How to set up a website for your gaming community

Your community is probably already up and running: a busy Discord, regular players, a few mods keeping things on track. But try searching for your community on Google. Chances are almost nothing shows up. Discord servers are invisible to search engines, and that's exactly why having your own website still makes sense.

The good news: sorting out a domain plus web hosting is an evening's work, not a weeks-long project. These are the choices you'll need to make, pitfalls included.

What a website adds on top of your Discord

A website doesn't replace your Discord, it complements it. The difference is in who you reach with it:

• New players find you. Anyone looking for a server or community for their game searches Google, not Discord. Without a website, you simply don't exist for that group.
• Permanent information gets a permanent home. Rules, guides, a ban-appeal form, donation info: on Discord everything sinks away in the scroll, on a website it stays where you put it.
• You're not dependent on a single platform. If your Discord account or server runs into trouble, your website is still your own place with your own domain.

Be honest with yourself, too: a website you never update looks worse than no website. Start small, with one good page, and expand once there's really something to tell.

Choosing a domain name that sticks

Your domain name is your brand, so take a moment over it. A few rules of thumb:

• Short and pronounceable. Do the radio test: can you read the domain out loud in voice chat without having to spell it? Avoid hyphens and digits that are supposed to look like letters.
• Pick a fitting extension. If you're targeting Dutch players, .nl is a fine and cheap choice. For an international audience .com is the safe default, and in gaming circles you'll also see plenty of .gg.
• Be careful with brand names. Putting a game's name prominently in your domain can clash with trademark law or the publisher's fan-content terms. Your own community name is safer and more distinctive.
• Use the same domain for your server. With a subdomain like play.yourcommunity.com as your server address you keep everything recognisable, and you can move hosts later without players needing to enter a new address.

One more practical tip: register the domain before you announce the name with a bang. Domain names are cheap, and this prevents someone else from running off with your name while you're still building. Torn between two names? Just ask in your Discord; your community will be choosing it with you anyway.

WordPress or a static site?

For the site itself there are roughly two flavours, each with its own audience.

WordPress: flexible, no code required

WordPress is the best-known system and for a community that's an advantage: there are thousands of themes and plugins, and multiple staff members can post news without ever seeing code. News posts, forms, a donations page: it's all point-and-click.

The flip side: WordPress needs maintaining. Updates to the system, your theme and your plugins aren't optional — a neglected installation is a favourite target for automated attacks. Count on a little bit of upkeep every month.

Static: fast and nearly indestructible

A static site is a set of ready-made HTML files on your hosting. Blazing fast, extremely secure (there's little to hack server-side) and free of update stress. There are downsides too: setting it up is more technical, and anything dynamic, like forms or comments, requires external services or manual work.

The rule of thumb: multiple editors and regular news? Go WordPress. Mostly a sharp business card with rules, server info and links? Then static is faster, safer and lower-maintenance.

If in doubt, start with WordPress. Switching from WordPress to static is always possible later, and you'll naturally find out whether your community uses the dynamic features. What's better avoided: a half-finished custom site stuck on "coming soon". A simple page that's finished always beats an ambitious project that never goes live.

Server status and Discord on your site

The best part of a community site is that it can show something is happening right now. A few integrations that deliver a lot for little work:

• Live player count. For most games there are ready-made widgets or status APIs showing whether your server is online and how many players are on. A visitor who sees "23 players online" clicks connect sooner than one reading a static page.
• Discord widget. Discord has an official embed widget that shows your online members and a join button. Your website literally becomes the front door of your Discord.
• Copyable server address. A button that copies the server address to the clipboard saves typos and questions in your support channel.
• Live map or statistics. For some games you can embed a live world map or scoreboard. Fun for existing players, convincing for new ones.

Start with the status and Discord widget; that's an hour's work and immediately makes the difference between a brochure and a living site.

Email on your own domain

An underrated perk of your own domain: email addresses that look serious. Sending a ban appeal or partnership request to [email protected] feels just that bit different from some random free address.

Worth setting up: a general address for support, a separate address for staff matters and, if you like, aliases per role. When staff changes, you hand over the mailbox instead of a personal address. Do check your host's documentation for settings like SPF so your mail arrives properly and doesn't end up in spam folders; most hosts have this configured well by default or explain it step by step.

Arranging hosting and going live

A community site doesn't need heavy hosting, just a few things done right: fast storage, a free SSL certificate, email included in your plan and a server close to your visitors. MC-Node's web hosting runs on our own hardware with NVMe storage in the Previder PDC2 data centre in Hengelo, can be cancelled monthly and can sit with the same provider as your game server if you like — one account and one invoice for your whole community. See the plans and current prices in the web hosting store.

After that, the checklist is short: register your domain, pick a hosting plan, install WordPress or upload your static files, set up your email addresses and add the server status and Discord widget. Count on one evening for the basics.

Finally, don't forget two boring but important things. One: backups. If you go with WordPress, make a periodic copy of your site and database, so a failed update or hacked plugin never means the end of your site. Two: renew your domain on time, because an expired domain means an offline website and email that no longer arrives. Handle that properly and there's barely anything else to worry about — and from now on your community is discoverable for everyone who isn't in your Discord yet.