--- title: "create and brand a community" description: "Learn all about creating a branded community space and access our step-by-step instructions, FAQs, and everything you need to know!" url: https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/12093477-create-and-brand-a-community collection: "communities" updated: 2026-11-03 language: en --- # create and brand a community Learn all about creating a branded community space and access our step-by-step instructions, FAQs, and everything you need to know! ## before you dive in This article is one step from our [Master Help Guide: All About Communities](https://cqcighsbi.gleap.help/en/articles/10056429-all-about-communities-a-master-help-guide). We recommend starting with the Master Help Guide before diving into the technical setup below. Each Master Help Guide acts as your project plan - teaching you the feature, laying out the steps in the right order, and linking to every resource you’ll need along the way. This guide is perfect if you want to: - Create a new community group for your members - Set up and personalise your own community profile - Customise the branding, colours, and settings of your community * * * ## step 1: create a new community group This step will guide you through creating your first community group - from customising the settings, naming the group, and choosing whether it’s public or private. > **Warning:** The Group URL cannot be changed once you have created your community, so please make sure you add words here that you will be happy to be displayed in the community URL for the lifetime of this community. click here for the written steps 1. From the main ivorey menu, go to **Portals** > **Communities** > **Groups** 2. Click the **\[+ Create Group\]** button and then add in the details of your community 3. Once you have added your community details, click the **\[Create Group\]** button at the bottom right of your screen > this should automatically open up your new community where you will be prompted to create your own profile if you haven't already. However if it doesn't open automatically, you can just click the **\[Login\]** button on your community group in your main groups page 4. Once you are logged into your community, click the **\[Settings\]** button on the right hand side > and select the **\[Details\]** tab 5. Here you can update your community **name**, and **description**, and you can also select if your community is **public** or **private** 1. **'Public'** means that anyone can see the community content, and will be able to join **without** requesting access. 2. **'Private'** means only members who have been granted access to the community will be able to see it's content. It also requires members to request access to the community, where an admin or owner will need to manually approve them before they can join the community. 6. The final setting to turn on or off is the **'accessible by switcher'** tab, if this is turned on, it means that if you have multiple communities, you will be able to toggle between them 7. Make sure you click **\[Save\]** to update your changes * * * ## step 2: set up your community user profile This quick step shows you how to set up your user profile that will apply to all of your communities. This includes sharing your social links, a bio and profile image. click here for the written steps 1. To set up your user profile inside your community, from the main ivorey menu, go to **Portals** > **Communities** > **Groups** 2. Click on the **\[Login\]** button of your community to login, if this is your first time logging in you'll be prompted to set up your password 3. At the top left of your screen, select the Circle image placeholder > then select **\[Manage Your Account\]** 4. From here you can add the relevant details you want to show on your profile by making your way through each of the tabs on the left hand side, and clicking the **\[Save\]** button as you go to update * * * ## step 3: customise your community branding This final step will walk you through customising your community group. Each community can have unique branding - complete with your own background and accent colours to reflect your brand. > **Warning:** If you are creating a custom theme, you will need to make sure the **Tertiary** colour is different to the **Background** colour, as your tertiary colour will determine the colour of your links. If you add links to your community and they aren't showing, your tertiary colour is the first place to check. click here for the written steps 1. To customise your community branding, from the main ivorey menu, go to **Portals** > **Communities** > **Groups** 2. Click on the **\[Login\]** button of your community to login > then once inside click the **\[Settings\]** button on the right hand side and navigate to the **\[Themes\]** tab 3. Choose from pre-designed **\[Community Themes\]** or click over to the **\[Custom Theme\]** tab to create your own branding colours for your community 4. Once you have finished selecting the brand colours for your community, click **\[Save\]** to apply your chosen theme. 5. You can then navigate to the **\[Branding\]** tab if you need to add or update your favicon, logo, or cover image of your community. * * * ## adding links inside your communities click here for the written steps 1. From the main ivorey menu, go to **Portals** > **Communities** > **Groups** 2. Select the Community you would like to add a link to 3. On the right side of the screen select **\[Settings\]** 4. Select **\[Links\]** then **\[Add Link\]** 5. Add your description, URL and choose whether you'd like to make your link public or private then click **\[Add Link\]** * * * ## frequently asked questions can i hide tabs inside my community? Yes, you can hide tabs inside of your community. Inside the community settings, go to **Show / Hide Tabs** - here you can enable or disable each tab to create a focused, streamlined experience for your members. can people see all my groups available to join? Inside the settings for each community group, you'll see an option that allows you to choose between **Public** or **Private**. Private means only members can see the contents of that group, whereas public is available for anyone to see - even if they aren't a member. Just below that setting, there is another option that says "Accessible From Switcher" - toggle this **ON** if you want people to be able to browse all of your available groups (whether they are public or private). Turn it **OFF** if you don't want it shown. how can i change the URL of my community? You can only modify your community URL **once** so it’s important to carefully check spelling before saving any changes. To change the URL, go into your community’s settings, to the **Details** tab, where you will be able to **Change URL.** how can i make my community private? To make sure your communities are only accessed by the members you have granted access to, please go into to your community’s settings, to the **Details** tab, and make sure '**Private**' is selected and **'Accessible from Switcher'** is toggled **OFF**. how do i link my community group to my client portal so members can access it? You can allow members to access the community from the client portal, by enabling this in the client portal **Apps/Permissions** settings. Please refer to our [Client Portal Permissions](https://cqcighsbi.gleap.help/en/articles/13286039-client-portal-permissions) guide for the detailed steps. can i customise my community group with custom code? Yes, custom CSS and JS can be used to customise the visual appearance of your community groups - for things like colours, fonts, buttons, spacing, layouts, and branding elements. Keep in mind it's intended for visual customisation only, so it can't rename tab labels, add new navigation items (buttons, tabs, etc.), or change the portal's core structure. You can find it under **Portals** > **Client Portal** > **Client Portal Settings** > **\[Branding\]** tab > **\[Advanced\]** tab. Once you've added and saved your CSS, changes are reflected immediately. * * * ## next steps > **Success:** If you’ve completed the steps above, head back to the [**Master Help Guide on Communities**](https://cqcighsbi.gleap.help/en/articles/10056429-all-about-communities-a-master-help-guide) to move onto the next phase. > > Each Master Help Guide acts as your project plan - teaching you the feature, laying out the steps in the right order, and linking to every resource you’ll need along the way. * * * ## need help? Hit the support chat widget inside ivorey - we can: - Walk you through any of the steps - Troubleshoot anything that’s not working We’re here and ready to help via the chat widget in the bottom right of your ivorey account. Or if you are looking for done-for-you support, you can browse our current services [here](https://ivorey.io/services) 🤍 ## Related - [all about communities: a master help guide](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/10056429-all-about-communities-a-master-help-guide.md) - [community analytics](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/13631442-community-analytics.md) - [community membership tiers](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/13631377-community-membership-tiers.md) - [create and manage community channels](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/12094684-create-and-manage-community-channels.md) - [community notifications and automated login emails](https://help.ivorey.io/en/articles/12095105-community-notifications-and-automated-login-emails.md)