Building an online community from scratch and maintaining it isn't easy. The process can require a lot of time, effort, and even hiring a developer.
Fortunately, there's an alternative: using a community website builder.
A community website builder is a great tool for brands that want to build their own standalone community without any coding knowledge.
They offer many features, including discussion boards, private messaging, and integrations. These make it possible for communities to host conversations, build customer relationships, and grow their audience all in one place.
A community website builder also comes with customizations that enable brands to design the look and feel of their community website in a few clicks.
At the same time, it's difficult to know which website builder is right for your community, and the wrong one is expensive to move away from.
After reading this guide, you'll be able to choose the right community website builder with all the features and customization options you need to build and maintain a thriving community.
Let's get started.
Before we discuss the benefits of using a website builder to create a branded community, check out this article to learn about online communities, their types, and how they can help your company.
Here's what a community website builder gives a brand that wants its own community site:
A good community website removes unnecessary steps, so companies can quickly create a clean, professional-looking online community.
For example, you can add elements and interactive community features to your website in just a few clicks. These can include a forum, knowledge base, FAQ page, events page, document page, job board, or other web pages, without writing a single line of code.
At the same time, a community site builder makes coding accessible if you want to build custom functionalities.
Good community website builders also include great beginner guides and extensive documentation, making the tool easy to understand and implement.
Delivering a customized experience your community members will love is essential. Studies show that 59% of global consumers crave a beautiful website design over simplicity. And a community website builder with a long list of customizations makes this possible.
Here's some of the typical elements you can customize using a website community builder:
Data shows that only 25% of members actively engage with their online community. At the same time, the most active members add 12 times more value than average members. This means it's worthwhile for brands to invest in a community website builder since they offer the tools to boost user engagement and interaction.
For example, a community website builder makes it possible for users to interact with one another by facilitating and creating discussions, content organization, and member connections. At the same time, it encourages engagement by offering features like reactions, comments, private messaging, group chats, and much more.
An explore page lets them to engage with different types of personalized content you want to promote, like popular or related posts they usually interact with. Indeed, 99% of marketing professionals said personalization helps advance customer relationships.
Likewise, the help of a search bar allows members to use keywords to find the information they're looking for. This boosts engagement since customers can trust your brand as the go-to source for finding the information they need.
If you want to boost engagement on your existing website, check out this community engagement plan where we also touch upon some member retention strategies.
Community website builders have several tools that simplify and automate community management activities, so you can support and manage your members effectively. That matters, since 16% of communities have no full-time community management staff and 33% only have one full-time team member in charge of community moderation.
A community website builder allows managers to run their community on a tight ship. This is done by using moderation tools like a keyword blocklist, profanity filter, moderation panel, and moderation rules. Together they keep your community a safe place for members to thrive.
Likewise, using a community builder's features that keep your online community well organized makes it easy for members to discover topics, comment on posts, view content, submit information, and contact other members of the community.
A good website builder will also offer analytics so managers can monitor their community's performance. These insights help businesses make data-informed decisions about how to continue managing and organizing their community in the future.
If you want to learn more about community content curation and moderation, make sure to check our five-step framework for moderating a community.
Also, if you're a new community manager who feels a bit lost or overwhelmed, you can join dedicated communities for community managers and connect with like-minded individuals through a peer-to-peer networking platform.
There are many community website builders available. To narrow down your search, consider features, user-friendliness, integrations, budget, and costs. Below, we break each of these down into detail.
Data shows that for a customer to feel satisfied with their experience viewing content it should:
This means your community website builder needs to have many features to meet these demands and ensure people have a good experience.
Here's some of the features to keep in mind:
If your online community is difficult to use, members will leave or become inactive. A community website builder solves this issue, since it can build a community that's easy for members to participate in.
For starters, it can build a website that's easy to use by making sure it has clear navigation. It can also offer helpful information quickly so users don't get lost or frustrated by a lack of guidance or search filters.
These features and others encourage users to explore, engage with, and promote your community, increasing the chances of them becoming loyal members.
Choosing a community website builder that integrates with other tools is invaluable when building an online community. It will allow you to:
Connecting your online community to apps like Google Analytics or the email platform Mailchimp gives you one view of engagement across them. This is because the integrations share data from one system to the next.
Ultimately, integrations give you a smoother workflow and strengthen your community's online presence.
Choose a website builder that already integrates with other tools you're using or one that has community integration APIs so you can add your custom integrations.
When choosing the best website builder, it must fit your budget while having the features you need to build your community. Comparing features and pricing plans is key when searching for a solution, whether you own a membership website, SaaS company, online store, sell online courses, or have a community of entrepreneurs who are searching for exclusive content.
While some free website builders offer a drag-and-drop feature, customer support, membership site, community monetization tools, and even SEO capabilities, they limit functionality, and their free tiers hold back the features a growing community needs.
Spending the time to compare paid plans can help you strike a balance between features and cost so you get the most value for your money (and credit card).
Here's a list of the five most popular community website builders for you to choose from.
Bettermode is a complete solution for creating and maintaining stunning community-based websites. Its easy-to-use interface allows for a wide range of customization options and lets brands create a feature-rich community website without any coding knowledge.
It also offers secure hosting, reliable support, custom SSL, and detailed documentation. The platform also integrates with third-party apps like Intercom, Slack, Zapier, and more.
Overall, Bettermode is a great choice for anyone looking to build an engaging online community.
Let's take a look at a few more of Bettermode's features in detail.
Bettermode has a large library of community templates for different purposes and industries. Whether you want to create an interactive community for your customers or foster collaboration by creating an employee community platform, we've got you covered.
Here are some options to choose from:
Let's see how you can create a brand community using our community hub templates.
Or, you can build your own community space from scratch. All the elements you add are highly customizable and can be in your brand colors, as you'll see in a second.
But what if we told you there's something even more user-friendly than the standard drag-and-drop editor?
To simplify the process of layout designing, we've added section blocks that enable you to arrange content on your community page much faster and easier with real-time preview.
The new editor is very responsive and intuitive, making creating complex layouts with many elements a breeze.
Bettermode provides all the necessary customization features to build a community website that stands out from your competitors. This includes different fonts and typography, layout, or adding images of your choice.
When you're done with creating a layout for your community, select Appearance from the left side menu.
3. All themes come in a dark mode too if that's what your community prefers.
Bettermode's user behavior analytics give you detailed insights about your community website. Metrics include:
Connect your community with apps you already use and bring your workflows together. You can even build custom apps for your community to add new functionalities on top of the Bettermode Platform.
Drive engagement and community participation by embedding your community into your website or mobile app in a way that it looks like an integral part of the website.
Bettermode allows its users to host their communities in different or multiple languages. This means you have a variety of languages to choose from as your community default language.
Likewise, members can translate the posts and replies they see in your online community into their preferred language.
Anyone looking to create engaging community portals and professional websites in a quick and easy way, even those who are completely new to it
Bettermode now includes Toggy, three AI agents that set up the community, keep conversations moving and review every post. Toggy Build reads your website and content and sets up a working community on your domain, and it's free while Build is in early access. Toggy plans start at $750 a month. See Toggy build one for your brand →
Discourse is an open-source community website builder. This means it allows you to modify the code so you can customize the look & feel of your website. It's simple and easy to use, while still providing the necessary features for building a functional online community website.
Developers and tech communities that are passionate about open-source projects
Acquired by Higher Logic in 2021, Vanilla Forums is a popular community website builder. It comes with many features that help companies build loyalty and increase engagement with their members.
For example, its gamification system uses a points-based reward approach. This gives users a reason to participate in their online community, as they'll receive points for answering questions, receiving reactions to their content, and more.
Higher Logic sells Vanilla in packages and quotes pricing on request.
SaaS companies that are looking for continuous user feedback
Flarum is an open-source community website builder. Its simple user interface delivers a good user experience. It allows you to build a customizable online community with a clean design.
It offers various advanced features such as tags, groups, and permissions to customize different communities based on their use.
It also comes with an easy and quick installation process that enables brands to set up their own community forum site quickly.
Its user-generated content platform and knowledge base offer plenty of resources on how to create a forum and similar topics.
Flarum is free, open-source software (MIT licensed) that you host yourself, so there is no license fee. Some third-party extensions are paid, priced by the developers who make them.
Non-profit organizations or early-stage communities that don't need advanced features
Hivebrite is a community website builder for education alumni, nonprofits, and professional networks. Its job board feature allows your community members to post jobs. At the same time, it offers management and moderation features like instant notifications and the ability to edit and delete all new publications.
You can also use their mobile community app builder to create a branded mobile app that can be downloaded on Google Play or the AppStore. The app can be customized to include your brand's colors, logo, name, and more.
Hivebrite has four plans. Core starts at $895/month and Flex at $1,995/month, both billed annually. Prime and Custom Fit are quoted on request.
Educational institutions, charities, non-profits
| Features | Pricing | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bettermode | Community templates Advanced customization Advanced analytics Built-in CMS (Premium) Many integrations Multilingual communities | Starter: $149/month billed annually ($199 monthly) Growth: $1,500/month billed annually Premium: custom 14-day trial | Anyone looking to create engaging community portals and professional websites in a quick and easy way, even those who are completely new to it |
| Discourse | Widgets for WordPress Numerous plugins Members-only section Community moderation Categories, threads, and topics Private messaging | Free hosted tier Pro $100/month, Business $500/month Enterprise: custom | Developers and tech communities that are passionate about open-source projects |
| Vanilla Forums | Advanced gamification Points, badges and rewards Product feedback section Multi-lingual communities Real-time notifications Social logins Integration with social media and e-commerce platforms | Custom price available upon request | SaaS companies that are looking for continuous user feedback |
| Flarum | Quick set-up Plenty of forum themes Tags, groups, permissions Large extension library Translation in multiple languages | Free, open source (self-hosted) Some paid third-party extensions | Non-profit organizations or early-stage communities that don't need advanced features |
| Hivebrite | Branded mobile apps Real-time notifications Membership and subscriptions Job boards Advanced monetization tools (ticketed events, merchandise sales, donations) | Core from $895/month, Flex from $1,995/month (billed annually) Prime and Custom Fit on request | Educational institutions, charities, non-profits |
Community website builders give a business of any size a faster way to launch and run its own community.
Everything from easy-to-use templates, integrations, domain names, and customizations that'll help bring the look and feel of your community together, which builds customer relationships and loyalty over time.
If you want to create a professionally looking interactive community website, we've got you covered. You don't need any experience in design or coding. All you need is to choose one of Bettermode's customizable community templates and create a custom layout and branding in minutes.
Sounds too good to be true? Try it out and see it firsthand.
Start your 14-day trial (no credit card required).
The fastest and easiest way to create a community website is to use an online community platform software. It's a drag-and-drop tool that enables you to create beautiful and interactive community websites without any previous experience or coding skills.
Community builders are tools that allow you to build a website quickly and easily, without any previous knowledge. They're either based on the drag-and-drop principle, or they come with templates you can customize according to your needs.
Bettermode is one of the best community websites due to its user-friendly design, variety of templates, ease of use and advanced engagement and customization options.