How to create an Area Hub

An Area Hub is linked to a particular area of your site and is designed for a specific group of people, such as an office, project or team.

Area Hubs have an extra layer of control compared with Community Hubs. You can choose who can see that the Hub exists, then choose how they can join. You can also add groups of people directly, or make the Hub private so only people you add can see it.

This guide will walk you through creating an Area Hub and setting who can see, join and post in it.

This guide covers:

• Creating an Area Hub
• Setting access and permissions
• Adding members and invitations
• 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 Manage Area Hubs permission for the area you're creating the Hub in.

Creating an Area Hub

1. Go to the Hubs Overview by adding /hubs to the end of your site address, then select Create New Hub.
2. Select Area Hub.

3. Choose a Location and enter a Name (both required), plus an optional Description. Pick the area that suits your Hub, for example an office for a location-based Hub or a project for a project team.

Setting access and permissions

1. Under Access, choose:
   • Open: anyone who can see the Hub can join straight away.
   • Closed: people who can see the Hub select Request to join, and the Hub owner approves them.
   • Private: only members can see the Hub. Other people can't join or ask to join, so the owner has to add 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.
   • Owner: can do all of the above and manage the Hub's settings and members.

Adding members and invitations

1. To add people directly, search for individuals or user groups under Members. Select Manage member permissions to set their roles.
2. To provide people with an option and send them an invitation instead, search for them under Invitations and select Manage invited user permissions to set their roles.

3. Select Create. Your new Hub's homepage opens, ready to customise. See How to customise your Hub.

Considerations, tips & guidance

• Check both places: Area Hub access can also be set in the area's security settings. Check permissions are right in both places.
• Announcement Hubs: use Read Only permission 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.