If you haven't already, launch the [setup wizard](/wizard) and go through the steps to configure your site. You can run the wizard as many times as you want, it's completely safe!
You can also access it via the "hamburger" <kbd>☰</kbd> menu in the upper right: Admin functions are generally marked with the wrench :wrench: icon, so look for that.
You can also [set up single-sign on](https://meta.discourse.org/t/official-single-sign-on-for-discourse/13045), or even [build your own login method](https://meta.discourse.org/t/login-to-discourse-with-custom-oauth2-provider/14717).
Email is required for new account signups and notifications. **Test your email to make sure it is configured correctly!** Visit [the admin email settings](/admin/email), then enter an email address in the "email address to test" field and click <kbd>send test email</kbd>.
**Don't create too many initial categories**, as you can overwhelm your audience. You can always add more categories, and easily bulk recategorize topics later. It's better to figure out the organization as you go rather than assuming you'll get it all right from the beginning (hint: you won't).
To add a category, visit the [categories page](/categories), then click Create Category at the upper right. You can set security per-category so only certain groups of users can see topics in that category.
Every category has an initial "About this category" topic. This topic will be pinned to the top of the category, and the description you enter will be used in a bunch of places. Be sure to give your new category a good, clear description, so people understand what belongs there!
- Once someone reads to the bottom of a pinned topic, it is automatically unpinned for them specifically. They can change this via the personal pin controls at the bottom of the topic.
- When staff pins a topic, they can pin it globally to all topic lists, or just within its category.
If a pin isn't visible enough, you can also turn one single topic into a **banner**. The banner topic floats on top of all topics and all primary pages. Users can permanently dismiss this floating banner by clicking the × in the upper right corner.
If your discussion area is be open to the public, new visitors will arrive that are initially strangers to the community. Discourse has a [trust system](https://blog.discourse.org/2018/06/understanding-discourse-trust-levels/) where users can, over time, earn the trust of the community and gain abilities to assist in governing their community.
Every action a user can take is rate limited for safety, and especially so for new users. But don't worry, new users can [transition to trust level 1](https://blog.discourse.org/2018/06/understanding-discourse-trust-levels/) in about 10 minutes of reading.
These defaults are safe, but note that while in "bootstrap mode" after you set up your site, all new users will be granted trust level 1 until you reach 50 users.
The invite area on your profile page also includes advanced Staff methods of [sending bulk invites](https://meta.discourse.org/t/sending-bulk-user-invites/16468), and [inviting users into groups](https://meta.discourse.org/t/invite-individual-users-to-a-group/15544).
- One CPU and 1GB of memory, with swap, is the minimum for a basic Discourse community. As your community grows you may need more memory or CPU resources.
- [Our Docker container install](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/blob/main/docs/INSTALL.md) is the only one we officially support. It guarantees easy updates, and all recommended optimizations from the Discourse team.
- You should get an email notification when new versions of Discourse are released. To update your instance via our easy one click upgrade process, visit [/admin/upgrade](/admin/upgrade).
- Embed Discourse [in your WordPress install](https://github.com/discourse/wp-discourse), or [on your static HTML site](https://meta.discourse.org/t/embedding-discourse-comments-via-javascript/31963)
Have suggestions to improve or update this guide? Submit a [pull request](https://github.com/discourse/discourse/blob/main/docs/ADMIN-QUICK-START-GUIDE.md).
