A Brief History of Discord
Launched in 2015, Discord has quickly risen to dominate the communication app landscape with over 150 million active users. Originally built for gamers looking to chat outside crowded platforms like Skype and TeamSpeak, Discord offered seamless voice and text channels specifically designed for the gaming community.
But the service saw breakout appeal as various groups recognized Discord‘s potential to foster meaningful connections. Server creation exploded across all types of niche interests thanks to custom community building tools, excellent infrastructure and an intuitive interface.
Today, Discord averages nearly 16 million concurrent users and counting. It facilitates over 3 billion conversation minutes per day across 5 million active servers spanning gaming, entertainment, creativity and beyond.
Clearly, Discord is onto something special in forging bonds – so let‘s learn how to create our very own server, shall we?
What Exactly is a Discord Server?
A Discord server represents the virtual headquarters for a specific community or group. Each server contains customizable voice and text-chat rooms called "channels" which members use to connect in real-time or share content.
For example, a gaming server may have individual channels named "#whats-new" to announce updates, "#looking-to-play" to group party members, "#tips-and-guides" to aggregate knowledge and so on based on the community‘s needs.
Servers also provide tools for managing members, creating roles, moderating conversations and more. This enables decentralized, self-sufficient micro-communities to thrive under shared interests with plenty of room to grow.
Whereas typical group chats max out around 10-15 participants before getting crowded, Discord servers support thousands of concurrent members spread across channels. This makes it perfect for large yet well-organized crowds.
Now let‘s get cooking on building your own!
Step 1: Log Into Your Discord Account
First, you‘ll need an existing account or quickly sign up for one at discord.com or through the mobile apps. Discord offers convenient login via email, Facebook or Google.
Once registered and logged in, you‘ll land on this slick Discord homepage:
Notice the vertical server list along the leftsidebar? That real estate populates as you join existing servers or create your own. Speaking of which…
Step 2: Click "Add a Server"
See that big purple "Add a Server" button? Click it to spawn the server creation window:
A modal popup will appear allowing you to:
- Choose from a preset server template
- Start from a fresh, empty server
- Name, upload an icon and customize further before finalizing creation
Step 3: Select a Template or Customize Your Own
Discord provides handy preset templates to start you off including options for:
- Gaming servers
- School clubs
- Content creator communities
- General hangout spaces
The templates populate starter channels, roles and icons so new members can orient themselves in the community theme.
But don‘t feel limited by the presets! You can fully customize the heck out of your server:
- Rearrange, add or delete channel topics
- Dictate user roles and permissions
- Upload server artwork, welcome images and icons
- Integrate popular bots and plugins
- Monitor analytics to optimize engagement
Take time playing with settings before launch. Think about your purpose, ideal interactions and how new members can intuitively plug themselves in.
Craft roles that govern channel access and capabilities based on trust and activity.
For instance, on a gaming server you may have roles like:
- Admins – Full server control
- Moderators – Basic mod tools
- Members – Base access
- Tournaments access – Unlocks additional channels
- Verified 18+ – Age gated channels
Let‘s finalize server creation next.
Step 4: Finalize Server Details
Almost ready for launch! Before clicking Create, name your server something recognizable. For consistency, keep it simple across other social presences.
With tons of servers on Discord, first impressions help newcomers stick. Upload an icon that feels cohesive time period, genre or theme you‘re fostering.
When ready, click 👉 Create 👈 and…
Party poppers go off* 🎉
Welcome your shiny new Discord server! Easy enough right?
You‘ll instantly gain Administrator powers with every possible management and mod tool unlocked. Take a tour of what‘s at your fingertips server-side:
Then, click the "Invite" link next to your server profile to gain a special invitation URL.
This generates an invite code anyone can use to directly join your server through Discord mobile/desktop apps.
Share away with your intended community! Encourage members to explore channels, engage each other through casual banter or focused topics and build rapport organically.
Pop back frequently as Admin to spur activity, highlight stellar contributors and foster a welcoming vibe. Over time a recognizable culture emerges!
Let‘s Recap Creating Your Discord Server
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Log Into Discord Account |
| 2 | Click "Add a Server" Button |
| 3 | Choose Template or Customize Settings |
| 4 | Finalize Server Name/Icon & Send Invites |
With your own server, the real fun begins by rallying members around shared passions, gaming sessions, projects and deep bonds.
Let‘s conquer some FAQs about managing your new community next.
Discord Server Creation FAQs
How Do I Control My Server?
As owner, utilize the Admin dashboard seen before to fully manage members, permissions, channels, server settings and more. Based on trust, promote active members to "Administrator" or “Moderator” roles to help guide the community.
Consider engagement before unlocking privileges. For example, on a gaming server require 50 posted comments and several scheduled play sessions before accessing special channels.
This incentivizes participation from new faces!
What About Moderating Toxicity or Drama?
Even vibrant servers see occasional dust-ups. As owner, politely DM involved members to diffuse tensions quickly. Or for ongoing issues, disable text/voice capabilities or ban severest offenders from your kingdom!
For minor spats, a gentle nudge towards good spirits often helps. Especially if you lead by example hosting fun events, patiently fielding questions and knowing regulars by name.
How Can I Make My Server Really Stand Out?
Customize an onboarding sequence with:
- A welcome graphic reinforcing server purpose and values
- An #introductions channel for icebreakers
- Automated DMs to guide new members with first steps
Integrate Discord bots offering perks like:
- Polls, giveaways and mini-games
- DJ music bots
- User stats and records
- Giphy meme generators
- Moderation capabilities
The possibilities are endless! And bots make management easier as communities scale.
Can I Delete My Server If Things Go South?
Discord allows owners to delete servers permanently, however you’ll lose all message history and connected media. So unless you plan to start totally fresh, try overhauling problematic areas or relegating outdated channels as read-only archives instead.
Most cobwebs just require some spring cleaning TLC!
Parting Words
I sincerely hope this guide brought you closer to launching your vibrant Discord server, future community leader! Please drop any other setup questions in comments below.
Now venture out with purpose to forge human connections around your niche. The servers with most heart become second families over time.
Bon voyage!
