Reference Guide

Community Platform Glossary

Definitions of key terms used in community platform development and evaluation. Each definition links to deeper reading where relevant.

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API Integration

A connection between two software systems that allows them to share data automatically. In community platforms, common integrations include CRM systems (Salesforce, Blackbaud), payment processors (Stripe, Pushpay), and SSO providers.

Community Platform

Software that enables members of an organisation to connect, communicate, and engage with each other and with content in a structured digital environment. Community platforms range from SaaS tools to fully custom-built applications.

Custom Community Platform

A community platform designed and built from the ground up for a specific organisation, as opposed to a SaaS tool configured from a shared template. The organisation owns the code and infrastructure.

Data Portability

The ability to export an organisation's data from a platform in a standard, reusable format. High portability means full exports in CSV, JSON, or SQL at any time. Low portability means limited exports in proprietary formats that don't cleanly import elsewhere.

Data Sovereignty

An organisation's right and ability to control where its data is stored, who can access it, and how it is used. Organisations with custom-built platforms have full data sovereignty. Organisations on SaaS platforms cede data sovereignty to the vendor.

Engagement Analytics

Metrics that measure how members interact with a community platform — login frequency, content views, group participation, event attendance, messaging activity. Used to assess community health and inform programming decisions.

Group Health Indicators

Analytics that measure the vitality of specific sub-communities (small groups, chapters, committees) within a larger platform — activity level, member growth, leadership engagement.

Hivebrite

A SaaS community platform used primarily by universities, alumni networks, and nonprofits. Charges $1,000–$3,000/month at enterprise tiers. Organisations do not own the platform, code, or member data.

Member Database

The central record of an organisation's community members, including contact information, profiles, roles, and engagement history. In owned platforms, this lives in the organisation's infrastructure. In SaaS platforms, it lives in the vendor's database.

Multi-Hub Architecture

A platform design that supports multiple distinct community spaces (hubs) within a single system — for example, a national organisation's HQ community plus regional chapter communities, each with their own members and leadership but sharing a common infrastructure and database.

Native Mobile App

A mobile application built specifically for iOS or Android (or both, using cross-platform frameworks like React Native), submitted to the App Store and/or Play Store. Distinguished from a web app wrapper, which is a website presented inside a mobile shell.

Platform Ownership

A model in which an organisation owns the code, data, and infrastructure of its community platform outright, rather than renting access from a SaaS vendor. Platform ownership eliminates recurring vendor fees, vendor lock-in, and loss of data control.

Platform Stewardship

Ongoing maintenance, security updates, and technical support for a custom-built platform, provided by the development agency that built it or a third-party service. Stewardship allows organisations to own their platform without maintaining an in-house development team.

Push Notifications

Real-time alerts sent directly to a user's mobile device from a native app. Requires a properly submitted native mobile app. Web app wrappers and progressive web apps typically cannot deliver true push notifications on iOS.

React Native

A cross-platform mobile development framework that allows developers to build iOS and Android apps from a single codebase. Used by Socio Connect for mobile app development because it delivers near-native performance at lower development cost than building separate native apps.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

A system in which different user roles (Admin, Leader, Member, Guest) have access to different features and content within a platform. Essential for organisations with complex structures, multi-chapter setups, or varied membership tiers.

SaaS (Software as a Service)

A software delivery model in which the provider hosts and operates software that customers access via subscription. Customers do not own the software, code, or data. Community platform SaaS examples include Hivebrite, Mighty Networks, Circle.so, and Subsplash.

Single Sign-On (SSO)

Authentication technology that allows users to log in once and access multiple connected systems without re-entering credentials. Common in university and enterprise environments where community platforms need to connect to institutional login systems.

Supabase

An open-source backend platform used as the database and authentication layer in Socio Connect builds. Built on PostgreSQL, it provides real-time data capabilities, row-level security, and standard SQL access that clients' own teams can manage independently of Socio Connect.

Vendor Lock-In

A situation in which an organisation is unable to leave a vendor without significant cost or disruption because its data, workflows, or integrations are deeply embedded in the vendor's proprietary system. SaaS community platforms create vendor lock-in through proprietary data storage and integrated workflows.

White-Label App

A mobile application built by a vendor and licensed to multiple organisations under different branding. The organisation displays its name and logo, but the underlying application belongs to the vendor. Common in church app tools such as Subsplash and Church Center.

Missing a term? Email hello@socio-connect.com and we'll add it.

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