Profile fields let you collect extra information from members, such as their company, job title, location, or interests. You define the custom fields; members fill them in on their profile, and the answers can appear on their public profile. This is sometimes called custom profile questions or member profile attributes.
Who can do this: Community owners and admins. · Where: Web (Admin → Settings → Profile Fields). Members fill in fields on the web and see answers on the web and in the iOS and Android apps. · Plan: Profile fields, and how many you can add, depend on your platform plan.
Add a profile field
- Go to Admin → Settings → Profile Fields.
- Click Add Field.
- Enter a Field Name, for example "Company" or "Job Title", and an optional Description. The description appears as help text below the field.
- Choose a Field Type (see the next section).
- Turn on Required if members must fill it in, and Public if the answer should appear on the member's public profile.
- Click Create.
If the page shows an upgrade prompt, profile fields aren't included in your platform plan. A usage indicator next to Add Field shows how many fields you've used; when you reach your plan's limit, Add Field asks you to upgrade. See Check plan usage and limits.
Profile field types
| Field Type | What members enter |
|---|---|
| Text | A single line of text |
| Textarea | Longer text on several lines |
| URL | A web address. Links starting with http:// or https:// become clickable on the profile. |
| Select | One choice from a list of Options |
| Multi-Select | One or more choices from a list of Options |
| Date | A date picked from a calendar |
For Select and Multi-Select, type each option and press Enter or click Add. You need at least one option.
For Text and Textarea, you can set a Max Length in characters. A limit of 0 doesn't mean unlimited. If you leave it empty or at 0 when you create a field, a default limit applies: 100 characters for Text, 500 for Textarea, and 255 for URL. If you change it to 0 later, the field keeps its previous limit.
You can't change a field's type after you create it. To use a different type, create a new field.
Edit, reorder, or delete profile fields
- Edit: click the pencil icon on a field, change its name, description, options, or switches, and click Save.
- Reorder: drag a field by its handle. Members see fields in this order.
- Delete: click the trash icon and confirm in Delete Profile Field. All member answers for that field are lost.
The list shows each field's Type, whether it's Required, and its Visibility (an eye icon means Public).
How members fill in profile fields
Members fill in fields on the web under Settings → Profile, in the Additional Information section, then click Save Additional Info. If a required field is empty, they see "Please fill in all required fields" and can't save until they complete it.
Members aren't asked for these fields when they sign up, and they can't edit them in the mobile apps. To prompt new members to complete their profile, add a step to your onboarding checklist. See Set up new-member onboarding.
Where profile field answers appear
- Public fields with an answer appear in the header of the member's profile. The first two show there; click +N more or View all to see the rest. The same preview appears on profiles in the iOS and Android apps.
- Fields with Public turned off don't appear on the member's profile. Only the member sees those answers; admins can't see them either.
- Unanswered fields aren't shown.
- The member directory can be filtered by role and access group, not by profile fields, and the admin console's member pages don't list the answers.
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