# Community overview & creating one > Add a full community to your project — member feed, channels, courses, and events — running on its own address next to your site. Source: https://support.estage.com/community Part of the ESTAGE Support help center (https://support.estage.com). Full knowledge base: https://support.estage.com/llms-full.txt --- The **Community module** attaches a complete social platform to your project: a member feed, channels, courses, events, and member profiles. It's the "turn an audience into a membership" piece — your site markets, your community retains. You add it in Genesis from your project's **Settings → Overview**, on the **Community** card. ## Before you start - You need to be the **project owner** — only the owner can add the community. - The project is a website or web app. The Community card isn't offered on a mobile app project. - Already run a community on the classic ESTAGE platform? Don't create a new one — [import it](#already-have-a-community-on-estage) instead. ## How it's set up A community is **not pages inside your site** — it's a full standalone portal that runs next to it, on its own address: - Without a custom domain: a default community address for your project. - With a [custom domain](https://support.estage.com/domains): **`community.mysite.com`** — see [Community on your domain](https://support.estage.com/community-custom-domain). Your site links to it (a "Community" button in your nav), visitors click through, sign up, and they're in. ## Creating a new community 1. Open **Settings → [Overview](https://support.estage.com/project-settings-modules)**. 2. On the **Community** card, click **Add community**. 3. Genesis provisions the community — named after your project, with your project's logo — opens it in a new tab, and the card shows **On** with an **Open community ↗** link. > **Note** > > If your project already has an active custom domain, Genesis also tries to claim > `community.` for it automatically — so the portal lands on your brand from day > one. Check [Community on your domain](https://support.estage.com/community-custom-domain) before attaching it by hand. That's the whole creation flow — no forms, no wizard. To bring courses, resources and videos from an ESTAGE hub into your community, see [Deploying hub content](https://support.estage.com/community-deploy-from-hub). ## What's inside Your community comes with the full feature set: | Area | What it is | | --- | --- | | **Feed** | The member activity stream — posts, reactions, discussion | | **Posts & polls** | Text, media and polls, posted now or scheduled — see [Posts, polls and scheduling](https://support.estage.com/community-posting) | | **Stories** | Members' stories, shown above the feed — see [Stories](https://support.estage.com/community-stories) | | **Channels** | Separate spaces with their own feed, members and topics | | **Courses** | Structured learning content for members | | **Events** | A calendar with RSVPs | | **Members** | Profiles and the member directory; each member manages [their own account](https://support.estage.com/community-your-account) | | **Messages & calls** | Member-to-member chat and calls — see [Messages and calls](https://support.estage.com/community-messages) | | **Paid access** | Channels, courses and posts gated by what a member has bought or been granted | | **Challenges** | Day-by-day programs that unlock step by step | | **Resources & videos** | Downloads, a video catalogue and partner opportunities | | **Live** | Live streams, interactive stages and scheduled events | | **Gamification** | Points, levels and a leaderboard for participation | | **Analytics** | Growth, activity and at-risk members | ### Native mobile apps The community isn't only a web portal: members can install a **native iOS and Android app** for it, with push notifications and deep links straight into a post, a course, a chat, or a live room. The community they join on your domain is the same one they carry on their phone. You set the app up from the community's **Settings → Add-ons → Mobile App Setup** — see [Member Blaze, affiliates & the mobile app](https://support.estage.com/community-add-ons#mobile-app-setup). ## Where you manage it Day-to-day administration — privacy, channels, courses, events, member moderation — happens in the **community portal itself** (the **Open community ↗** link), where you're the admin. Start with [Running your community — the admin settings](https://support.estage.com/community-admin-settings) for a map of every tool. That's also where you brand the emails it sends and set the reply-to address — see [Community emails](https://support.estage.com/community-email-branding). Genesis manages the connection: activation status and [which address it lives on](https://support.estage.com/community-custom-domain). ## Two ways to show it | | Community portal | [Community toolkit](https://support.estage.com/community-toolkit) | | --- | --- | --- | | Where it runs | Its own address (`community.mysite.com`) | Inside the site Genesis built for you | | Design | The portal's own | Restyled by the AI to match your brand, screen by screen | | Requires | Any website or web app project | A [Web app](https://support.estage.com/platform-web-apps) project | | Members sign in | In the portal | Through a secure ESTAGE login on your site | ## Already have a community on ESTAGE? Don't create a new one — [import your legacy project](https://support.estage.com/community-legacy-import) and Genesis will use the existing community, members and content intact. ## Things worth knowing - **One community per project.** The Overview card creates and opens one community for the project. (A project with several apps can connect a separate community to each app through the [toolkit](https://support.estage.com/community-toolkit).) - **Separate sign-in.** The community has its own member accounts — signing into the community is separate from anything on your site. - **The portal isn't embeddable** into site pages — it's a destination, not a widget. Link to it prominently. If you want the community's screens *inside* your own site instead, that's the [Community toolkit](https://support.estage.com/community-toolkit), on a [Web app](https://support.estage.com/platform-web-apps) project.