# Make a yard

> Start a yard for your school, faith group or anyone — tap Start a yard on HOME, pick its starting shape, name it, choose who can join, and share the link.

Section: Yards · Updated: 2026-10-12
URL: https://commonyard.app/guides/make-a-yard/

## Steps

1. On **HOME**, tap **Start a yard** (or **New yard**) among your yards. (It is also at the bottom of **Explore**, under **Can't find yours?**) The first time, a short page explains what a yard is — tap **Create a yard** to carry on.
2. Under **STARTING SHAPE**, pick **SCHOOL**, **FAITH** or **GENERAL**.
3. Add a picture for the yard if you like — tap **The yard's picture**.
4. Give your yard a name of up to 20 characters, and say what brings everyone together.
5. Under **WHO CAN JOIN**, choose **Public** or **Private**.
6. Tap **Create a yard**.
7. On the next page, tap **Share the link** and send it to your people.

![The Create a yard page: School, Faith and General, the yard's picture, its name and what it's for, Public or Private, and the Create a yard button](https://commonyard.app/guides/img/create-yard.webp "Pick a starting shape, name it, and choose who can join.")

## Which starting shape to pick

- **GENERAL** — just the yard and its chat.
- **SCHOOL** — adds **PRACTICE** to the bar inside the yard, for revising school work and sharing study materials. See [Practise school work](/guides/practice-in-a-school-yard/).
- **FAITH** — adds **FAITH** to the bar inside the yard: the devotional, the prayer wall and the week's times.

## Public or private

- **Public** — anyone on CommonYard can find it and read its posts and chat.
- **Private** — only members read its posts and chat, and it stays off the public list. The link is the way in.

## Your yard is ready

![Your yard is ready: the new yard's tile and name, its kind, its link with a copy button, Share the link, and Open your yard](https://commonyard.app/guides/img/create-yard-ready.webp "Share the link — it's how people join.")

For its first week, your yard shows you a card with three things to get it going: ask the first question, share the link, and bring three people. Put it away whenever you like.

## Next

- Change who can join, reset the link, add an admin, post a notice or set up an event: see [Run your yard](/guides/run-your-yard/).
- Split a big yard into smaller ones — a class, a hall, a choir: see [Sub yards](/guides/sub-yards/).