How to create a Community Hub

A Community Hub is an open discussion space for a wide group of people. It's often, but not always, used for chat that isn't about work. People choose to take part, either by joining straight away or by asking the Hub owner to let them in.

This guide will walk you through creating a Community Hub and choosing who can join and post.

This guide covers:

• Creating a Community Hub
• Setting access and permissions
• Considerations, tips & guidance

Before you start:

• The Hubs application must be switched on and set up. See How to enable the Hubs application.
• You need the Create Community Hubs permission.

Creating a Community Hub

1. Go to the Hubs Overview by adding /hubs to the end of your site address, then select Create New Hub.
2. Select Community Hub.
3. Enter a Name (required) and a Description (optional).

Setting access and permissions

1. Under Access, choose:
   • Open: anyone can join straight away using the Join button.
   • Closed: people select Request to join, and the Hub owner approves them.
2. Under Default permission, choose the role people get when they join:
   • Read Only: can read posts but not post. Tick the box at the bottom of the screen to let them reply to posts.
   • Contributor: can read and post.
   • Moderator: can also edit or delete other people's posts.
3. To invite people, search for them under Invitations. Select Manage invited user permissions to give each person a role, including Owner, who can manage the Hub and its members.

Top tip: Assign one permission quickly by ticking all of the people you'd like to assign the same permission, choose the permission from the drop-down and then apply.
 

4. Tick the bottom option if you would like read only members to be able to reply to posts.
5. Select Create. Your new Hub's homepage opens, ready to customise. See How to customise your Hub.

Considerations, tips & guidance

• Announcement Hubs: use Read Only to make a Hub a one-way channel for announcements. Allowing replies lets people discuss posts without cluttering the main feed.
• Change settings later: you can update a Hub's access at any time. Select the three dots next to the Hub's name in the Hubs Overview or on its homepage, then select Edit.