CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Excess volatility increases risk further. Be cautious. Past performance is not an indication of future results.
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The screen

A tour of the trading screen, before your first trade (Nigeria)

Not what to trade — where each part of the screen sits, which platform to open first, and what has to be set before anything is clicked.

A trading screen is not one machine, it is six places: the instrument list, the chart of the one you picked, the ticket where size and direction are typed, the field for the protective exit, the list of open trades, and the account line. Learn those six on a demo, where a wrong click costs nothing real.

Three screens, one tour

They differ in layout, not in what a trade is.

ScreenWhere it runsAimed at
Exness Terminala web browser, nothing to installa first tour
Exness Trade appa phonepractice away from a desk
MetaTrader 4 / MetaTrader 5a separate platformmore experienced traders

Pick one and stay with it. The same screen serves a demo and a real account, which is why the tour belongs on the demo.

Six areas, in the order you use them

Walk them once per session until finding each one takes no thought.

  1. The instrument list

    Pick one instrument and the chart draws that one. Names are currency codes in pairs or product names, and the gap between the two prices quoted for one is the spread — trading words names them.

  2. The chart area

    One price over time. The timeframe control decides how much time a single candlestick covers, so the same market looks calm or violent depending on it — see reading a chart.

  3. The order ticket

    Where the size is typed, in lots, and the direction chosen. That number is the size of the trade, not the money you risk, and confusing the two is the classic first-week mistake — the practice calculator connects them.

  4. The protective exit field

    The same ticket holds the field for a stop-loss — an automatic exit if the price moves against you. Fill it before opening; afterwards the decision gets made while the number falls. Risk basics.

  5. The list of open trades

    A running trade leaves the ticket for a list of its own, its result moving. That list is where it is found again and closed on purpose; the chart is only for looking. First trade guide.

  6. The account line

    The edge of the screen shows the balance and which account is selected; on a demo that balance is virtual. Account type sets the scale — Standard has no minimum deposit, Standard Cent keeps trades about a hundred times smaller. Compare account types.

Six things to set before the first click

Each of these already has a value before anything opens:

WhatSet it toWhat skipping it costs
Selected accountthe demo one, while learninga practice click hits a real balance
Instrument on the chartthe one the ticket also namesyou read one chart and order another
Chart timeframeone kept for the whole sessioncandles change meaning halfway through
Trade sizederived from the loss you acceptthe size gets picked because it «looks small»
Protective exitfilled in before openingthe exit gets decided while losing
The clock you readnoted once, used for every entryyour own notes stop lining up

What the screen does not tell you

The screen is an instrument panel, not an oracle:

  • No area of it predicts the next move. Prices and candles describe what already happened, and nobody can promise you a result.
  • More lines do not add information. A crowded chart says no more about the next minute than an empty one.
  • Virtual and real money look identical here. Same buttons, same numbers; only the consequence differs.
  • The size field is not your risk. Cost comes from size and the distance to the exit together.
  • Money you need does not belong on this screen. Not rent, not savings you rely on, never borrowed money — see the beginner mistakes guide.

Write it down: four lines before, three after

Keep one file — a notebook, or a note on a phone — because the screen remembers nothing you did not save. Before opening, four lines: instrument, size, exit level, and one sentence saying why. After it closes, three more: what closed it, what surprised you, what you would set differently. A screenshot taken at the click settles later arguments about what the screen showed.

Two habits make the log usable: the same fields in the same order, and one clock for every entry — note which clock the timestamps came from and stay with it. Anything you still cannot name after the tour is a question for the help page.

Questions about the screen

Do I have to install anything to follow this tour?

No. Exness Terminal runs in a web browser and the Exness Trade app covers phones. MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 are aimed at more experienced traders, not at the start.

Does the demo screen look different from a real one?

No — same platform, same buttons, same prices. Only the account behind them holds virtual money, so nothing has to be relearned later.

Which area should I look at first in every session?

The account line, and which account is selected. That single fact decides what every other click means.

Where does a trade go after I click?

Out of the ticket and into the list of open trades. Beginners keep watching the chart and assume the click failed.

How many indicators should be on the chart before a first trade?

None is a workable answer. Candlesticks and one timeframe show what a price did; extra lines make the screen busier, not clearer.

Which clock do the timestamps use?

Check once and write it down instead of assuming. What matters is that your notes and the screen use the same clock.

Can I do the whole tour on a phone?

Yes. The app is built for phones and the browser terminal opens in a phone browser too. Charts are easier on a bigger screen, but nothing here needs one.

What happens if I press the wrong button while practising?

On a demo, nothing real: virtual money, an email and a password to open it, no documents, no time limit. A wrong click becomes a lesson instead of a cost.

Where to go next

Reading a chart

Candlesticks and timeframes — the area that repays study before any click.

Read the chart guide

Practice calculator

Turn a size in the ticket into what a move would cost.

Try the calculator

First trade, step by step

The same six areas used in order, once: open, watch, close on purpose.

Walk through a first trade

See the six areas for yourself

A demo puts this tour on screen with virtual money behind it: an email and a password, no documents, no time limit. The button opens the official exness.com sign-up through a partner link; the demo costs nothing either way.

Open a free demo at Exness