share that important project or presentation in Zoom.
Michael Michael (175)
1 minute

Screen sharing is Zoom basic, much like setting up and hosting a Zoom Meeting.