Web Development Communities Report

Executive Summary

We analyzed 29 web development communities listed on Hive Index to understand where people gather, what these groups offer, and which communities attract the most interest.

The big picture: web development communities are broad and fragmented, with many small groups and a few very large outliers.

Source: Hive Index community database · Updated periodically

Communities
29
Platforms
7
Avg members
385K
Median members
8K

Where Web Development Communities Are Hosted

  • Discord: 12 communities (41%)
  • Reddit: 5 communities (17%)
  • WhatsApp: 5 communities (17%)
  • Independent Platforms: 2 communities (7%)
  • LinkedIn: 2 communities (7%)
  • Slack: 2 communities (7%)
  • X / Twitter: 1 communities (3%)
  • Discord
    12(41%)
  • Reddit
    5(17%)
  • WhatsApp
    5(17%)
  • Independent Platforms
    Independent Platforms
    2(7%)
  • LinkedIn
    2(7%)
  • Slack
    2(7%)
  • X / Twitter
    1(3%)

Format mix

  • Chat communities
    19(66%)
  • Forum / feed-based
    7(24%)
  • Other platforms
    3(10%)

Chat communities is most common (66%), but forum / feed-based is also well represented (24%).

Discord leads, but Reddit and WhatsApp also represent meaningful shares.

Audience Size & Access

Community size

  • Tiny: 0 communities (0%)
  • Small: 2 communities (7%)
  • Medium: 3 communities (10%)
  • Large: 8 communities (28%)
  • Huge: 4 communities (14%)
  • Massive: 3 communities (10%)
  • Gigantic: 3 communities (10%)
  • Tiny
    <20 members
    0(0%)
  • Small
    20-100 members
    2(7%)
  • Medium
    100-1,000 members
    3(10%)
  • Large
    1,000-10,000 members
    8(28%)
  • Huge
    10,000-100,000 members
    4(14%)
  • Massive
    100,000-1M members
    3(10%)
  • Gigantic
    1M+ members
    3(10%)

6 communities have unknown member counts.

Free vs paid

  • Free to join: 27 communities (93%)
  • Paid or apply-to-join: 2 communities (7%)

The average is much higher than the median (385K vs 8K), which usually means a few large groups are pulling the average up.

How Web Development Differs From Other Categories

Web Development is more free-to-join, smaller, and more chat-heavy, compared with typical Hive Index topics.

MetricWeb DevelopmentHive Index average
Free to join93%84%
Median members8K25K
Average members385K670K
Paid or apply-to-join7%16%
Live chat72%41%
Discord share41%18%

Feature Mix

Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.

Common Features

  • Live Chat: 21 communities (72%)
  • Forum: 13 communities (45%)
  • Online/Offline Events: 8 communities (28%)
  • Job Board: 6 communities (21%)
  • Live Chat
    72%
  • Forum
    45%
  • Online/Offline Events
    28%
  • Job Board
    21%

Niche Features

  • Pairing: 4 communities (14%)
  • Courses: 3 communities (10%)
  • Newsletter: 3 communities (10%)
  • Member Perks: 2 communities (7%)
  • Tools: 2 communities (7%)
  • Paid Community: 1 communities (3%)
  • Requires Application: 1 communities (3%)
  • Pairing
    14%
  • Courses
    10%
  • Newsletter
    10%
  • Member Perks
    7%
  • Tools
    7%
  • Paid Community
    3%
  • Requires Application
    3%

Live Chat appears on 72% of listings.

What Visitors Click

Outbound clicks / mo
471

Platform supply vs. clicks

PlatformCommunitiesShare of communitiesOutbound clicksShare of clicks
Discord1241%
27859%
Reddit517%
112%
WhatsApp517%
15633%
Independent Platforms27%
31%
LinkedIn27%
31%
Slack27%
174%
X / Twitter13%
31%

Share is calculated within this topic.

Discord hosts 41% of listings and 59% of clicks, so supply and interest line up.

Most-clicked formats

  • Chat communities
    451(96%)
  • Forum / feed-based
    14(3%)
  • Other platforms
    6(1%)

Most-clicked features

  • Live Chat
    456(97%)
  • Online/Offline Events
    212(45%)
  • Job Board
    145(31%)
  • Courses
    76(16%)
  • Forum
    74(16%)
  • Newsletter
    35(7%)

Most-clicked size ranges

  • Large
    135(29%)
  • Huge
    111(24%)
  • Medium
    26(6%)
  • Massive
    20(4%)
  • Small
    14(3%)

Top-clicked listings

  • Web Dev and Web Design
    95(20%)
  • Freelance Hub
    89(19%)
  • Programmers Palace
    63(13%)

Most clicks go to chat communities and forum / feed-based communities.

Community Quality & Ratings

Only 1 community has ratings so far, so read this as a small sample.

5.0 average rating across 1 community.

Methodology & FAQ

Methodology

This report uses communities in the Hive Index database tagged as Web Development. We exclude removed or suppressed listings. Member counts, traffic, features, reviews, and ratings may vary by source and are updated periodically.

  • •This is a smaller slice of Hive Index's database, so read trends as directional.

FAQ