How to Build Your First MT5 Expert Advisor

Automated trading is the future of forex. By the end of this guide, you will have a working Expert Advisor (EA) that can execute trades based on simple moving average crossovers.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, ensure you have:

• MetaTrader 5 installed.
• A Demo Account with any reputable broker.
• Basic understanding of trading logic.

The Strategy

We'll build a classic SMA-50 / SMA-200 crossover strategy:

• BUY when the SMA-50 crosses above the SMA-200.
• SELL when the SMA-50 crosses below the SMA-200.

// Sample MQL5 Logic
void OnTick()
{
   double sma50 = iMA(_Symbol, _Period, 50, 0, MODE_SMA, PRICE_CLOSE);
   double sma200 = iMA(_Symbol, _Period, 200, 0, MODE_SMA, PRICE_CLOSE);
   
   if(sma50 > sma200) {
      // Execute Buy Order
   }
}

Next Steps

In the next part of this series, we'll dive deeper into Risk Management and how to add Stop Loss and Take Profit levels to your EA.

Stay tuned!