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How to Set Up, Customize, and Manage Your Communities in Stack

Building an engaged online community is essential for businesses, educators, and content creators. Stack’s Communities feature allows you to create a private or public space where members can interact, access exclusive content, and build relationships. This guide will walk you through setting up, customizing, and managing your community effectively.

Table of Contents​

What is the Communities Feature?​

The Communities feature in Stack allows you to create exclusive, interactive spaces for your audience. These communities help businesses and entrepreneurs foster engagement, offer valuable content, and build stronger relationships with members. You can create groups, manage memberships, customize your domain, and set permissions to enhance user experience.

Key Benefits of Communities​

  • Centralized Engagement: Keep discussions, announcements, and interactions in one organized space.
  • Custom Branding: Set up a custom domain and personalize the community to match your brand.
  • Membership Management: Define roles and permissions for controlled access.
  • Scalability: Easily add or remove members as your community grows.
  • Seamless Integrations: Connect with automation tools, email marketing, and CRM features.

How to Set Up and Manage Communities​

Setting up a Stack Community allows you to centralize conversations, deliver content, and drive engagement in one branded space. This section walks you through each essential step—from creation and customization to managing roles, channels, and gamified experiences.

Create a New Community​

  1. Access the Communities section within your Stack dashboard.
  2. Click Create New Community to begin building your space. This is the first step in setting up a centralized hub where your audience can engage, learn, and collaborate.

Create Your Community Group​

Define your group’s identity by entering a name, URL, and short description. This is the foundation of your community and what members will see when joining. Make it clear, inviting, and aligned with your brand or purpose. Once filled out, save your group to begin customizing and inviting members.

Customize Community Settings​

Tailor the look and feel of your community to match your brand:

  • Upload a Community Logo and Cover Image: In the Branding tab of the Community Settings, upload your favicon, cover image, and logo. Use recommended dimensions for best display.

Set Up a Custom Domain​

Using a custom domain gives your community a more professional and branded experience:

  1. Navigate to Memberships > Communities > Settings to find the custom domain menu.
  2. Enter your desired domain name and update your DNS records.
  3. Save the domain settings using the Update Domain button and wait for DNS propagation to complete.

Manage Memberships and Roles​

Managing access and assigning roles within your community ensures members receive the right level of interaction and control:

  • Invite Members: Navigate to the Members tab inside your community and click the Invite Members button.
  • Assign Roles: Use roles like Admin, Contributor, and Member to tailor access based on each user’s role in your community.

Create and Organize Groups​

Groups are the heart of your community, allowing you to segment conversations, content, and member participation by interest or topic:

  1. Navigate to the Groups section in the community panel.
  2. Click the blue Create Group button to launch the group setup screen.
  3. Enter the group name, a short description, and select privacy settings.

Set Up Channels​

Channels help you structure conversations within your community group:

  • Click the + Add Channel button in the left-hand panel.
  • Create specific channels like Announcements, SOPs, or VIP for exclusive content.

Add and Manage Courses​

Courses provide structured content that can educate, onboard, or engage your community members:

  1. Navigate to the Learning tab within your community.
  2. Click the + Add Course button to attach any existing course from your account to the group.

Create and Schedule Events​

Events make it easy to host live sessions like office hours, AMAs, and workshops directly in your community:

  1. Go to the Events tab and click Create Event.
  2. Fill in the event details and add a meeting link such as a Zoom URL.

Implement Rewards and Gamification​

Gamification boosts participation by making your community experience more interactive and fun:

  • Head to the Leaderboard section to view or customize member levels.
  • Go to Gamification & Rewards in the settings to assign rewards for reaching each level.

Frequently Asked Questions​

Q: Can I monetize my community?
Yes, you can charge for access by integrating paid membership plans.

Q: What happens if I delete a community?
Deleting a community is irreversible. All content, members, and discussions will be permanently removed.

Q: How do I troubleshoot domain verification issues?
Ensure your DNS records match Stack’s requirements and wait for propagation (up to 48 hours). If issues persist, contact support.

Q: How are reward levels determined?
Levels are based on points earned through community participation such as posts, comments, and likes. You can also assign points through automations.