Community Onboarding in GoHighLevel Just Got Better

GoHighLevel has added two new tools to Community Onboarding that help new members get started faster. Both are managed from the Welcome Setup area inside your community settings.

The first is Auto DM for new members. You can now send a welcome message as soon as someone joins. You can choose which admin or owner sends it, add links or attachments, and use @Member name to make the message feel more personal.

The second update is a Get Started checklist with up to five onboarding steps. You can guide members to update their profile, engage with a post, RSVP to an event, watch an intro video, or complete a custom step with a link. You can also reorder the steps and use Auto DM and onboarding steps together or on their own.

Community Onboarding matters because new members often decide very quickly if a community feels useful or confusing. If they join and have no idea what to do next, there is a good chance they will leave without taking part.

The new welcome DM and onboarding checklist help solve that problem. Members get a personal message right away, followed by clear steps that show them where to start. That can make the first experience feel more organized and less overwhelming.

For agencies, coaches, and community owners, this also means less manual work. You do not have to welcome every new member one by one or keep answering the same basic questions. GoHighLevel can now handle more of that first-day guidance for you.

The new Community Onboarding tools in GoHighLevel are built into the existing Communities area. You can welcome new members with an automatic DM and guide them through up to five onboarding steps from the same Welcome Setup area.

Here are the steps we will follow:

• Open Your Community.
• Set Up the Auto DM.
• Set Up the Onboarding Steps.

To start, make sure you are logged in to the correct GoHighLevel sub-account.

• The Communities area gives you access to the groups and communities connected to your account.

1.1 Click the My Communities icon from the left-hand menu.

• This opens the list of communities available to you.

1.2 Click the community you want to manage.

• This opens the selected community.
• From here, you can access discussions, learning content, events, members, and community settings.

• The Welcome Setup area lets you control the first message new members receive when they join your community.

2.1 Click Settings from the top menu.

• This opens the settings for the selected community.

2.2 Click Welcome Setup from the left-hand menu.

• This opens the new member welcome settings.
• From here, you can manage both Auto DM and Onboarding Steps.

2.3 Turn on the Auto DM to toggle new members.

• This activates automatic welcome messages for new members when they join.

2.4 Choose the admin or owner who will appear as the sender.

• Use the sender dropdown to select the person you want the message to come from.

2.5 Write your welcome message.

• Use the editor to create the message new members will receive.
• You can add formatting, links, and attachments.
• Type @ to insert the member’s name into the message automatically.

2.6 Click Save.

• This saves your Auto DM settings.
• New members can now receive the welcome message when they join.

• Onboarding Steps give new members a simple checklist of actions to complete when they first visit the community.

3.1 Turn on the Onboarding Steps toggle.

• This activates the onboarding checklist for new members.

3.2 Click Add your first step.

• This opens the list of onboarding actions you can choose from.

3.3 Choose the onboarding action you want to add.

• Available options include:
  • Add a bio and latest profile picture
  • Like and comment on a post
  • Write a post and introduce yourself
  • RSVP to an event
  • Watch the introductory video
  • Create a custom step
• Profile and engagement actions can be tracked automatically.
• Event, video, and custom steps include additional setup options.

3.4 Add the steps you want members to complete.

• You can add up to five onboarding steps.
• Choose actions that help members understand the community and start taking part.
• You can add another step from the Add step option until all five spaces are used.

3.5 Arrange the onboarding steps in the order you want.

• Drag the steps to change their position.
• Put simple actions first, then guide members toward deeper engagement such as posts, events, or videos.

3.6 Click Save.

• This saves your onboarding checklist.
• New members can now see the Get Started checklist when they enter the community.

Once Community Onboarding is set up, review the experience from a new member’s point of view. The welcome DM should explain what to do next, while the checklist should give members a simple path to follow.

Auto DM and Onboarding Steps can also be used separately. You can turn on only the welcome message, only the checklist, or use both together.

Good Community Onboarding should feel simple from the start. Keep the welcome DM short, friendly, and useful. Give new members one clear next step instead of loading the message with too much information.

For the checklist, start with an easy action such as updating a profile, liking a post, or making an introduction. Then guide members toward deeper actions like watching a video or joining an event. You do not need to use all five steps if fewer steps make more sense.

It also helps to make the welcome DM and checklist work together. Use the message to point members in the right direction, then let the checklist guide the rest. Review your setup from time to time so your Community Onboarding always matches your latest posts, events, and resources.

Community Onboarding gives you a more consistent way to welcome new members without adding more manual work. Instead of sending the same message each time someone joins, GoHighLevel can handle the first welcome and guide members through the next steps.

For agencies, coaches, and community owners, this can make the member experience easier to manage as the community grows. A new member can join, receive a welcome DM, update their profile, introduce themselves, and move toward useful content or events without waiting for an admin to step in.

The real value is consistency. Every new member can get the same clear starting point, which helps reduce confusion and makes the community easier to use from day one.

Community Onboarding in GoHighLevel gives you a simple way to improve the first experience for new members. With Auto DM and onboarding steps, you can welcome people quickly and guide them toward the right actions without doing everything by hand.

The biggest benefit is consistency. Every new member can get the same clear starting point, whether you run a small coaching group or a larger agency community.

If you use GoHighLevel Communities, this is a feature worth setting up. Have you tried the new Community Onboarding tools yet, and how are you planning to use them?