Ribbons and Badges in your community

Ribbons and Badges promote participation in and commitment to your online community. "Giving" ribbons and badges to your community users is a great way to recognize their engagement and participation in the community, and to reward them for that engagement and other accomplishments.

NOTE: Ribbons and badges are an important part of your community's social environment because they give users an extra incentive to be active and engaged members.

Ribbons and Badges overview

Technically, there's no real functional difference between ribbons and badges; they are somewhat interchangeable. The most obvious differences are:

• how they display,
• where they display, and
• why a user has one or the other (or both).

So, despite being "somewhat interchangeable," each does have an intended purpose.

Ribbons

Ribbons are best used as identifiers. They are typically "given" or assigned to users by an Admin.

When a user has been given a Ribbon:

• A small version of the ribbon displays on Discussion Threads, Q&A Threads, Bio Bubbles, the Profile Card widget, and the Directory page.
• A large version of the ribbon displays on the Profile page below the user's profile picture and on the Contributions > Achievements tab of the user's profile.

Badges

Badges are best used as rewards for achievements. They are typically "earned" based on a user's engagement in the community.

When a user has earned a Badge:

• A small version of the badge displays on the Profile page below the user's profile picture and on the Profile Card widget.
• A large version of the badge displays on the Contributions > Achievements tab on the user's profile.

Summary

Ribbons and badges can be:

• assigned (typically by an Admin) and
• earned by meeting one or more set requirements (via an Automation Rule).

How Users Earn Ribbons and Badges describes both of these methods.

Ribbons and Badges on a user Profile

The images in this section are examples of how ribbons and badges display on user Profile pages.

Under the Profile image

On the Contributions > Achievements tab

NOTE: The badges that display clearly are those that the user has earned. Those that are "grayed out" are badges that are not yet earned but which are "attainable" (i.e., the Show as an attainable achievement setting box is checked on the Add/Edit page for the badge).

Watch the video

Click the image to link to a HUG Education Library video that is related to the content in this article.

Related articles

• Manage Ribbons and Badges describes how to manage ribbons and badges in your account.
• How Users Earn Ribbons and Badges explains the different ways that your community users can earn ribbons and badges.