Communities

Created by Stefan Perchinkov, Modified on Tue, 25 Feb at 4:03 AM by Stefan Perchinkov

Cultivating community and collaboration are pivotal for user engagement. The "Communities" feature, housed within the Client Portal and the Memberships menu in the Referins, plays a crucial role in creating such an environment. Let's dive deep into understanding and making the most out of this feature.

Introduction to Communities

Communities are dynamic spaces within the Client Portal, designed to foster collaboration, discussion, and knowledge-sharing among members. Whether you're seeking answers, looking to share insights, or wanting to connect with like-minded peers, the Communities feature offers the ideal environment.

Key Features within Communities:

Discussion Board: Engage in vibrant discussions, share your views, or seek advice.

Learning: A treasure trove of articles, guides, and helpful resources.

Members: Connect with peers, discover experts, and expand your network.

Group Channels: These are thematic or topic-based categories within a community group that aid in organizing discussions and facilitating relevant conversations. Admins have the exclusive privilege to create these channels. Admins also can manually rearrange the order of channels or choose to sort them alphabetically.

User Roles and Moderation: Depending on your role (admin, moderator, or member), content creation, approval, and management functionalities might differ. Community admins and designated moderators can manage content, ensuring discussions remain healthy and productive.

Accessing Communities

To get started with communities:

Login to the Client Portal: Use your registered credentials. If you're accessing child apps like Communities for the first time, you might need to sign up for the Client Portal. To get started please navigate to Sites > Client Portal. Please view our article on the client portal for more information.

Note: From your Client Portal Dashboard, you can invite members to your client portal. Click on Sites - Client Portal Dashboard. Under Actions, you will see the option Invite to Client Portal.

Navigate to Communities: Once inside the Client Portal, you can find Communities listed among other child apps. Use the App switcher (located at the top right corner) for easy navigation.

System Location:

This feature can also be managed by navigating to Memberships > Communities > From the dropdown select Groups
Here you would Add groups and access community Settings from within the Referins.

Creating Groups and Settings

If you don’t have a community yet you can promote collaboration and interaction by utilizing groups within your community. Create your first group as a starting point.

Do so by clicking on the Create Group button
This takes you to a create group page where you can create your new community group

Here you can choose:

Group name
URL
Description

You are also able to utilize branding:

Brand color
Favicon
Cover image
Logo

After creating a group it takes you to a preview that looks similar to how it will appear in the client portal.
If you choose to go to Settings from the Referins you will see the options to set up your Client portal domain. Choose from a default setup or custom domain and click on the Update button.

Setting Up Your Community Profile

Before you deep dive into discussions:

Complete Your Profile: Provide relevant details such as name, email, contact information, and preferences. Navigate to the profile by clicking on the Profile icon and clicking on the Manage your account button.

Profile Integrity: Always ensure your profile information is accurate, as it influences interactions within Communities and other child apps.

Profile Features: Beyond the basics, consider adding a bio, skills, areas of interest, and even a profile picture to enrich your community presence.

Profile Security: Communities, integrated with the Client Portal, employ stringent security measures. Nonetheless, always ensure your login credentials remain confidential.

Support for Custom HTML, CSS, and JavaScript:
Admins can add custom JavaScript, CSS, and HTML code to each group.
They can preview custom code before making it live to ensure everything looks and functions as expected. Custom headers and footers can be added to each group, enhancing branding and user experience.

Navigate to Group Settings and select the Branding tab.
Scroll down to the Advanced section and add your custom HTML, CSS, or JavaScript code.
Use the Test Preview button to review your code and customize headers or footers if needed.
Once satisfied, enable Live Mode to apply changes to all users.

Courses

You can add a course inside communities too
Inside your community, click on the Learning tab, then on Add Course

Select the course and choose the course visibility.

Options include:

All Members: Provides open access to everyone in the community.
Level Unlock: Members need to reach a certain level on the community leaderboard to gain access.
Buy Now: Allows courses to be purchased one-time or through subscriptions for immediate access.
Time Unlock: Grants access to courses after a specified duration from the member's joining date.

Paid Groups

Paid Groups, introduces the capability to monetize both Public and Private communities on the platform. Admins and owners can charge their users to access the content and features of the community group.

Go to your portal settings

From the settings button, admins and owners can choose whether they want to set up their group as Public/Private.

To add a price to your group, go to Settings, then Subscriptions, then, Add New Price

Here, you can set up a one-time payment for your group. The one-time payment type will give members unlimited access to the group after the payment and once they have group access.

Go to Settings > Subscriptions
Click on "Add new price": Specify the Amount, Type it as a one-time
Click "Add" and then "Save" to create the paid group with One-time Payment
Additionally, to test a payment, turn on the Test Mode
Once saved, the group description will reflect the same information to members who want to join
You can also add a recurring payment. The recurring subscription type will give members limited access to the group after the payment and once they have group access. To set up the recurring subscription, follow the below steps:
- Go to Settings > Subscriptions
- Click on "Add new price": Specify the Amount, Type as Recurring, Trial Days (if any), Billing Period as Monthly or Annually
- Click "Add" and then "Save" to create the paid group with Recurring Subscription
- Additionally, to test a payment, turn on the Test Mode
- Once saved, the group description will reflect the same information to members who want to join

Group Access

To grant access after receiving the payment:

Once the payment is made, admins and owners need to follow the same process of providing access to members for Private Groups (Go to Members Tab > Requested > Accept or Deny Membership)
For Public Groups, once the payment is made the user signs up and becomes a member right after

Notes:

All admins and owners receive email notifications about the payment made by a user with all the details, to join the group and subsequently request membership (as per group type)
Similarly, the users also receive a payment confirmation with all the details about their payment
Once their membership is approved by the admin or owner. They are further notified about their membership and access to the group

Creating Group Channels:

Multiple channels are available within each group to categorize discussions and facilitate organized conversations. Only admins have the privilege to create these channels.

To create a channel, locate and click the "Add Channel" button in the group interface's left bar.
A modal window will appear, prompting you to provide specific details for the channel creation.

You can also add an emoji as a channel icon making your channels more visually appealing.

Private Channels:

Create a new channel and turn on the private channel toggle or convert an existing channel to private by opening the channel settings, moving to the settings tab, and clicking on "Change to private channel."
After converting the channel to private, open the channel settings again, click on the "Members" tab, and add members to the channel. You can make a member a channel manager, which will give them admin access only for that specific channel

Things to Note:

The group owner and channel creator will automatically be added as channel managers in the private channel.
The channel manager is an admin of that specific channel, and group roles like group admin will have no significance inside a private channel.
The group owner cannot leave a private channel.
If a channel is private, it will not be visible in the channel list if you are not part of it.

Creating Posts

Members can create rich posts within the group, each associated with a specific channel. Before creating a post, ensuring the desired channel has been created is important.

To create a new post, navigate to the desired channel within the group.
Enter a suitable title for your post within the channel, summarizing the content or topic.
Provide a detailed description of the designated area for context and additional information.
You can include attachments such as videos, PDFs, images, and GIFs to enrich your post.
Transform simple attachments into vibrant inline content for both posts and comments. Available on both web and mobile, add a fun and dynamic touch to conversations by including GIFs directly in your posts and comments.
Search by post title, comment details, or author name. The search bar supports all themes, including light and dark modes, for a seamless user experience.

This feature is available exclusively in the Discussion Tab.

Handling Reported Posts

On Desktop:

1- Access Reported Content:

Go to your community
Click the settings icon in the group’s menu.

Select the “Reported Content” tab.

2- Review and Manage Reports:

View reported posts and decide whether to keep or remove them.
Confirm your choice to delete a post if necessary.

On Mobile:

1- Access Reported Content:

Open the app and log in.
Tap the “Manage” button.
Select “Review Content Reports”.

2- Review and Manage Reports:

View reported posts and decide on the appropriate action.
Confirm removal if needed.

Transitioning Between Communities and Other Child Apps

While Communities is your hub for collaboration, remember it's part of the broader Client Portal. This means, that by using the app switcher, you can swiftly move to other functionalities such as membership courses or affiliate management.

FAQ’s

What are group channels, and who can create them?
Group channels are thematic categories within a community used to organize discussions. Only admins can create these channels and assign channel managers.
How do I create a paid group?
To create a paid group, go to Settings > Subscriptions and add a new price, specifying either a one-time or recurring payment. Members will only have access once payment is completed.
Can I convert a channel to private?
Yes, admins can convert a channel to private by toggling the private option in the channel settings. After that, only members of the private channel will have access.
How do I manage reported content in the community?
To manage reported posts, go to Reported Content under group settings on desktop or mobile, review the reports, and either delete or retain the posts accordingly.
What happens when I make changes to my community profile?
When you update your community profile, those changes, such as your name, bio, or picture, will be reflected in your community interactions, enhancing your presence and engagement within the group.