# Publish a community profile and choose how people join

Written by Geeta Thakker
Updated 2026-09-29

The community owner can publish a profile that people can find in [Discover](/discover) and share with prospective members. Publishing the profile does not make private discussions, resources, events, or the member directory public.

## Complete your public profile

Open the community’s **Settings** and find **Public profile & membership**.

1. Choose a **Public address** using lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens. The address stays fixed after you first save it, so check it carefully.
2. Enter your **Public host name**.
3. Fill in **About the community** with who it is for and what membership includes. Publishing requires at least 50 characters.
4. Choose **How people join**.
5. Set **Visibility** to published and select **Save profile & access**.

Use **View your public profile** to check the result. The name and description from your community settings also appear publicly. Keep private instructions in **Member notice**, inside the workspace.

## Choose a joining option

- **Invitation only:** people need a valid invitation from your team. A published profile explains the community but does not grant access by itself.
- **Open — free to join:** signed-in people can join from the profile.
- **Free — instructor approval required:** people request access from the profile. Owners and instructors review those requests under **Members**.
- **Paid membership:** offer one-time payment, a monthly membership, eligible paid workshop access, or a supported combination. Follow the [paid membership guide](/help/articles/paid-community-memberships) before publishing.

For a private group without a public listing, leave visibility unpublished and use [invitations](/help/articles/community-invitations-and-roles). Changing visibility and changing membership access are separate decisions. Unpublishing does not by itself remove existing members or cancel their subscriptions.

## Review before sharing

Open the profile while signed out to check what prospective members will see. Describe the actual format, time commitment, and support you provide. If you offer paid access, make the available plan and any workshop requirement clear.

You can revise the public introduction later. Changes that would disrupt existing paid or workshop-based access may be blocked. Choose the access model before inviting learners; switching a free community to paid access is available only before members join.

Send learners the [joining guide](/help/articles/join-teacher-community) if they need help using an invitation, submitting a request, or confirming their membership.