How to Create a Community on Courses.gg: Step-by-Step Guide

Tested: October 2026 | Test type: logged-in, hands-on community setup | Project: Tools for Affiliate Marketing community

I created a new community inside Courses.gg to see what the setup process is actually like for a beginner. Instead of describing a sales page, I worked through the real settings for community branding, search visibility, member onboarding, questions, rules, gamification and integrations.

The result is the live foundation of my Tools for Affiliate Marketing community. This guide shows the exact process I followed, what each important setting does and how you can use the same options for your own course, membership or learning community.

Affiliate disclosure: This article contains an affiliate link. If you purchase through it, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. My tutorial and observations are based on my own logged-in test.

See Courses.gg and the ScalePlus platform options

Courses.gg community setup: the short answer

To create a community on Courses.gg, start by naming the community and choosing its URL, category and public description. Next, upload an icon and banner, configure the search and social preview, decide how members can join, add onboarding questions and rules, then review plans, permissions, gamification and integrations before opening the public page.

The interface keeps these controls inside one Community Settings area. In my account, the available sections were:

• General
• SEO & Social
• Custom Domains
• Plans
• Grant Access
• Onboarding
• Questions
• Rules
• Governance
• Reports
• Requests
• Gamification
• Affiliates
• Notifications
• Integrations
• Webhooks
• Zapier
• Groove

That makes Courses.gg more than a page where people watch lessons. It combines course delivery with community access, member management and the operational tools needed to run the space.

My testing boundary

I tested the community-building workflow in my own account and created a fresh community called Tools for Affiliate Marketing. I configured its core descriptions, category, branding, SEO information, onboarding message and community rules. I also inspected the available controls for custom domains, plans, questions, governance, reports, requests, gamification and integrations.

This is an early-stage implementation test, not a claim that I have already operated a large Courses.gg membership for years. At the time of this test the community showed one member and no published courses. I have not yet completed a long-term member-retention study, a high-volume moderation test or a controlled paid-plan conversion experiment. I will update the guide as I add courses, invite members and use more of the platform in normal operation.

What is Courses.gg?

Courses.gg is the course and community application available within the wider Scale platform ecosystem. From the dashboard I tested, a creator can organise learning content, members, community discussions, events and administrative settings without assembling a separate collection of unrelated tools.

The most useful idea for a beginner is that your community has two sides:

• The public side, where a potential member sees your banner, description, included benefits and available access options.
• The member side, where people access discussions, courses, events, rules and community features after joining.

Your settings connect those two sides. The name, descriptions, banner and SEO information help people understand the offer, while onboarding, questions, rules, access controls and notifications shape what happens after they join.

Before you create your community

You can save time by preparing a small community brief before opening the settings. Write down:

• The specific audience you want to serve
• The main result members should work toward
• The type of content you will publish
• Whether access will be free, paid or connected to another offer
• The first three discussion categories you need
• The questions you want new members to answer
• Your rules for promotion, privacy and respectful behaviour
• A square community icon and a landscape banner

For my test, the audience was affiliate marketers, bloggers, creators and small online businesses learning to use AI and marketing software. The promise was practical: hands-on reviews, beginner-friendly tutorials and real workflow tests.

Step 1: Create the community name, URL and category

Open the community settings and begin in the General tab. The first fields establish the public identity of the community:

1. Enter the community name.
2. Choose a short, readable URL slug.
3. Select the closest category.
4. Check that the name and URL still make sense when seen outside your existing website.

I used Tools for Affiliate Marketing with the slug tools-for-affiliate-marketing and selected the Marketing category. The name immediately tells a visitor what the community covers, while the slug is readable and avoids unnecessary numbers or filler words.

How to choose a good community name

A clear name normally performs better than a clever name that requires an explanation. Include the audience, topic or transformation where possible. For example, “Tools for Affiliate Marketing” is more informative than a vague name such as “The Growth Room.”

Avoid locking the name to one temporary feature if you expect the community to expand. My community can cover software reviews, tutorials, SEO, campaigns and websites without needing a future rebrand.

Step 2: Write the four community descriptions

One detail I appreciated is that Courses.gg separates community copy by placement. The settings I used included four different descriptions:

• About Page Content: the full explanation for the community’s About area.
• Public Landing Page Description: the marketing introduction displayed below the public cover.
• Sidebar Summary: a short introduction shown inside the member feed.
• Card Tagline: a one-sentence hook for directory cards and previews.

Do not paste the same long paragraph into every field. Each placement has a different job.

About page formula

Use the About page to answer five questions:

1. Who is the community for?
2. What will members learn or accomplish?
3. What will they find inside?
4. How should they begin?
5. What standards should they follow?

My About content welcomes affiliate marketers, explains the practical learning focus, lists the types of tutorials and reviews available, asks new members to introduce themselves and reminds everyone to fact-check AI-generated claims.

Landing-page description formula

Keep the public description tighter. State the audience, the topic and the main benefit in two or three sentences. A visitor should be able to decide quickly whether the community is relevant.

Sidebar and card copy

The sidebar summary should orient an existing member. The card tagline should function like a short advertising headline. Mine focuses on “hands-on AI tool reviews and beginner-friendly marketing tutorials” because that is the fastest explanation of the community’s value.

Step 3: Upload the community icon and banner

The General tab also includes separate uploads for the square icon and wide banner. In the interface I tested, the recommended icon size was 512 × 512 pixels and the recommended banner size was 1200 × 630 pixels.

I created a dark, high-contrast banner that communicates the main themes: AI assistance, content, websites, SEO, email and analytics. I kept the main title in the centre because social cards and mobile layouts may crop the edges.

For better performance:

• Export the final image as WebP or a compressed PNG where appropriate.
• Keep the headline readable at mobile size.
• Avoid placing important text against the extreme edges.
• Use your real brand colours rather than an unrelated stock design.
• Add descriptive alternative text when the platform provides that field.

The same area also supports a public welcome video using a supported video URL or embed code. A short video can explain who the community is for, but it is optional. A clear banner and description are enough to launch the basic page.

Step 4: Configure SEO and social sharing

Open SEO & Social and complete the search title, search description, social title and social description. These fields control how the community can appear in search results and shared-link previews.

For my test I used:

• Search title: Tools for Affiliate Marketing Community | AI Tool Guides
• Search description: Join practical tutorials, hands-on AI marketing tool reviews and real workflow tests for affiliate marketers, bloggers, creators and small businesses.
• Social title: Tools for Affiliate Marketing: Learn, Test and Build

Write for humans first. Include the community topic and audience naturally, but do not repeat the same keyword until the title becomes awkward. Search engines may rewrite titles and descriptions, so treat these fields as strong suggestions rather than guarantees.

You can also upload a dedicated social preview image. If you leave it empty, the platform can use the community banner. A dedicated 1200 × 630 image is useful when you want tighter control over the shared card.

Step 5: Decide whether to connect a custom domain

The Custom Domains area provides options for using a subdomain or root domain. A branded address can make the community feel more closely connected to your business, but domain changes should be handled carefully.

For most creators, a subdomain such as community.example.com is the cleaner option because the main website can remain on its existing host. Before changing DNS records:

• Confirm which domain or subdomain you want to use.
• Back up existing DNS values.
• Do not delete email records such as MX entries.
• Allow time for DNS changes to propagate.
• Test the secure HTTPS version after activation.

You can launch with the standard Courses.gg community URL and connect a custom domain later if you prefer to keep the initial setup simple.

Step 6: Organise discussion categories

Community categories help members understand where to post. My new community included starter categories such as Overview, Introductions, General Discussion, Questions and Wins.

That is enough for an early community. Avoid creating 20 empty categories on day one. A useful starting structure is:

• Start Here: announcements, navigation and important resources.
• Introductions: who members are and what they are building.
• Tool Reviews and Tests: practical software experiences.
• Questions: troubleshooting and implementation help.
• Progress and Wins: completed work and lessons learned.

Each category should have a clear purpose. If members cannot immediately tell where a post belongs, simplify the structure.

Step 7: Configure plans and member access

The Plans tab controls the access options presented on the public community page, while Grant Access is used to provide access to specific people.

Before activating a paid plan, decide:

• What members receive immediately
• Which courses, categories or events are included
• Whether access is free, recurring or connected to another purchase
• How cancellations and refunds will be handled
• What happens to content access when a plan ends

My community was still displayed as free during this setup test. I did not run a complete paid checkout and cancellation cycle, so I am not presenting untested payment behaviour as a result. Always verify the current plan terms and checkout flow in your own account before inviting paying members.

Step 8: Set the member onboarding experience

The Onboarding tab controls how people join and what they see immediately afterward. In my account, the join modes included instant access, manual approval and questions required.

Instant join

Use instant join when reducing friction is the priority and the community is suitable for open access. It is the simplest choice for a free public community, although you should still prepare rules and moderation.

Manual approval

Manual approval gives you more control when the community is specialised, confidential or vulnerable to promotional spam. The trade-off is that a prospective member must wait for an administrator.

Questions required

Required questions can qualify members and collect useful context before entry. Ask only for information that helps you serve or protect the community.

I added a welcome message telling members to introduce themselves, explain what they are building and identify the tool or workflow they need help with. I also included a reminder to verify AI-generated facts and disclose affiliate relationships.

Step 9: Add useful membership questions

The Questions section lets you prepare questions for new members. Good questions improve introductions and help you understand what content to create next.

Useful questions for an affiliate-marketing learning community could include:

1. What are you currently building?
2. What is your experience level with affiliate marketing?
3. Which tool or workflow do you need the most help with?
4. What result would make this community valuable to you?
5. Do you agree to follow the community rules and disclose promotional relationships?

Avoid asking for passwords, payment information or sensitive personal details. Every question should have a clear reason.

Step 10: Create clear community rules

Rules protect the quality of the community and give moderators a consistent standard. I created five rules during this test:

1. Be respectful and helpful.
2. No spam or misleading promotions.
3. Disclose affiliate relationships.
4. Fact-check AI-generated content.
5. Protect privacy and account information.

Write rules in plain language and explain what each one means. “No spam” is more useful when members know that repetitive links, unsolicited promotions, fake urgency and guaranteed-income claims are not allowed.

Courses.gg also provides a member preview and a shareable rules link. Preview the rules as a member before promoting the community.

Step 11: Understand governance, reports and requests

As a community grows, content settings are not enough. The administration area also includes governance, reports and requests.

• Governance: establishes how the community is managed and who has authority.
• Reports: supports review of content or behaviour reported by members.
• Requests: provides a place to manage pending community-related requests.

Even if you are the only administrator at launch, decide how you will handle a complaint, an undisclosed promotion or a privacy concern. A simple written process prevents emotional, inconsistent decisions later.

Step 12: Configure gamification carefully

The Gamification section can add points, levels or leaderboards that reward participation. Used well, it encourages introductions, helpful answers and steady progress. Used poorly, it can reward low-quality posting.

Connect rewards to actions that create value. Good examples include completing onboarding, publishing a useful case study, answering a question clearly or completing a course milestone. Avoid rewarding raw post quantity without considering quality.

Step 13: Review affiliates, notifications and integrations

The remaining settings connect the community to a larger business workflow:

• Affiliates: supports referral-related community growth where configured.
• Notifications: controls the updates members or administrators receive.
• Integrations: connects the community with supported services.
• Webhooks: sends structured events to another system.
• Zapier: can connect events to automated workflows.
• Groove: provides another connection point within the available ecosystem.

Do not activate every integration simply because it exists. Begin with one clear workflow, such as adding an approved member to the correct email sequence. Test it with your own address, verify consent and confirm that duplicate records are not created.

When using webhooks or automation, never expose secret keys in public screenshots. Keep a short record of what each connection does so you can troubleshoot it later.

Step 14: Preview the public community as a visitor

Use the public preview before inviting members. Check the page as someone who has never heard of your brand.

Review these points:

• Can a visitor understand the audience and topic within a few seconds?
• Is the banner readable without zooming?
• Does the description explain what members receive?
• Are the courses, events or benefits shown accurately?
• Does the join or purchase action match the plan you configured?
• Do the community rules and privacy expectations appear where needed?
• Does the page work on mobile?

My first preview showed the new banner, public description and included community features. It also made the next tasks obvious: add the first course, prepare starter posts and continue testing the member experience.

Step 15: Publish your first community post

After the structure was ready, I published the first real post inside my Courses.gg community. I used a welcome and Start Here post because a new member should not have to guess what the community is for or what to do next.

The post is titled “Welcome to Tools for Affiliate Marketing — Start Here” and sits in the Overview area. It introduces the purpose of the community, tells members what they can expect and gives them an easy first action instead of leaving the feed empty.

What to include in your first post

• A friendly welcome: confirm that the member is in the right place.
• The community purpose: explain the topic, audience and result you want to help members achieve.
• What members will find: list the main tutorials, discussions, resources, events or courses you plan to share.
• A simple first action: ask members to introduce themselves, read the rules or open a starter lesson.
• Important standards: explain your expectations for privacy, respectful discussion, self-promotion and affiliate disclosure.
• A reply prompt: end with one easy question that gives new members a reason to comment.

A useful introduction prompt could be: “Tell us what you are building, which marketing tool you are currently using and the biggest problem you want help solving.” This produces more helpful replies than asking members only to say hello.

What can you post in a Courses.gg community?

A community feed works best when posts help members learn, act or connect. You do not need to publish every type of content immediately. Choose a few repeatable formats that match the purpose of your community.

• Welcome and Start Here posts: explain how the community works and direct new members to the best first resource.
• Member introductions: invite people to share their experience, current project and goals so conversations have context.
• Announcements and updates: share new courses, events, platform changes, live sessions and important community news.
• Step-by-step tutorials: teach one practical task with clear instructions, screenshots and a result members can reproduce.
• Hands-on tool reviews: show what you tested, how you tested it, what worked and who the tool may suit.
• Questions and troubleshooting: create focused threads where members can ask for help and compare solutions.
• Polls and feedback posts: learn what members need next and involve them in future content decisions.
• Quick wins and progress updates: recognise completed tasks, improvements and useful lessons without relying on unrealistic income claims.
• Course companion posts: give members a place to discuss a lesson, complete an exercise or ask follow-up questions.
• Event reminders and recaps: announce live sessions, then summarise the main points for members who could not attend.
• Resource roundups: organise templates, checklists, prompts and useful links around one clear problem.
• Case studies and behind-the-scenes posts: document a real workflow, including the starting point, process, outcome and lessons learned.
• Community challenges: guide members through a small result over several days, such as publishing a first review or improving a landing page.
• FAQ and answer posts: turn repeated member questions into searchable explanations that help everyone.
• Affiliate recommendations: explain why a product may help, add a clear affiliate disclosure and avoid presenting commission-based opinions as independent facts.

A simple weekly posting rhythm

If you are unsure how often to post, begin with three useful posts per week:

• Monday: one short tutorial or practical action members can complete.
• Wednesday: one question, poll or troubleshooting discussion.
• Friday: one member win, case study, tool test or weekly recap.

Consistency matters more than filling the feed with rushed content. One useful post that starts a real discussion is better than several generic AI-generated posts that members ignore.

Tips for making community posts useful

• Give each post one main outcome instead of covering several unrelated topics.
• Use a descriptive title that tells members what they will learn or discuss.
• Publish the post in the correct category so it is easier to find later.
• Use short paragraphs, subheadings and bullet points for easier reading.
• Finish with one clear action: reply, vote, download, watch, test or complete a lesson.
• Reply to early comments so members know participation is noticed.
• Fact-check AI-assisted content, especially prices, statistics, product features and legal claims.
• Disclose affiliate relationships clearly whenever a post includes affiliate links.
• Remove spam, misleading claims and guaranteed-results language.
• Review which posts receive useful replies, then create more content around those needs.

What I liked during this setup test

• One organised settings area: the major community controls are grouped into clear tabs.
• Separate copy placements: the About page, public landing page, sidebar and card can each use appropriately sized copy.
• Built-in onboarding controls: instant join, manual approval and question-based entry support different community models.
• Rules and administration: the platform includes more than content publishing; it also provides tools for community standards and management.
• Growth options: SEO, social previews, domains, affiliates and integrations are available without forcing every creator into the same workflow.

What beginners should prepare for

The number of settings is useful, but it can feel like a lot when you are creating your first community. You do not need to configure everything on the first day.

Start with:

1. Name, URL and category
2. Public description
3. Icon and banner
4. SEO title and description
5. Three to five discussion categories
6. Join mode and welcome message
7. Community rules
8. One useful starter resource or course

Add advanced automation, affiliates and gamification when you know what member behaviour you are trying to support.

Courses.gg community launch checklist

• Community name and slug checked
• Marketing category selected
• About content written
• Public description added
• Sidebar summary and card tagline completed
• Icon and 1200 × 630 banner uploaded
• Search and social metadata reviewed
• Custom-domain decision made
• Discussion categories simplified
• Access plan checked
• Join mode selected
• Welcome message added
• Membership questions reviewed
• Rules published
• Notification settings checked
• Public page tested on desktop and mobile
• First course or starter resource prepared
• First welcome or Start Here post published

Who Courses.gg may suit

Based on this setup test, Courses.gg is worth considering for:

• Creators combining courses with member discussion
• Coaches who want structured learning and community support
• Affiliate educators publishing tutorials and tool walkthroughs
• Small businesses building a customer education hub
• Membership owners who want onboarding, rules and engagement features in one place

It may be more configuration than someone needs for a single downloadable file or a one-page product. The value becomes clearer when courses, discussions, events and ongoing member access are part of the offer.

Frequently asked questions

Can I create a free community on Courses.gg?

The community I created displayed as free during this test, and the settings included a Plans area for controlling access. Current account availability and commercial terms can change, so confirm the plan shown in your account and at checkout before making a purchasing decision.

Can I use my own domain?

The Custom Domains tab in my account provided options for connecting a subdomain or root domain. A subdomain is usually the safer choice when your main website is already hosted elsewhere.

Can I approve members manually?

Yes. The onboarding settings I tested included instant join, manual approval and questions required.

Can I ask questions before someone joins?

Yes. Courses.gg includes membership-question controls. Keep questions relevant and avoid requesting sensitive information.

Can I add community rules?

Yes. I created five rules and could preview them as a member. The interface also offered a shareable rules link.

Does Courses.gg include gamification?

The community settings I inspected included a dedicated Gamification area and public community cards for leaderboards. Test the exact reward behaviour in your account before announcing a competition.

Does it connect with other tools?

The settings included Integrations, Webhooks, Zapier and Groove tabs. The exact services and available actions may depend on your account and configuration.

Do I need a course before creating the community?

No. I configured and previewed the community while the account still showed zero courses. However, prepare at least one useful starter resource before inviting a large audience so new members have a clear first step.

Should I fact-check AI-written community content?

Yes. Check important facts, prices, product claims, links and legal wording before publishing. AI can accelerate drafting, but the community owner remains responsible for the final content.

Final verdict from my first Courses.gg community build

Courses.gg gave me a structured way to move from a community idea to a branded public page with onboarding, member questions, rules, gamification and integration options. The core setup is approachable for a beginner when completed in stages.

The strongest part of the experience was not one individual feature. It was having the public presentation, member access and community-management settings connected in the same workspace. My next phase is to add learning content, invite members and document how the platform performs during normal community use.

If you want to explore the platform, review the current plan details and inclusions before purchasing:

View Courses.gg through the ScalePlus platform

Prices, plan inclusions and platform features may change. Confirm the current details on the sales page and at checkout. This article reflects the interface and account access I tested in October 2026.