Creating Tiered Membership Levels: Utilizing Private Channels and Roles

Learn to create a membership system by using private channels and configuring role access. This course will take a more advanced look at channels, roles, and role allocation.

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🔓 Roles and Permissions

Now that your private channels have been created, the next step is to control access to them. Community roles will determine who has access to what channel.

Roles are labels or permissions assigned to members that determine what they can see, do, and access within the community. Roles are customizable and can represent different community membership levels, responsibilities, or achievements.

Creating Roles and Adjusting Permissions

First, let’s create a couple of roles corresponding to the number of tiers you wish to have in your system. Roles are made visible above members’ names in your community, so do name your roles appropriately (e.g., Bronze Tier, Diamond Tier, VIP) 

Community permissions are another way to create perks in each tier besides privatized channels. Each role allows for the customization of permissions for members with that role.

For example:

  • Only allowing direct messaging for members gold tier and above
  • Needing to reach a specific tier before being allowed to post attachments/media

These not only act as additional perks on top of your existing private channels but also as a form of moderation and abuse protection. Allowing only higher-tier members to send attachments and direct messages prevents poachers or trolls from harassing your community members.

Controlling Channel Access

Once your roles are set up and configured, it’s time to control access to your private channels. To do this, go to the settings of each private channel. Under the ‘Access and Channel Permissions’ section, you’ll find a modal to manage who can view and use the channel. Select the role(s) you want to grant access to, and that role’s members will gain entry to the channel. 

Here’s a quick extra step you can incorporate to boost interest in your higher tiers. By default, private channels are hidden from all members that have not been granted access. This means that if your channel has been allocated to Gold Tier members and above, Bronze and Silver tier members have no idea that the channel even exists. 

If you’re looking to drive a sense of ‘missing out’ amongst your lower-tier members, you’ll probably want to make sure these channels are visible to them, too. To do this, toggle on ‘Request Channel Access’ and input your lower-tier roles into the access modal.

Additionally, you can add a request description that reads, “You have to be at least Gold Tier to access this channel.” This clues members into the fact that more perks can be accessed at a higher tier, driving motivation to achieve them.

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