Creating a Slack workspace takes about two minutes and starts at slack.com. You’ll need an email address, a name for your workspace, and at least one person to invite. Here’s how to set it up and configure it so your team can hit the ground running.
Create the Workspace
Go to slack.com and click “Get Started” or “Create a Workspace.” Slack will ask for your email address and send a six-digit confirmation code. Enter the code, then follow the prompts to name your workspace, briefly describe what your team works on, and invite your first teammates by email. That’s it for the basics. You’re now the Workspace Owner, which gives you full administrative control.
Your workspace name becomes part of your Slack URL (yourname.slack.com), so pick something recognizable. Company name works for most teams. You can change it later, but the URL stays the same unless you contact Slack support.
Choose Free or Paid
Every new workspace starts on the free plan, which is fine for small teams or trial runs. But the free tier has real constraints worth knowing about before you commit to it long-term.
- Message and file history: You can only search and access the most recent 90 days of messages and files. Anything older than one year gets permanently deleted.
- App integrations: You’re limited to 10 third-party or custom app installations. If your team relies on tools like Google Drive, Zoom, Jira, and others, you can burn through that cap quickly.
- Other limits: Free workspaces lack group video calls (beyond one-on-one), guest access, and advanced admin controls like single sign-on.
Paid plans (Pro, Business+, and Enterprise Grid) unlock unlimited message history, unlimited integrations, and features like user groups, custom retention policies, and compliance tools. Pro starts at a per-user monthly fee billed annually, making it the go-to upgrade for growing teams.
Set Up Your Channels
Slack creates two channels automatically: #general (for company-wide announcements) and #random (for casual conversation). Beyond those, you’ll want to create channels that match how your team actually works. Common starting points include channels for each department or project, a channel for help-desk or IT questions, and one for announcements that shouldn’t get lost in chatter.
Channels can be public (visible and joinable by anyone in the workspace) or private (invite-only, hidden from search). Use public channels as the default so information stays discoverable. Reserve private channels for topics like HR discussions, executive planning, or client-specific work where access genuinely needs to be restricted.
As Workspace Owner, you can restrict who’s allowed to create channels. By default, any member can create both public and private channels. If you want to keep the channel list tidy, go to your workspace settings and limit channel creation to admins only. This is especially useful once your team grows past 20 or 30 people and channels start multiplying.
Invite Your Team
You have two main ways to bring people in: individual email invitations or approved email domains.
For individual invites, go to your workspace name in the sidebar, click “Invite people to [workspace name],” and enter their email addresses. They’ll get an email with a link to join. By default, regular members can also send invitations, which speeds things up but can be a problem if you want tighter control over who joins. You can restrict invitation permissions so only Owners and Admins can add new people.
For larger organizations, approved email domains are more efficient. This lets anyone with a matching company email address (like @yourcompany.com) sign themselves up without waiting for a manual invite. To set this up, go to the Admin section in your sidebar, select Workspace Settings, and expand the option labeled “Allow people with approved email domains to join this workspace.” Check the box, enter your domain, and save. Anyone with that email domain can then join through your workspace’s sign-in page.
One thing to note: if you later enable single sign-on (SSO) through a provider like Okta or Google Workspace, that will override your domain-based signup preferences.
Configure Key Permissions
Before your team starts using the workspace daily, spend five minutes tightening up permissions. All of these live under the Admin section in your sidebar.
Start with messaging permissions. Decide whether you want all members to be able to post in #general or limit it to admins for announcements. You can set posting restrictions on any channel by opening the channel’s settings and adjusting who can post.
Next, review guest access settings. Workspace Owners and Admins can invite guests, which come in two types: single-channel guests (locked to one channel, useful for outside contractors) and multi-channel guests (can access several channels). On the free plan, guest access is not available, so this only applies to paid workspaces.
Finally, check your workspace’s discovery settings. The “Set discovery and sign up” option controls whether your workspace appears in Slack’s directory and whether people can request to join. For internal company workspaces, you’ll typically want this turned off so the workspace stays private.
Customize the Workspace
A few quick customizations make the workspace feel intentional rather than default. Upload your company logo as the workspace icon (under Settings & Administration > Customize). Set a workspace description so new members immediately understand what it’s for. Add a default channel topic to #general with a brief welcome message or link to onboarding docs.
You can also create custom emoji, set up a slackbot auto-response for common questions (like “What’s the WiFi password?”), and configure notification defaults. For notifications, a good starting point is to set the workspace default to notify members only for direct messages and mentions, not every message in every channel. Individual members can adjust from there.
Connect Your Tools
Slack becomes significantly more useful when it’s connected to the apps your team already uses. Go to the Slack App Directory (click “Apps” in the sidebar) and install integrations for your calendar, project management, file storage, and video conferencing tools. Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Trello, Asana, Zoom, and GitHub are among the most common.
Remember that free workspaces max out at 10 app installations. If you’re on the free plan, prioritize the integrations your team will use daily and skip the ones that are nice-to-have. Each installed app counts toward the limit regardless of how many channels it’s active in.
Roles and Who Controls What
Slack uses four main roles within a workspace. The Workspace Owner (you, as the creator) has full control over every setting, including billing, security, and the ability to delete the workspace. Workspace Admins can manage members, channels, and most settings but can’t change billing or transfer ownership. Members are standard users who can send messages, create channels (unless restricted), and use the workspace normally. Guests have the most limited access, confined to specific channels.
Promote at least one other trusted person to Workspace Admin early on. If you’re ever locked out of your account or unavailable, someone else needs the ability to manage members and settings. You can assign roles by clicking a member’s name, selecting “Account type,” and choosing the appropriate role.