Discord Welcome & Onboarding: Complete Setup Guide

When someone joins a Discord server, they first see a long list of channels. Without a hint where to start, many leave within minutes. A good first experience answers three questions: Am I in the right place?, What am I allowed to do here? and What should I do next?

The four building blocks

Kage covers the start with four modules that you can switch on individually and combine freely:

• Greeting: A welcome message with a banner and profile picture that the bot posts in a channel when someone joins. It answers "Am I in the right place?". Guide: Setting up a welcome message. The counterpart when someone leaves: Setting up a goodbye message.
• Starter roles: Every new member automatically receives one or more roles, for example "Member". Guide: Automatically assigning roles.
• Access: With verification, newcomers confirm the rules with a button click before they see the rest of the server. Guide: Setting up verification.
• Guided start: Server onboarding shows newcomers a role selection, a "Done" button and, if you like, a short question about how they found you. Guide: Onboarding with role selection and questions.

You do not want to create all of this by hand? The Setup Assistant recommends suitable modules and, if you want, sets up categories, channels and roles from a template, with a preview before every change: Set up a Discord server automatically.

A sensible order

1. Plan roles and channels. Decide which roles exist and which channels a newcomer should see first.
2. Set up the welcome message. It takes a few minutes and creates a personal first impression right away.
3. Assign a starter role. Every new member gets their basic permissions without manual work.
4. Secure access. If your server is advertised publicly, verification protects against spam accounts.
5. Guide the start. Onboarding pays off when members should choose between topics or roles.

Tip: Start small. A good welcome message and a starter role often have the biggest effect. You can add verification and onboarding later as the server grows.

Further reading

• Roles in detail: Discord Roles Guide
• Protecting your server: Discord Moderation Guide

What is free and what is not?

Which module is included in which plan is shown in the "Related Kage features" box further down and in the pricing overview. Both are generated from the current plan configuration, so they are always up to date. The Basic plan is free forever.

Common pitfalls

• The bot can only assign roles that sit below its own role in the role list. Move the Kage role as high as possible.
• A welcome message needs a channel in which the bot may write and send images.
• Verification alone does not replace raid protection. Combine it with the security modules if needed.

Kage reports many of these problems itself: the Monitoring module checks your settings and points out missing channels, roles or permissions.