When to move your community off WhatsApp or Discord

WhatsApp and Discord are good places to start a community. They cost nothing, most people already have them, and there is nothing to set up. Many communities outgrow them over time, usually without anyone deciding to leave.

Signs you have outgrown it

One of these on its own is not a reason to move. Several together usually are.

• New members cannot see enough history to understand what the group is about.
• The same questions get asked over and over.
• You cannot tell who is active and who joined and disappeared.
• You run paid membership by adding and removing people by hand.
• Important announcements get buried within hours.
• Members keep asking for things the app cannot do, like a member directory, profiles or event pages.

What it costs

Mostly your time. Someone ends up adding and removing members by hand, answering the same questions again, and digging through old messages. Some members never find their way in, and they rarely say anything about it.

Try the cheap fix first

Tidier channels, a pinned welcome message and a regular clean-up fix some problems. Try those first. If the same problems return within a month or two, they come from the platform, and tidying won't remove them.

Where to move

There are two realistic options. A hosted community tool gets you running quickly and suits many communities. A custom platform makes sense when your community works in a way no off-the-shelf tool supports. We compare the two in another article, linked below.

Moving without losing people

A few habits make the move easier:

• Keep the old group open for a while and say clearly that it is winding down.
• Move your most active members first, so the new place feels busy when everyone else arrives.
• Give people something to do there that they can't do in the old group, such as a member directory, event pages or profiles.
• Expect some members not to follow.

Checking whether you have outgrown it

The free Community Quick Scan looks at how your community runs today and tells you whether a move makes sense or a smaller fix would do.