How and why to start using Discord?

If you haven’t used or heard of Discord so far, don’t worry. We will show you what it is and how to use it, and how you can talk online with friends as well as strangers.

Discord is a favorite channel for correspondence and talking in the gaming community. You can send messages through it, but also have a (voice) conversation. This has proven to be a very popular way to connect with friends, family, and even when you’re not playing games and you’re not part of the gaming community.

Discord is fantastic for communicating with friends during the day (or night) but also meeting new people on public Discord servers. It's an interesting place to hang out online. Often much more interesting than any social network.

If your friends have invited you to their Discord server and you’ve never accepted that invitation, or you’ve never connected to Discord, don’t worry. We will show you how to connect to the server, and how to create your server where you will be able to invite your loved ones.

What is a Discord server?

The server is an "invite-only" place for your circle of friends, co-workers, or the community in which you move. Within this Discord server, channels can be created for various topics that you talk about with friends.

So you can have your server with channels for gaming, music, going out, or whatever makes you happy and what your hobbies are. Some have Discord servers where people talk exclusively about music, literature, art. Most servers are gaming-related. But no one is forbidding you to open a server for your company and use it for internal arrangements, socializing, and the like.

Sometimes it is much easier to use a service like this than to have dozens of WhatsApp groups, Facebook Messenger conversations, and the like. Because you always forget someone or get killed in all those conversations you have. 

This way you can have everything in one place, everything you post is public for people who have access to your Discord server, and you can talk 1-on-1 with the people connected there. It is much more organized than on the mentioned IM applications.

How to create your Discord server?

To create a server, just click on the “+” icon below all your servers. After that, Discord will offer you a bunch of different options.

If you want to start your own server and customize it to your needs, select the "Create my own" option. But you'll also see a bunch of templates for quickly creating a server that already has certain channels built on it. Don't worry, you can rename or delete everything if you don't like something. We will try to make a Discord server from a template called “Friends”.

You will then be given the option to select your server name. If you are not sure what to call it, just press "OK". Discord will let you later rename it whatever you want. Furthermore, you can upload an image for your server. This will be the icon that will display your server in the list.

And that is that. Congratulations, you have created your first Discord server. Now is the time to invite more friends to join the same because there is no point in being alone on it.

How do I add and customize your channels?

To add a new channel, click on the "+" icon at the end of your channel list. After that, Discord will ask you if it will be a text or voice channel.

Give the channel a name, preferably after a topic you want to discuss there, and you’re ready to use. To rename an existing channel, click on the gear icon next to it. Here you can rename the channel or delete it completely if it is not used. You can also customize your authority, invite people to the channel, and take advantage of various additional integrations.

If you are using Discord on your mobile, all you need to do is tap and hold your finger on the channel. This will open the options mentioned above.

How to invite friends to your Discord channel?

All you need to do to invite friends to your server is share the link. Click or tap the “Invite People” button above your channel list. There you will first see a list of your Discord friends who, if you call, will receive a direct message in their inbox.

But certain friends aren’t on Discord, and you’d like to invite them. So we will first edit the link so you can send it to your friends via email or social media without it running out very quickly.

To do this, click on the “edit invite link” (desktop) or the gear icon next to the “copy share link” option (mobile phone). Here you can edit whether the link has a lifespan and how many people can log in through it.

After clicking “Save” or “Generate a new link”, you will see that the original web address has changed. Copy that link and send it to your friends through whatever channels you want. Via social networks, messages, emails.

How does voice and video communication work on Discord?

One of the best things about Discord is the ability to voice communicate with friends while playing games together. Just click on one of the voice channels and you are connected. There you will see who else is connected to the channel in question and who hears you talking.

If you want a video call, just click once more on the voice channel and Discord will show a popup window.

On your mobile phone, click on the voice channel and you will see the camera icon in the lower-left corner. You can then choose which camera you want to use and which audio input you use.

If you are on a laptop, the default will be an integrated microphone, a built-in webcam, and integrated speakers in the laptop. Unless you have external speakers or headphones connected. Also, Discord will allow you to share your screen with people so they can see what you’re playing and how you’re playing. Play with the options, there are plenty of them.

While playing video games on your computer, there can be a lot of background noise. These can be computer fans, members of your family, animals, or the sounds of your mechanical keyboard. In that case, it is good to have an external USB microphone. To set up an external microphone, just go to "voice settings".

When you connect an external microphone, the Discord will automatically recognize it and switch to it. If that doesn’t happen, do it manually. If you are on headphones, then you want to switch the sound to the same, as well as the microphone from the headphones (if you have it on the headphones).

And before you start talking to your friends, check the volume that is set. You have “Input Volume” so adjust it to suit you.