Sure, use the others. There's a nicer way.
WhatsApp and Facebook are often enough to get a group going, and good on them. But your group could be so much happier with a proper home of its own. Let us show you.
WhatsApp and Facebook are often enough to get a group going, and good on them. But your group could be so much happier with a proper home of its own. Let us show you.
WhatsApp is where most groups start, and fair enough. It is brilliant at some things. It just wasn't made for running a whole community.
What WhatsApp Communities is great at
Where it starts to creak
Fair play. They have earned these.
WhatsApp Communities
Instant, with photos, files and voice notes.
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Instant too. Public, private and one to one chats with photos and files, plus push notifications.
WhatsApp Communities
Almost everyone has the app already.
nicebunch
An invite by email, a minute to sign up, nothing to download. Pop it on your home screen like any app.
WhatsApp Communities
Free.
nicebunch
One flat price for the whole group, from £5 a month, with every feature included. Members never pay.
WhatsApp Communities
End-to-end encrypted, so not even WhatsApp can read your messages.
nicebunch
Everything travels over a secure connection, and only the people in your community ever see what is shared.
And this is where it gets nicer.
WhatsApp Communities
Search the chat, or scroll back and hope.
nicebunch
A channel for each topic, each with its own photos and files library. Plus documents, a knowledge base, a full events screen and bookmarks.
WhatsApp Communities
Events inside the chat, which scroll away with it.
nicebunch
A whole Events screen. Going, maybe or not going, any cost noted, and unanswered invites waiting on Home.
WhatsApp Communities
Quick polls inside the chat.
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Their own Polls screen, so they never vanish up the chat. One answer or several, anonymous when it matters.
WhatsApp Communities
A name, a photo and a phone number.
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Profiles with your links and the skills you can help with. Got a business or charity? Share that here too. Plus a members directory.
WhatsApp Communities
Members generally see each other's phone numbers.
nicebunch
Members join with an email address, and are asked to confirm before sharing a phone number or email.
WhatsApp Communities
Add, remove and approve.
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Vouching, a private reports queue, suspend and restore, locking heated threads, and admins to share the load.
WhatsApp Communities
An announcement group. No way to email your members.
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Push notifications, plus email to all your members: write, preview, send now or schedule. Every email has its own unsubscribe link.
WhatsApp Communities
Looks the same as every other group.
nicebunch
Your own address, name, logo, colour and background.
Chat, photos and phone notifications all work just as you would expect in nicebunch. Then you get the rest: plans, polls, guides and the people behind the names, all in one place that never scrolls away, and a @safer one too. Invite your lot by email, or import your whole member list from a spreadsheet, and they can be moved in by teatime.
Facebook Groups have gathered crowds for years, and they do it well. But if your group fancies somewhere calmer, here is the difference.
What Facebook Groups is great at
Where it starts to creak
Fair play. They have earned these.
Facebook Groups
Excellent. Search and suggestions bring people in.
nicebunch
Invite only, by design. Your admins choose who joins, and members can vouch for friends.
Facebook Groups
Most people already do.
nicebunch
Sign up in a minute with an email address. No personal profile needed.
Facebook Groups
Free.
nicebunch
One flat price for the whole group, from £5 a month, with every feature included. Members never pay.
And this is where it gets nicer.
Facebook Groups
A ranked feed decides, and notifications compete with everything else on Facebook.
nicebunch
No ranking. A channel for each topic, and notifications you choose yourself.
Facebook Groups
Ads and suggested content around your group.
nicebunch
No ads and no tracking. Nothing but your community.
Facebook Groups
Tied to personal profiles. Private groups can still be found by name unless hidden.
nicebunch
Posts, chats, events and profiles are only ever seen by your members. No public sign up, no search to stumble in from.
Facebook Groups
Files and guides, in the same feed as everything else.
nicebunch
A knowledge base, a document library, a photos and files library in every channel, and a directory of places and people your members swear by.
Facebook Groups
Members' personal Facebook profiles.
nicebunch
Profiles made for the group, with skills you can help with. Got a business or charity? Share that here too. Plus a members directory.
Facebook Groups
Post and hope the feed shows it. No way to email your members.
nicebunch
Push notifications, plus email to all your members: write, preview, send now or schedule. Every email has its own unsubscribe link.
Facebook Groups
Facebook's look, inside Facebook.
nicebunch
Your own address, name, logo, colour and background.
A public Facebook page is a lovely shop window for finding new faces. Once they have found you, invite them in. nicebunch is somewhere calmer and @safer, where the ads and the algorithm aren't invited and every post gets seen. We will never sell your data to the highest bidder, or to anyone else.
It is free during early access, and moving your group in takes a couple of minutes. Invite them by email, or import a spreadsheet of addresses in one go.