So you want to know how to make a subreddit? We got you! We have a quick guide on how you can make your own community on the front page of the internet. But first, let’s get into the basics.
Reddit is one of the most popular sites on the internet where you can find anything you want and didn’t know you wanted. It’s the best place to be if you don’t know what you’re doing on the internet. You can even easily download videos from the site! Scrolling through the app or the website, you’ll be exposed to the most fascinating, confusing, and amusing content the world has to offer. And this is thanks to its vast user-driven communities called subreddits.
What Is a Subreddit?
A subreddit is essentially a niche forum, where you can have conversations with over 52 million active Reddit users. It provides a place for people who have the same interests to come together and talk about it. These focused communities are a great place to expand your knowledge about a certain topic because real people with expertise and experience can give you meaningful insight into it.
Do you have a question about the male species? Go and ask the community of r/AskMen and finally know why he has perfect skin with just one bar soap. Do you want to see something wholesome to make you smile? Visit r/MadeMeSmile and prepare for heart flutters and your teeth showing. Say you’re interested in building a PC. You can check out the subreddit r/buildapc and get advice about anything in regard to your setup.
Reddit now has over 100,000 subreddits you can read through and have debates in. Whatever’s under the sun, there’s probably already a subreddit for that.
Think you’re an expert at something and can provide important insight into a certain niche topic? Or just want to talk about a specific thing and find more people with similar interests? Make a subreddit of your own!
Here’s a quick guide on how to make a subreddit using your desktop and mobile.
How to Make a Subreddit on Your Desktop
- Go to www.reddit.com on a web browser.
- Log in to your Reddit account.
- Click on the Home tab.
- A drop-down menu will appear. Click on Create Community.
- You will be redirected to another tab where you will enter the name of your subreddit. Keep in mind your subreddit name must not exceed 21 characters.
- Choose what kind of community type you want for your subreddit. This can be Public, Restricted, or Private.
- Tick the box for NSFW if you want only 18 and above users to access our subreddit.
- Click Create Community.
- You will be directed to your subreddit page and on the right side, you’ll see where you can add a description for your community. You can also add Community Topics to help users find your subreddit when they use the search bar.
How to Make a Subreddit on Your Mobile Phone
- Download the Reddit app from any app store.
- Open Reddit and log into your account.
- Tap on your avatar in the top left corner.
- Tap on Create a community.
- Type the community name you want for your subreddit.
- Type a brief description of your subreddit. You can type as many as 500 characters.
- Choose what community type you want for your subreddit. You can choose from Public, Restricted, and Private. There is another slider at the bottom you can switch if you want your subreddit to be NSFW.
- Choose your Community Topic.
- Create an avatar. You can also choose your subreddit’s profile picture from your gallery.
- Tap on Create a community.
Once you’ve successfully created your subreddit, you can now customize the theme, layout, profile picture, header, and sidebar.
You can promote your new subreddit by posting on the r/newreddits community. You can also post a link to your subreddit to similar or related communities, so you can get people already interested in the topic on board.
Things to Remember When Making a Subreddit
Learning how to make a subreddit doesn’t stop at step 10, though. There are still important factors you need to consider before making one or keeping one. Again, a subreddit isn’t just some page on the internet —it’s a community!
So, here are some of the important points you need to keep in mind in making a subreddit.
Reddit Account Must Be 30 Days Old
In order for you to make a subreddit on your own, your Reddit account must be at least 30 days old. A month to wander the nooks and crannies of Reddit is more than enough for you to know the ropes to create your own subreddit community.
The account age is crucial because it shows that you’re a bona fide Redditor. This also stops spammers from creating subreddits for their spam with brand-new profiles.
Maintain Reddit Karma
In making a subreddit, one of the requirements is a certain amount of Karma. However, it isn’t specified how much Karma is required. The option to create a community will be available to you once Reddit sees you have enough Karma in your bank.
If you’re new to Reddit, the paragraph above might not make sense to you. Well, Karma on Reddit still follows its core principle — what comes around goes around. It’s a reputation system Reddit uses. You will receive one Karma whenever your post gets an upvote, but you will also lose Karma points for each downvote you get.
Beware of Similar Subreddits
Reddit has over 100,000 subreddits already and every day it’s expanding with its 52 million active users. Thousands of communities have brought like-minded people to discuss their specific interests and hobbies.
With this, you have to be careful about the topic your subreddit covers. There is a big chance there is already a subreddit for it. If you think you can bring something different to an already existing subreddit, then go for it!
You Can’t Change Your Subreddit Name
When choosing your subreddit name, you have to be creative and unique. Emphasis on unique because Reddit doesn’t allow the same community names and titles on the site.
When you finally think up a subreddit name that is still available, don’t click next yet! Ask yourself if it truly represents what your subreddit is all about. Because once you proceed to the next step and create your subreddit, you can no longer change it.
Promote and Build Your Subreddit
The purpose of knowing how to make a subreddit is defeated when you don’t reach out and expand your community. That’s why we encourage you to get out there and promote your subreddit right after you create.
Redditors are one of the most engaging and curious people on the internet. So, building a community won’t be a hassle as long as you have something to contribute.
There is even a dedicated subreddit for new subreddits to promote their community and invite people to come and join. This goes to show the amount of support the Reddit community has for its moderators.
Make Subreddit Guidelines for Your Redditors
As a moderator, one of your responsibilities is to create rules and guidelines for your community. Setting up the guidelines also sets expectations as to what kind of subreddit you have. You can make up any rule you want and remove posts from Redditors who don’t adhere.
You can add your subreddit’s rules by clicking on Mod Tools on the right sidebar. Click or tap on Rules then click on Add rule. If you want to remove or modify any rule, just click on the pencil icon.
Being a Subreddit Moderator Is a Commitment
When you learn how to make a subreddit, you must understand that you are committed to monitoring the content that goes into your community. A moderator ensures the subreddit remains a safe place for people to discuss the specific topic at hand.
Being a mod comes with great power and great responsibility. Some subreddits on the site have strict requirements before mods can be eligible to moderate. A great example of this is the subreddit r/science. R/science has over 26.5 million members that participate and get their legit resources from the sub. To ensure the content in the subreddit is scientific facts, r/science requires their mods to hold a Bachelor of Science degree.
When making a subreddit, make sure it’s something you are truly passionate about because it’s strictly a volunteer position. There won’t be any compensation for the work you’re doing dealing with trolls and countless comments. However, it does pay to know you have created a thriving community for your people.
You Can’t Delete Your Subreddit
As we have said earlier, making a subreddit is a commitment. So naturally, you can’t delete one.
Once you have created a community in Reddit it will exist forever — yes, that’s right, there’s a forever in Reddit. Your username will always be listed as the creator of the subreddit even if you leave the community.
But if you think you can no longer moderate the sub religiously, you can always ask for help. It’s dubbed as a community for a reason and you can always ask other Redditors to take over. You can post a request on r/redditrequest for an ownership turnover. You can also post on r/Adoptareddit to put your subreddit up for adoption and have new mods take over.
Here are some ways you can do to leave your subreddit as a moderator:
- self-removal,
- removal by another mod,
- dismissal due to inactivity (site-wide or within the subreddit you’re moderating), and
- removal linked to moderator standards and Reddit regulations.
The Best Subreddits You Can Join Now
One thing you can do to help your subreddit community grow is to learn from other subreddits. With over 100,000 communities, there’s no shortage of great subreddits to learn from. You can check their guidelines, how the mods monitor each comment, and even how they did their community page layout.
A good subreddit is a good balance of show and tell. Here are some of the best subreddits you can learn the ropes from or just scroll through for hours because they’re simply quality internet content.
R/AskReddit
If you have a question about anything under the sun, over the moon, or under your bed, r/AskReddit is the best place to be. It’s a great community, housing over 32.9 million active members. Each one can give you the most mundane and the most eccentric answers to unsuspecting questions.
R/AskReddit is extremely entertaining. You can get lost in time and fall into the internet rabbit hole if you’re not careful. This community values thought-provoking questions, but still welcomes simple questions like the most useless thing you memorized.
R/NatureIsF*ckingLit
People often need a reminder that the world we’re living in is amazing, or in a better word: lit. And that’s what r/NatureIsF*uckingLit is for. Its 5.1m Redditors contribute pictures and videos that prove nature and its flora and fauna is always something to be in awe of.
This subreddit is perfect for those who want to learn a cool fact about the different species on Earth.
R/Pics
R/Pics is simply a subreddit dedicated to photographs and pictures. You might think it’s a boring place, but prepare to be pleasantly disappointed.
This subreddit now has 27.6m photographers that contribute pictures that’ll either make your day or wish you can unsee (there’s a different subreddit for this if you’re interested). You can post anything you want in this community from a five-tier cake you’re proud of to a picture of a dog intensely judging you. As long as it’s a photo, it’s appreciated on r/Pics.
R/Showerthoughts
Ever had those brief moments of profound brilliance? You just finished working and now just chilling on your couch staring into nothing, then suddenly it hits you. One-leg amputees will get more socks than anybody who buys the same pair.
Don’t worry these tiny epiphanies have a home in Reddit. You’ll be surprised how many members will relate and appreciate your thoughts in the r/Showerthoughts subreddit. It’s a safe place for your musing ruminations that highlight the oddities in ordinary life.
R/FoodPorn
Despite its name, we can assure you the r/FoodPorn is safe for work. It’s a community for people who want to show off visually appealing food.
This community is home to 3.8 million foodies who contribute the most satisfying food you’ll ever lay eyes on. If you want to be inspired by good food, r/FoodPorn is the sub you need.
R/aww
This subreddit is for pictures and videos that make you go “aww.” R/aww is a wholesome place on the internet that will never fail to put a smile on your face.
If you’re in a dark time in your life or just had a bad day, open your browser or your Reddit app and visit r/aww. Dancing corgi butts, baby bunnies, and cute pitbulls will make your day a little bit brighter.
R/unpopularopinion
Do you have a controversial opinion? Do you want to spark debate and get insights about your unpopular opinion? R/unpopular opinion is the perfect battleground for you.
Don’t worry, though, this subreddit is still a safe place for you. It’s the reason why it exists. Unpopular opinions get a lot of hate on most social media platforms, but on Reddit they’re welcome. R/unpopularopinion is an interesting place to learn about how other people think through healthy and smart dialogue amongst fellow Redditors. You might even find yourself convinced and swayed to the other side.
R/todayilearned
When you join the community of r/todayilearned, the expression of “you learn something new every day” will never be truer words. This subreddit will definitely give you something new each day with its 25.8 million contributors. The world is old and new at the same time. There’s a lot to discover about what’s happening around you, and r/todayilearned gives you a new way to educate yourself.
R/todayilearned subreddit is also a good example of an exceptionally moderated community. The moderators of this sub have to ensure everything is fact-checked, with no political agenda or repeated posts.
R/IAmA
R/IAmA is one of the most visited subreddits in Reddit, with over 21.2m members. It’s been running since 2009, and it has hosted the most engaging conversations on the internet with celebrities, scientists, billionaires, athletes, and many more.
This subreddit provides an open forum for people to interact with influential people like Bill Gates and people who have had unique experiences. You don’t have to be a famous person to have an ask me anything forum. You will be surprised how many people are curious about the life of a Burger King crew or a zookeeper working from home.
R/memes
The front page of the internet can simply not be the front page of the internet without memes. Aside from 9gag, Reddit is also a pioneer of memes. And until now, the r/memes subreddit continues the great tradition of making people laugh or blow air from their noses.
R/RoastMe
According to r/RoastMe subreddit description, roasting is the humorous humiliation of a person with a well-timed diss or joke. If you want to practice the roasting skills you can’t get in a barbeque, this subreddit is the way.
R/RoastMe is where you’ll find the wittiest and most brutal remarks you don’t know will come in handy later. Redditors voluntarily subject themselves to a roasting in this community for a wake-up call or just to laugh at themselves. Because that’s healthy too.
R/relationship_advice
Relationship advice is one of the most used commodities in Reddit. R/relationship_advice is a subreddit with over 5.4 million members, and every day people look to their virtual friends for impartial and wise advice concerning their relationships.
This subreddit has saved a lot of people from abusive relationships and also helped build existing ones. R/relationship_advice is like your older sibling or cool aunt whom you can confide in and get the best advice. This sub supports all kinds of relationships, may it be with your parents, best friends, significant others, or even work colleagues.
Final Word
The world could use more communities like these subreddits that make life a bit easier to live in. It’s nice to know that you’re never alone and there are always people who share the same disposition as you.
Now you know how to make a subreddit, we hope you share your expertise with the world. Create another safe community for everybody to celebrate their interests along with themselves.
