Whether you’re new to the tech industry or not, you’re likely on an endless hunt for a group of individuals who share the same personal and professional passions as you.
You’re not alone — there’s thousands of communities within tech alone, not to mention the forums and threads across platforms such as Reddit and Discord. So, we did what anyone would naturally do in this scenario — ask our almighty robot counterparts to help us curate a comprehensive list of the best tech communities out there, most of which appear to be online these days.
Furthermore, we’ve told the robots that we're stretched for time and would appreciate a shortlist of communities within the engineering, design, and product sectors (with, of course, some quality control from our human editors wherever necessary) only.
Below, a (mostly) comprehensive list of the best online and offline tech communities for engineers, designers, and product pros.
Editor's note: The robots are fallible — for now, at least — so we’d love to hear from you: let us know if there are any unfortunate errors or glaring omissions to our list on Twitter or Threads.
Communities for engineering professionals
Here's our compilation of communities for developers that veer towards the larger side (in alphabetical order):
- 100Devs: Free coding bootcamp community that can be found on Discord.
- Code and Coffee: A community for developers to connect in-person and online.
- CodeBuddies: Connect with fellow developers and study partners through Slack.
- Dev.to: A community of more than 1 million developers that describes itself as “a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.”
- GitHub: An open-source code repository with community and discussion functionality.
- Hacker News: A news aggregator focusing on topics affecting the engineering community, such as technology and entrepreneurship.
- Stack Overflow: An ask-and-answer online forum for programmers of all backgrounds and experience levels.
Nick Lioudis
Here’s a few more communities that fall into subcategories of engineering/dev:
- Blacks in Technology: A platform for Black professionals to network, share resources, and offer support.
- Cloud Newbies Society: Learn about cloud computing with beginner-friendly resources here.
- Tech Disability Project: A community for disabled professionals in tech.
- Orbital Jigsaw: A Discord community for technologists and communicators.
- Out in Tech: A community for LGBTQ+ professionals in tech.
- Reddit: Subreddits such as r/programming, r/webdev, and r/sysadmin are good starting places as you explore the best community for you.
- Techqueria: A nonprofit focused on Latinx professionals in tech.
- Women Who Code: A global nonprofit dedicated to diversity within the engineering community.
Communities for designers
Here are design communities that fall into the "larger" category (listed alphabetically):
- AIGA: The American Institute of Graphic Arts, offering professional development resources and networking opportunities.
- Behance: A platform for sharing design work and connecting with potential collaborators.
- Dribbble: Showcase your design work, discover inspiration, and network with other designers.
- Graphic Design Forum: A no-frills online community for graphic designers, with forums and resources.
- Interaction Design Foundation Community: A platform for learning and discussing interaction design with fellow designers.
These design communities (arguably) appear to be a bit more niche:
- A11y Slackers: A community for web accessibility advocates to discuss best practices and collaborate.
- Creative Bloq: Design news, tutorials, and resources for various disciplines.
- Design for Good: A community dedicated to using design to solve social and environmental problems.
- Design Shack: Design news, inspiration, and free resources.
- Hexagon UX: A Slack group for women and non-binary individuals in UX, offering support and mentorship.
- Typewolf: A website dedicated to typography, offering tutorials, articles, and inspiration.
- UX Collective: A Medium publication featuring articles and insights on UX design.
- UX Mastery: A Slack community for UX professionals to learn, share, and connect.
Lori Goldman
Communities for product professionals:
Here is the list of product communities the robots assembled and we curated based on our research (listed alphabetically):
- Mind the Product: One of the larger communities for product professionals, offering online courses, articles, and events.
- Product Alliance: A global community for product leaders to share best practices, collaborate, and network.
- Product Coalition: A Medium publication and free community for product managers, featuring articles, discussions, and events.
- Product Hive Community: A Slack group for product professionals to connect, share knowledge, and learn from each other.
- Product HQ: A Slack group that offers discussions, resources, and job opportunities (fees apply).
- Product Hunt: A platform for discovering and sharing new products, often with discussions led by product managers.
- Product School: The largest online community for product managers, offering a Slack group with AMAs, events, and resources.
- Women in Product: A global community for women working in product management, offering support, career resources, and networking opportunities.
Justin Washington
Join or create a community of your own
We resolve to do a lot of things as we embark on a new year, but joining a community like the ones we've outlined above may be a bit more attainable than journaling every day, starting a long-running podcast, or even simply making time for your side project. We want this for you, but we understand that getting started can be difficult.
However, if you would like to get some forward momentum on any of the above, we're here to help. Check out our Tips section for practical insights on generating side income and our Interviews section for inspiration from a community of multihyphenates just like you.