You open Circle to add a new space, and it asks what type you want. You hover over the list a beat longer than you’d like to admit. Post? Chat? Something else?
So you pick post, because the last one was post. Or chat, because chat feels friendlier.
A few months later, your replays are buried in a chat thread, member intros are scattered through a feed, and nobody can find the resource you pinned weeks ago.
The space type was the decision. It just didn’t feel like one.
Circle space types aren’t interchangeable. By the end of this, you’ll know what all six are for, which one fits what you’re building, and how to decide without guessing the next time Circle asks.
What Are the Six Circle Space Types?
Circle has six space types: post, image, member, event, course, and chat. Each is built for one kind of activity, so choose by what members will actually do inside.
That last part is the whole rule. Not what the content is about. What people do with it.
A space for your monthly workshop is an event space, even if the workshop is about writing. A space for quick questions is a chat space, even if the questions are about your course. The topic lives in the space name. The type decides how the space behaves.
Type is also separate from who gets in. Once you’ve picked the type, your Circle space access settings decide who can see the space and join it. Pick the type first, set the access second.
Getting this right early matters because the wrong type fights you every day. Members post in the wrong place, good content gets buried, and new members can’t tell where anything goes. That confusion is a big part of why new members leave your community before they’ve ever posted.
Which Space Types Hold Content Members Come Back To?
Post, image, and course spaces hold content that should stay findable. Use post for updates and resources, image for visual work, and course for structured learning.
Post spaces: your community bulletin board
Post spaces are for anything members need to read, reference, or respond to in a thread: announcements, teaching content, FAQs, pinned resources, and structured discussions.
What that looks like:
- Pin the evergreen resources members need regularly, so nobody has to scroll for them
- Add polls, embeds, and rich media so a post is something to interact with, not just read
- Close posts with a direct question, so members know a comment is welcome
The trap with post spaces is using them for everything. Post is the default for a reason, but a feed holding replays, intros, and event details stops being a bulletin board and starts being a junk drawer.
Image spaces: when the visual is the point
If your members make things you can see, an image space puts the work first instead of burying it under text. Design communities, photography, brand imagery, and milestones celebrated with member-made content all belong here.
What that looks like:
- Invite members to share their own work, not just look at yours
- Run a themed challenge or a weekly visual prompt to give people a reason to post
- Celebrate milestones with photos members share themselves
An image space holding only the founder’s content is a gallery. The prompts are what turn it into a conversation.
Course spaces: structured learning inside the community
Course spaces let you run self-paced or scheduled courses without sending members somewhere else. Video lessons, PDFs, quizzes, and discussion threads all live in one place.
What that looks like:
- Choose self-paced, structured, or scheduled based on how you actually teach
- Mix formats: video for walkthroughs, PDFs for the things members keep, quizzes to check understanding
- Use discussion inside the course, so members learn from each other and not only from you
This is the space for educators, coaches, and course creators. If what you have is a pile of resources with no order to it, a post space will probably serve it better.
Which Space Types Bring Members Together?
Member, event, and chat spaces are about people, not content. Use member for directories and networking, event for live sessions, and chat for real-time conversation.
Member spaces: a directory people actually use
A member space turns your member list into something people can browse. It’s how you build a private directory, make networking easier, or segment people by membership tier.
What that looks like:
- Organize members into groups by interest, experience, or membership tier
- Set up a welcome post or a structured profile so people know what to share
- Use it for introductions, so members find like-minded people without asking you to connect them
A directory only works if the profiles say something. Give members a clear shape for their intro, and the connections start happening without you in the middle.
Event spaces: from registration to replay
Event spaces are my favorite. They hold everything a live session needs: registration, details, and the replay for anyone who missed it. Webinars, workshops, meetups, Q&A sessions, even a full virtual summit.
What that looks like:
- Manage registrations and event details in one place
- Use Circle’s Live Room for real-time sessions inside the community
- Set up automated reminders so a registration turns into someone actually showing up
- Post a follow-up thread afterward so attendees can keep the discussion going
- Share the replay in the same space, where people will look for it
The follow-up thread is the step people skip. The live session ends when everyone logs off. The thread is where it keeps going.
Chat spaces: quick, real-time conversation
When the point is speed, chat is where it’s at. General discussion, topic-specific chats, a place for quick questions. Chat feels live in a way a feed doesn’t.
What that looks like:
- Use a general chat for casual conversation and quick updates
- Open a topic-specific chat when one subject keeps taking over the general one
- Keep a quick-questions chat so small asks don’t clutter your post spaces
Threads are what keep chat from turning into noise. When a member has started a thread, you’ll see a banner showing the number of replies. Click it and the thread opens in the right sidebar. Once there’s at least one thread reply, a thread icon appears in your community header, so you can manage every conversation in one click.
How Do You Choose the Right Circle Space Type?
Ask what members will do there. Share or discuss means post, show visuals means image, connect means member, meet live means event, learn means course, and talk now means chat.
Here’s the quick quiz. Answer yes to one, and that’s your space type:
- Are you sharing updates, knowledge, or discussion? Use a post space.
- Do you want members to showcase visuals or artwork? Use an image space.
- Are you creating a directory for networking or exclusive groups? Use a member space.
- Are you hosting live events or virtual meetups? Use an event space.
- Do you want to offer structured learning? Use a course space.
- Do you need a space for real-time conversation? Use a chat space.
If two answers fit, you probably need two spaces. A program with live Q&A calls usually works better as a course space plus an event space than as one space trying to do both jobs.
The same logic applies to the very first space a new member sees. If you’re setting that one up, here’s how I build a start here space that onboards members and actually points them somewhere.
Try This Prompt
If your sidebar is already full, this helps you check whether every space is the right type before you rebuild anything.
“I run a [type of community] for [who] on Circle. Here are my current spaces, the space type each one uses, and what members actually do in each: [list them]. Using Circle’s six space types (post, image, member, event, course, and chat), tell me which spaces are the wrong type for how they’re being used, and which activities are crammed into one space that should be split into two. Give it back to me as a table with space name, current type, recommended type, and one line of reasoning.”
You decide what changes. It just puts every space on one page, so the mismatches are easy to spot.
Your Sidebar Is a Set of Instructions
Every space in your sidebar tells members what to do there. Chat says talk. Event says show up. Course says learn, in order. Image says show us.
When the type matches the job, you don’t have to explain it. Members click in and already know how to behave.
So try the different types. Set up the one you’ve been avoiding, watch what members actually do in each, and let that shape the next space you add.
The right space type doesn’t just hold the activity. It invites it.
Watch the Video
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More Like This
Listen: How to Build a Community Onboarding Process That Sticks. Where each of these spaces fits into a new member’s first weeks.
Listen: Turning Lurkers Into Leaders: Unleash The Hidden Potential. What to do when the spaces are set up right and members still aren’t talking.
Watch: Your Start Here Space. The right space types, put to work in the first space every new member sees.
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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