You’ve started using Slack, where most of the information is shared in channels. While it’s pretty easy to create them, there are a few things that you need to decide before you create a new Slack Channel.
Type of Channel
There are basically two types of channel to choose from:
- Public
- Private
Public Channel
The first type is a public channel.
Here anyone in the Slack Workspace (i.e. a member of your Slack account/area) can see the channel in their list. Join members to it, or let them choose to join it.
All public channels have a hash (#) at the start of the displayed name.
Private Channel
As you can guess from the name, you need to be invited into a private channel to a) see it on your channel list and b) be able to post into it.
Private channels have a small padlock at the start of the name.
Switching between the channel types
There is some choice to change between the two types.
However, while you can change from a public to a private channel; you can’t move it back the other way. And it’s for this reason that it’s better to make the decision before you create it.
Channel Name
An easy option, right? Name it for the purpose or content.
Well, yes that’s the best option but
- channel names are all lowercase
- no spaces are allowed
- limit of 80 characters
Which means that you might need to be a little flexible with name to make it easier to read.
You can use a dash (-) to separate the words, or an underscore (_).
- thisismynewchannel
- this-is-my-new-channel
- this_is_my_new_channel
Or it can be a mixture of these options.
What about the actual name?
Name it for it’s use
Ask yourself:
- is it for a specific team?
- for a particular purpose?
- who will be posting into the channel – internal staff and/or external visitors?
- will it relate to specific locations?
For some more ideas take a look at the guidelines for channel names from Slack.
The official guidelines suggest using prefixes e.g. team-, help- or proj- to help everyone find the right channel to post in.
You can also consider adding ‘notes’ to the end of the channel:
- pls (or plz) for requests
- ext or external for channels that include guest accounts
- announcements or announce for wider information
Create the channel
Finally, with the major decisions made, you can create the account.
Oh wait – who creates the channels?
As a workspace owner (top level permissions) or an admin, you can allow all the members (not guests) the ability to create channels, or restrict it to specific people.
Public channels are easy to see and visible to everyone. When it comes to private channels, only those who have been invited can see them.
Consider sharing guidelines around when to create a new channel. Remember to include what to do when it’s no longer needed or used.
Got some questions about using Slack? Book a Call with me, let’s discuss how I can help.
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Creating a Slack channel is simple to do, but before you do, there’s a few things to decide first – from the type of channel to the name.