The first 10 steps after creating your HumHub community
A new community is empty, and an empty community does not invite anyone to come back. These ten steps, in this order, take an afternoon and give your first members a place that already works. They apply to any HumHub; the notes mention what CUZY Hosting already did for you.
The ten steps
-
Set the basics
In Administration → Settings, give the community its name, default language and time zone, and the sender name of the notification emails. Members see these on day one.
On CUZY Hosting: The name and email sender come from your signup; check them.
-
Publish the legal pages
Write or adapt the legal notice, privacy policy and terms in the Legal Tools module, and ask for their acceptance at registration.
On CUZY Hosting: Legal Tools is installed and enabled with templates to adapt.
-
Make it look like yours
Upload the logo and a square icon, pick your main color, and set a login page background if you want one. Ten minutes change how members perceive the whole thing.
On CUZY Hosting: Clean Theme Pro is active; the logo is under Administration → Settings → Appearance, the colors in the theme's configuration.
-
Create three to six spaces
One for announcements (only administrators post), one per active team or group, and one for questions. Give each a description and an image. Fewer full spaces beat many empty ones.
-
Enable the modules each space needs
Wiki for reference pages, Calendar for meetings, Files for documents, Tasks or Polls where decisions are made. Enable them per space, not everywhere.
On CUZY Hosting: These are installed and enabled; CUZY modules (maps, surveys, eCommerce, LMS) wait for you in Administration → Modules.
-
Choose how people join
Invitation only for an intranet, approval for a members' network, open registration only for a public community. Decide which profile fields are required and who can see them.
-
Connect your sign-in
If your organization uses Google Workspace, install Google Sign-In; for Microsoft 365 (Entra ID), LDAP or SAML directories, connect a Keycloak server with the Keycloak Sign-In module. Members then use the account they already have. Require two-factor authentication for administrators.
On CUZY Hosting: 2FA is enforced for administrators from the start.
-
Post the first content
A welcome post pinned in the announcements space, the next three events in the calendar, one useful wiki page (how to use the community, or the rules of the club). The first visitors decide in a minute whether to come back.
-
Invite the core group first
Board, managers, coaches or organizers: ten to twenty people who post and answer. Then invite everyone, with one short message that says why and links the mobile app.
-
Check notifications and the mobile app
Open the community in the HumHub app on iOS or Android, and look at the default notification settings: too many emails make people unsubscribe, too few make them forget. A weekly digest is a good middle.
On CUZY Hosting: Push notifications to phones are included on the Business plan.
After the first week
- Look at which spaces are used and which are not; merge or close the quiet ones.
- Ask five members what they could not find.
- Name one person per space who answers questions and keeps the content current.
- Read the administrator handbook for the security and GDPR settings worth a second look.
Need a hand? During the trial and on every plan, CUZY answers by ticket in English and French. What HumHub can do lists every module and the combinations that work for common uses.
Questions
How many spaces should a new HumHub community start with?
Few: one space for announcements, one per active team or group, and one for questions. Three to six spaces with content in each beat twenty empty ones. Create more when members ask for them.
Should registration be open or by invitation?
Invitation or approval for an intranet or a members-only network; open registration only for a public community, with approval or email-domain rules to keep spam out.