Creating a group

To create a group:

1. Log in to your Groups.io account if you are not already logged in to Groups.io.
   Note: If you do not have a Groups.io account (that is, your email address is not registered with Groups.io), create a Groups.io account or register with Groups.io through Facebook or Google. See Creating a Groups.io account.
2. In the blue header at the top of any Groups.io page, click or tap the Find or Create a Group link. The Publicly Listed Groups page appears.
   Mobile browser tip: In a mobile browser, use landscape orientation to see the Find or Create a Group link in the blue page header. In portrait orientation, tap your profile icon on the right side of the blue page header and then select Find or Create a Group from the dropdown menu.
3. Click or tap the Create a Group button on the left side of the page. The Pricing page appears.
   Mobile browser tip: In a mobile browser, use landscape orientation to see the Create a Group button. In portrait orientation, scroll all the way to the bottom of the Publicly Listed Groups page to see the Create a Group button.
4. If you want to create:
   • A free Premium trial group: Click or tap the blue Start Free 30-Day Trial button.
   • A Free group: Click or tap Just need a limited free plan? to expand that panel, then scroll down and click or tap Start Free Group.
5. On the Name & Description page that appears:
   • ! Important: Review the information in the Terms panel at the top. Make sure you review the Terms of Service, Online Safety Policy, and the types of content and behavior that are not permitted by Groups.io. If your intended group is one of the types that are not permitted, its creation will not be approved.
     Note: If you are creating a test group to try out Groups.io, make sure you note the required policy settings, which you will set in step 6 below.

     Groups.io does not permit these types of groups, content, and behavior:

     • Pornography, adult content, or nudity.
     • Harassment of any kind.
     • Groups that share media or content whose distribution would be in violation of copyright law.
     • Groups dedicated to the promotion of extreme, hateful, or exclusionary ideas, including but not limited to the alt-right.
     • Groups dedicated to the promotion of conspiracy theories, including, but not limited to: Gamergate, Pizzagate, and Qanon.
     • Groups dedicated to the promotion of anti-vaccination ideologies.
     • Groups that are designed strictly to use our directory as an advertisement for something other than the group itself.
     • Groups dedicated to sharing tags, tubes, PaintShop Pro files, GIFs, Incredimail or other stationery, or graphics.
   • Group Email Address field: Enter the name that will be used as the email address of your group, up to a maximum of 34 characters. In addition to being in the email address, this name will appear in the URL of your group on the Groups.io website and in the directory of groups on the Publicly Listed Groups page if you opt to list your group in that directory.
     Note:
     • Only letters, numbers, and single dashes (hyphens) are allowed in the name.
       Exception: Periods are allowed in the names of subgroups. But main (parent) group names cannot contain periods because those names are used as subdomains when you add subgroups, and subdomains cannot contain periods. 
     • If you decide you want to rename your group, it is possible to change the Group Email Address name later. However, changing a group’s name has some repercussions. See Renaming a group.
   • Description field: Enter a description of your group. This description will be displayed on your group’s home page. If you make your group visible to the public, the first two or three sentences will appear in the directory of publicly listed groups on Groups.io, so make sure the opening sentences of the description accurately reflect the group. You can modify the description later, but at this stage, be as specific as possible to ensure that the Groups.io team will approve the group’s creation.
     Tip: If your group will be listed in the public directory, include appropriate keywords early in the description to help prospective members find your group easily when they search the directory.
   • Click or tap the Next button at the bottom of the page.
6. On the Group Policies page, select the initial policy settings for the group, then click or tap the Next button at the bottom of the page.
   The settings are:
   • Group Type

     Select the type you want your group to be: Discussion Group (any member with the appropriate privileges can post messages) or Announcements Only (only moderators can post messages). You can change this setting later if desired.

   • New Member Policy

     Select whether prospective members must be approved by a group owner or moderator before they can join the group or whether anyone can join the group without approval. You can change this setting later if desired.
     Tip: The Approval Required setting helps prevent spammers from joining the group. It also allows you to screen prospective members by automatically sending a Pending Subscription notice (that you can create later) requesting them to provide additional information before their membership requests are approved.

   • Posting Policy

     Select whether you want messages posted to the group to require approval by a group owner or moderator. You can change this setting later if desired. For more information, see Group type and moderation settings.

   • Directory of Groups.io Groups

     Select whether you want the group to be included or not included in the public list of groups. You can change this setting later if desired. 
     Note: If you are creating a test group, you must select Do not list group in directory for your group to be approved.

   • Visibility of Messages in Message Archive

     This setting controls whether the group’s message archive will be visible to anyone (public) or only to group members (private). 

     If you want the archive to be visible to the general public and to internet search engines, select Messages can be viewed by anyone. GroupManagersForum is an example of a group that has a public archive.

     If you want the archive to be visible only to group members (that is, private), select Messages can be viewed by group members only.

     ! Important: When you make a message archive private, you cannot change it later to be publicly viewable. The “Messages can be viewed by group members only” setting is not reversible (see About group visibility settings). Therefore, at this stage, you should be certain about whether you want your group’s message archive to be public or private.

     Note: If you are creating a test group, you must select Messages can be viewed by group members only for your group to be approved.

   • Allow Sponsorships (Premium groups only)

     Leave the Allow Sponsorships checkbox selected if you want to allow group members to help defray any future Groups.io costs, or clear the checkbox if you do not want to allow sponsorships at this time. You can change this setting later, if desired. For more information, see Using the sponsorship feature to defray Groups.io hosting costs.

7. (Optional) If you want to invite some people to join the group right away, complete the Invite Members page and click or tap the Next button at the bottom of the page. To skip this step, just click or tap the Next button without entering anything on the page. You can invite people to join the group after it is created.
8. On the Summary page:
   • Review the information you entered and selected in the previous steps.
   • Select the checkbox next to “I agree and confirm compliance with the Online Safety Policy...”. The Create Group button is not activated until you select this checkbox.
     Note: This acknowledgement is required for compliance with the UK Online Safety Act. See Online Safety at Groups.io.
9. Click or tap the Create Group button at the bottom of the page.
   Note: If the group email address you entered is already in use, the system displays a “not available” message. If the email address you entered has a problem, such as containing illegal characters or being more than 34 characters long, the system displays an “invalid name” message. Use the Back button to go back to the first page and change or correct the name. Then use the Next button to return to the Summary page, and click or tap Create Group again. 

When your group is created successfully, Groups.io displays the Promote page with a banner at the top stating that your group has been created, along with some introductory information. You will receive an email notification when the group is approved by Groups.io, which could take a few hours. If you opted to include your group in the directory of publicly listed groups, it will take some time for the directory to be updated to include your group.

Now you can:

• Customize the settings for your group.
• Set default email options and user settings for group members.
• Create notices that can be sent to members automatically for certain events (for example, you can customize the default welcome notice that is sent to new members when they join the group).
• Change the image that is displayed on the home page of your group’s website.
• Specify how you want to receive notifications about group activity.
• Invite people to join the group.

Note: If you set a timezone in your Groups.io account preferences, the new group will have that timezone by default. Otherwise, the default timezone is U.S./Canada Pacific Time (UTC-08:00 or UTC-07:00 depending on whether Daylight Saving Time is in effect).