How would you approach building a community platform in Bubble.io: Step-by-Step

Go to Data tab → Data types. Extend the User type with fields: Display_Name (text), Bio (text), Avatar (image), Following (list of Users), Badges (list of Badge Option Set), Points (number), Join_Date (date), and Role (Option Set: Member, Moderator, Admin). Create a Data Type called Post with fields: Author (User), Content (text), Topic (Option Set), Image (image), Likes (list of Users), Created_Date (date), and Is_Flagged (yes/no). Create a Data Type called Comment with fields: Author (User), Post (Post), Content (text), Created_Date (date), and Is_Flagged (yes/no). Create Option Sets for Topic (General, Announcements, Questions, Showcase) and Badge (Newcomer, Contributor, Top_Poster, Helper, Veteran).

Create a page called feed. Add a Repeating Group with Type: Post, Data source: Do a search for Posts where Author is in Current User's Following list, sorted by Created_Date descending. Add a Topic filter Dropdown above the RG that constrains the search by Topic when selected (use Ignore empty constraints). In each cell, display: Author's Avatar and Display_Name, the Content text, Image (if present), Created_Date formatted as time ago, Like count (Likes:count), and a Comment count (search Comments where Post = Current cell's Post:count). Add a Like button that toggles: adds/removes Current User from the Post's Likes list.

Create a backend workflow called check-badges that runs after key user actions. For each badge, define criteria: Newcomer = awarded on first post (search Posts where Author = user:count = 1), Contributor = 10+ posts, Top_Poster = 50+ posts, Helper = 20+ comments on others' posts, Veteran = member for 365+ days. In the workflow, check each condition and add the badge to the user's Badges list if not already present. Also increment the user's Points (e.g., +5 for a post, +2 for a comment, +1 for a like received). Display badges on the user's profile page as small icons next to their name.

Create a page called onboarding that new users see after their first login. Step 1: Profile setup — Avatar upload, Display_Name input, Bio textarea. Step 2: Topic selection — show all Topics as clickable cards, let users select interests (store as a list on the User). Step 3: Suggested follows — show a Repeating Group of active community members (sorted by Points descending) with Follow buttons. Use a Custom State called onboarding_step (number, default 1) to control which group is visible. A progress bar at the top shows completion percentage.

Add a Flag button on each post and comment that sets Is_Flagged to yes. Create a page called moderation (accessible only to Moderator and Admin roles). Add a Repeating Group showing all Posts and Comments where Is_Flagged = yes, sorted by date. Each cell shows the content, the author, and the flagger. Add action buttons: Approve (sets Is_Flagged back to no), Remove (deletes the content), and Warn User (creates a Warning record linked to the author). After 3 warnings, automatically restrict the user's posting ability by adding a condition on the post creation workflow: Only when Current User's warning count < 3. For growing communities needing advanced moderation, RapidDev can help build automated content filtering and escalation workflows.

Create a Data Type called Event with fields: Title (text), Description (text), Date (date), Location (text), Organizer (User), Attendees (list of Users), and Max_Capacity (number). Build an events page showing upcoming events in a Repeating Group sorted by Date ascending, filtered to show only future events. Each cell shows the event details and an RSVP button that adds Current User to the Attendees list (with a condition: Only when Attendees:count < Max_Capacity). For announcements, use the Announcements topic in the feed and add a pinned announcements section at the top of the feed page showing the latest announcement post.