1In one sentence
Midjourney has two doors, the website midjourney.com and a chat app called Discord, and for a beginner the website is the right one.
2New words
- Discord — a chat app, popular with gamers, where Midjourney started. You typed a command into a chat room and the pictures appeared in the chat. It still works, but it is the old way.
- Create page — the page on midjourney.com where you make pictures. It has the prompt bar at the top and your pictures below.
- Imagine bar — Midjourney's name for the prompt box on the Create page. (On Discord the same thing is the /imagine command.)
- Lightbox — the big view that opens when you click one of your pictures, with the editing buttons around it.
3Why you would want it
For years the only way in was Discord, which is why many old tutorials show a chat window. Today the website does everything Discord does and more: newer features (Draft mode, the editor, moodboards, saved default settings, shared folders) arrive on the website first and some never come to Discord. The website also keeps your pictures in a tidy gallery instead of a scrolling chat. Use Discord only if you already live there.
| Door | Where | Good for | Weak points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website | midjourney.com, any browser | Everything: making, editing, video, organizing, personalization | Needs a paid plan to generate |
| Discord | discord.com, the Midjourney server or a direct message to the bot | People who like chat, some old commands | Newest features missing; your pictures scroll away; public rooms |
| Phone | midjourney.com in the phone browser | Quick prompts, looking at results | Midjourney does not list a phone app; small screen for editing |
4Try it now
- Go to midjourney.com and click "Log in" in the top bar. Sign in with Google or with a Discord account.
- Click Create in the left menu.
- Look at the top: that long box is the Imagine bar. Click inside it but do not type yet.
- Look at the small icons on the right of the bar: an image icon (for your own pictures), a sliders icon (settings), and a "p" (personalization). You will use all three in later chapters.
5What you will see
The Imagine bar across the top of every page, and a left menu with Explore, Create, Edit, Organize, Personalize, Moodboards, Style Creator and Tasks. Until you pick a plan, the bar says Subscribe to start creating and nothing can be made.
If the page says you need a subscription, that is normal; Chapter 1.3 explains the plans.
6Watch out
- Old tutorials and videos (even from 2025) show Discord buttons like U1 to U4 and V1 to V4. On the website those are the Upscale and Vary buttons under each picture; the ideas are the same, the names changed.
- There is also alpha.midjourney.com, a test version of the website where new things appear first. It changes often; stay on the normal site until you are comfortable.
7Go further
Click Organize in the left menu to see where your pictures will be kept, then read Chapter 1.3 before you pay for anything.