Community Circle Overview

What is a Community "Circle"?

Circles are customizable Community spaces you can create inside any ShinePages Website or Funnel. Each different Community or "Circle" is typically built around a specific topic, course, group or type of content - and you have full creative control over what it includes.

Use Community Circles to:

• Host a course or program with video lessons and modules

• Create a step-by-step roadmap or guided journey

• Build a space for member discussions, resources, or coaching support

Each Circle can be a blend of content and conversation - or focused entirely on one or the other. It’s completely up to you.

Best of all, Circles use the same drag-and-drop builder you already know from your ShinePages site and funnels. That means you can add videos, text, images, forms, buttons, and any other widget (or full "block"/section), designing each Circle page to match your brand and your needs.

Creating a Circle

Circles can be created by going to Community > Circles, and clicking on the “Add Circle” button.

A “Create Your First Circle” button will also be available if no Circles have been created yet.

Once you begin, you’ll be prompted to select a template. After choosing one, you’ll be taken directly to the builder, where you can start customizing the structure and content of the Circle.

By default, all newly created Circles are unpublished. You can adjust their visibility manually once you're ready to make them accessible to your audience. This can be done from one of two places:

(at the bottom of the Circle builder screen):

(or from your list of Circles under "Community"):

Pages & Page Groups

Each Circle contains its own set of Pages, and those pages can be organized into Page Groups. This gives you the ability to present content in a clear, modular way, especially when working with larger or more complex formats.

A Page Group is essentially a folder of individual pages displayed together under one section. This is ideal for structured learning environments, segmented resources, or any use case where related content needs to be broken down across multiple pages. For example, a "Course" page group might include separate pages for each lesson or module.

On the other hand, a single page within a Circle stands on its own and can be used for simpler content. 

For example, a "Discussion Board" could simply be one Page that you’ve added the Discussion widget to, where members can post and interact.

Access Levels - Who can Access a Circle

Access levels determine who can see and interact with the content inside a Community Circle. They give you granular control over visibility, allowing you to shape your community based on your goals.

When setting up a Circle, you’re able to choose one of the following access levels:

• Open - The Circle is publicly accessible. Anyone can view the content, even without logging in. This is best suited for public communities, previews, or free resources.
• Logged-in members - Only users who are logged into their "Website Member" profile can access the Circle. (Note: This means ANY "Website Member" in any Member Group) This ensures interaction is tied to verified user accounts.
• Members of a group - Access is limited to users who belong to a SPECIFIC "Website Member" Member Group. This is useful for tiered communities, courses, or segmented content.
• Payment required - The Circle is locked behind a payment wall. Users must complete a one-time purchase or a subscription to access it.

In addition to setting Access Level at the Circle level, you can also control the visibility/access level of every Page and Page Group within a Circle. This adds an extra layer of flexibility, especially when your Circle includes a mix of free and restricted content.

Pages and Page Groups offer the same Access Levels available at the Circle level (ie: Open, Logged-in members, Members of a group, Payment required), with one additional option:

• Inherit from parent - The access level is inherited from the direct parent. For Page Groups, the "parent" is the Circle. For individual Pages inside a Page Group, both the Circle and the Page Group must allow access. If either restriction isn’t met, the page remains inaccessible.

Each Page and Page Group inside a Circle can have its own Content Availability settings, allowing you to control when specific content becomes visible to members. This helps structure your Circle progressively, guide members through content in a controlled order, or align releases with specific dates.

There are four availability options: 

• Right Away - Content is available immediately once the member gains access to the Circle or the specific page/group.
• Drip Content - Content becomes available a set number of days after the member first registers/enrolls in the Circle. This can be used for time-based learning experiences or to prevent content overload.
• After Completion of Another Page/Course - Content is unlocked only after the member completes a specific page or course. For this to work, the “Track Content Completion” option must be enabled on the required page. Pages that do not have completion tracking enabled will not appear as selectable options.
• Scheduled Day and Time - Content becomes available at a specific date and time, regardless of when a member joins, allowing you to set up coordinating launches, timed modules, or recurring content releases.

"Circle Members" or "Community Members" are a subset of "Website Members" and include any registered Website Member who is an active participant of a Community Circle (ie: has accessed or interacted with content within a Community Circle.)

(Note: See HERE for an article on the definitions of Contacts vs. Subscribers vs. Website Members vs. Circle Members,) 

For example, if a Website Member enters a Community Circle, marks content as completed, comments or reacts to a comment, participates in a discussion or creates a post on a wall, they’ll automatically appear under Community > Members.

It’s important to understand that Circle members are not a separate type of member - they are regular "Members" of your website or funnel. The only difference is that they’ve interacted with Community/Circle content.

If someone isn’t a Website Member yet, they’ll be prompted to "Register" (ie: "enroll") the moment interaction is required.  For example, if access to the Circle is restricted, or they try to leave a comment, post on a Wall or track progress.

Once they Register, they’re added to your default "Website Member" Member Group and counted as a Circle member as well.

The only case in which a Circle Member would NOT be created, is if the Circle’s access level is set to “Open”, the “Enrollment Required” option is disabled, and the visitor has not interacted with any content - such visitors are considered anonymous.

In short, Circle members are just a filtered list of all members, showing only those who have activity participated in your Community/your Circles.

Circle Analytics

Members: 

This tab displays a list of all members who have engaged with the Circle. This includes anyone who has enrolled, interacted (ie: liked a comment or marked a page as "complete), or otherwise accessed the Circle's content based on it's access settings. It's essentially a filtered view of your broader Community > Members list, showing only those active within this specific Circle. 

Analytics:  

This tab provides an overview of key metrics such as:

• New Enrolled Members
• New Orders
• Revenue
• Completed (%)
• Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)
• Paying Members
• New Subscribers
• Cancellation (Churn)
• Total MRR

These are visualized over time in the Members and Revenue graph, helping you track trends in both free and paid engagement. You can filter the data by date range for a more granular analysis. 

Content:

Here, you’ll find a breakdown of tracked content performance inside the Circle. For each piece of content (page or page group), the following data is displayed:

• Completion rate
• Number of members with access

If the Circle contains paid content, it will appear in a separate section with the same structure, allowing you to evaluate how your monetized material is performing.

Access these analytics from the icon to the right of your Circle in your Community > Circles page:

Or access them from the icon at the top of your Circle "builder" page: 

Page Level Analytics: 

Every Page and Page Group within the Circle also includes its own analytics section, accessible individually. 

his allows for granular insight into how members are engaging with specific content, including progress, completion, and member visibility on a per-page basis. It's especially useful for identifying which parts of your Circle are most effective or may need adjustment.

CIRCLE SETTINGS & STYLING: 

Watch the video below for a walkthrough of all Circle-level Settings & Styling:

PAGE & PAGE GROUP SETTINGS: 

Watch the video below for a walkthrough of how to add a Page or Page Group within a Circl and update the Settings to your needs: