Channel Setup

This guide walks through creating a new channel and configuring its settings. By the end, you will have a fully functional channel ready for content.

Creating a Channel

Step 1: Start Creation

From the FanFest dashboard, initiate channel creation. You will be prompted for:

• Channel Name -- Your organization or brand name. This also determines your channel's URL slug.
• Channel Description -- A short tagline displayed in the hero section of your channel page.

TIP

Choose your channel name carefully -- it becomes part of your permanent URL (fanfest.vip/{channel-name}).

Step 2: Upload Brand Assets

Add the visual identity for your channel:

Channel Logo

• Minimum dimensions: 256x256 px
• Format: PNG (square)
• Displayed in the channel hero, navigation, and as the channel avatar across the platform

Channel Banner

• Minimum dimensions: 1640x600 px
• Aspect ratio: ~2.73:1
• Displayed as the background image in your channel's hero section

For detailed asset specifications, see the Brand Guidelines.

Step 3: Configure Sections

After creation, configure which sections appear on your channel page. Navigate to Settings > Customize Channel > Sections to toggle visibility for each section:

Section	Default	Purpose
Community Feed	Visible	Recent activity stream
Shows	Visible	Live and upcoming shows
Contests	Visible	Active quizzes, raffles, polls
Leaderboard	Visible	Fan rankings
Threads	Visible	Community discussions

Toggle a section off to hide it from your channel page. This does not delete the content -- it only hides the section from the channel view. You can re-enable sections at any time.

After making changes, select Save and Publish to apply. A confirmation dialog ensures you do not accidentally publish changes.

Step 4: Set Up Your Theme

Configure your channel's color scheme through Settings > Customize Channel > Colors. FanFest provides a design token system with categories for background, surface, fill, text, border, and icon colors.

See the Theming Guide for a detailed walkthrough.

Post-Creation Configuration

Once your channel is live, consider these additional setup steps:

Set Up Communities

If your audience has natural segments (teams, regions, interests), create communities to organize content. See Communities.

Configure Memberships

Set up free and paid membership tiers to control access to features and monetize your channel. See Memberships.

Add Team Members

Invite colleagues and assign permissions so they can help manage content:

1. Open Settings > User Management
2. Add team members by email
3. Assign permissions: Manage Channel, Manage Shows, Produce Shows, Manage Contests, Manage Threads

See User Management for details on each permission.

Create Your First Show

With your channel configured, create a show to start engaging fans. See Creating Shows.

Define Channel Actions

Set up the actions that earn fans points on your leaderboard. See Leaderboards.

Modifying Channel Settings

All channel settings can be updated after creation:

• Banner and logo -- Update via Settings > Change Cover Image or Settings > Change Logo
• Section visibility -- Update via Settings > Customize Channel > Sections
• Theme colors -- Update via Settings > Customize Channel > Colors
• Team members -- Update via Settings > User Management

Changes to visual settings (banner, logo, theme) take effect immediately after saving and publishing.

Channel Permissions

Access to channel administration is controlled by the Manage Channel permission. Users with this permission can:

• Modify channel settings (name, description, assets)
• Manage section visibility and ordering
• Configure themes and branding
• Access the user management panel
• Manage communities
• View the Behavioral Data Browser
• Manage API keys and SSO configuration

Other management permissions (Manage Shows, Manage Contests, Manage Threads) provide access to their respective content areas without full channel administration rights.

See the permissions reference for the complete permission model.