You’ve just created a new post space. You named it, set the access, maybe even wrote the welcome post. Then Circle asks you to pick a layout, and you leave whatever was already selected because there are nine other things on your list.
A few weeks later, your resource space scrolls like a social feed and nobody can find the template you posted on day one.
Your Circle post space layout isn’t decoration. It decides how members move through a space, what they see first, and whether they can find something again. By the end of this, you’ll know which of the three layouts fits each space you have, and the sidebar setting that makes two of them work harder.
Which Circle Post Space Layout Should You Use?
Use feed for conversation, list for content members browse and come back to, and card for anything visual or resource-based. Match the layout to what members actually do in the space.
Circle gives you three layout options for every post space: feed, list, and card. Each one is built for a different kind of content experience, and none of them is the “right” default.
The easiest mistake here isn’t picking the wrong layout. It’s not really picking at all.
So skip the question of which one looks best. Ask what a member is doing when they open this space. Are they checking in and replying? Looking for one specific thing? Browsing to see what’s there?
Answer that honestly and the layout mostly picks itself.
When Does the Feed Layout Make Sense?
Feed works best for ongoing conversation: daily check-ins, Q&A threads, and event announcements where a quick response matters more than finding an old post later.
Think of the feed layout like a social media feed. The content sits right there on the page, and replying takes almost no effort. That’s the whole point.
You also get a choice about how much of each post shows: a sneak peek, or the full post displayed right in the feed. Full posts work when they’re short and you want members reacting without clicking in. A sneak peek keeps a busy space scannable.
Use the feed layout for:
- Daily check-ins
- Q&A threads
- Event announcements
- Engagement prompts and quick updates
Daily check-ins in particular are one of the beats in building a community engagement rhythm, and feed is where they belong.
What feed isn’t good at is helping anyone find something later. A great post from last month sits underneath everything that came after it. If members will need to come back to it, feed is probably the wrong home.
When Should You Use the List Layout?
List is the most structured layout, arranging posts in a clean list members can browse. Use it for a knowledge base, a mastermind space, a book club, or anywhere content gets revisited.
Where feed is built for scrolling, list is built for scanning. Posts line up in an organized list, so a member can see what’s in the space at a glance and open the one they need.
That makes it the right fit for:
- A knowledge base, where members arrive looking for a specific answer
- A mastermind space, where each thread is a topic the group returns to
- A book club, where each post is a chapter or discussion someone might join late
The common thread is revisiting. If the content in a space should be easy to find next week and next month, not just today, list keeps it from sinking.
Why Is the Card Layout Best for Resource Spaces?
Card shows each post as its own card with a thumbnail image, which makes it the most visual layout. It’s the right fit for portfolios, resource libraries, and anything organized by look.
Card is my favorite, and I’ll say that up front. Each post becomes a separate card with a thumbnail, so the space reads like a shelf of things to pick up instead of a conversation to catch up on.
Use the card layout for:
- A portfolio showcase, where members share work that’s meant to be seen
- A resource space, where each card is a template, guide, or download
- Any space you want organized visually rather than by date
The resource space inside my own membership runs on card layout, and it’s the clearest example of why this works. A member doesn’t have to read a list of titles to know what’s there. They see it.
The tradeoff is that card only looks as good as its thumbnails. When half the posts have no image, or every image is a different style, the space reads as unfinished even if what’s inside is great. Pick a thumbnail style once and use it on every post.
If you’re building a resource space from scratch, how to organize a Circle resource library walks through the structure I use behind the cards, including the free Notion template I plan everything in.
How Do You Use the Right Sidebar in a Post Space?
On feed or list layouts, you can turn on the right sidebar to pin important posts or show a member block. It keeps key content front and center and makes a space feel more connected.
This is the setting I’d point you to first. Both feed and list have a weakness: the newest thing tends to win. The sidebar is how you keep the important thing visible anyway.
Pin important posts
When something needs to stay in view no matter how busy the space gets, pin it to the sidebar. It fixes the biggest problem with feed, which is good posts getting buried.
What that looks like:
- The guidelines for how to post in this space
- The current book or discussion prompt in a book club
- The one post every new member should read before they ask a question
If that last one sounds like onboarding, it is. Setting up a Start Here space in Circle covers the space-level version of the same idea.
Display a member block
A member block puts people next to the posts, so the space feels like a room rather than a bulletin board.
What that looks like:
- Mastermind spaces, where knowing who’s in the room matters
- Small-group or cohort spaces
- Any space where you want members to see they aren’t posting into the void
Use it where the people are the point. In a pure resource space, it’s just noise.
How Do You Pick a Layout for the Spaces You Already Have?
Open each post space and name what members do there: talk, look something up, or browse. Talk gets feed, look something up gets list, and browse gets card.
Most communities don’t need a new layout decision. They need to recheck the ones made in a hurry during setup.
Go through your sidebar one space at a time:
- Name what members actually do in this space, not what you hoped they’d do
- Check whether the current layout matches that
- If it’s feed or list, decide what belongs pinned in the right sidebar
- If it’s card, check that every post has a thumbnail in the same style
The layout is half the job. What you post there is the other half, and creating engaging content for your Circle community covers that side.
Try This Prompt
If you have more than a handful of spaces, an AI assistant can do the first pass of this audit with you.
“I run a [type of community] on Circle for [who]. Here are my post spaces, with what each one is for and what members actually do in it: [list each space with one line]. Circle offers three post space layouts: feed for ongoing conversation, list for content members browse and revisit, and card for visual or resource content with thumbnails. Recommend a layout for each space, and for any feed or list space, suggest what I should pin in the right sidebar. Give it back as a table with space name, current layout, recommended layout, and one line on why.”
You still make the call. It just gets you past staring at the settings screen.
The Layout Tells Members What the Space Is For
Members rarely read your space description as closely as you wrote it. They read the page. A feed says talk here. A list says look here. A grid of cards says browse and take what you need.
When the layout matches the job, nobody has to figure out how to use the space. They just use it.
It’s a small setting. Your members feel the difference anyway.
Pick on purpose, and the space starts doing some of the explaining for you.
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More Like This
Watch: Circle Spaces 101: Best Space Types for Your Community. Before you choose a layout, make sure it’s the right kind of space in the first place.
Listen: Crafting Engaging Content for Your Circle Community. The layout sets up the space. This is what to put in it so members actually respond.
Watch: Transform Your “Start Here” Space: Streamline Onboarding for Your Circle Community. The one space where getting the setup right decides whether new members stick around.
Listen: The Playlist Principle: How Creating Community Rhythms Keeps Members Coming Back. Your feed spaces run on rhythm, and this is how to set one members can count on.
Keep Going
coCreator Society is where community builders and membership founders work through this together, with the templates, the walkthroughs, and people who are one step ahead of you. Join coCreator Society
If you would rather not do this part alone, Rachel and the team build, migrate, and run communities for founders who need it done properly the first time. Talk to the team
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