Creating alert topics and subscriptions

Topics are how you segment alert subscriptions — "Snow Emergencies," "Water Main Breaks," "City Events," and so on. Residents subscribe to specific topics; broadcasts target one or more topics at a time.

Create a topic

1. Open HelloCivic Text → Topics.
2. Click Add topic.
3. Enter a name (we auto-generate a URL-safe slug) and optional description.
4. Save.

Topics start active. You can deactivate a topic anytime — deactivated topics can't receive new subscriptions or broadcasts.

Widget visibility

Each topic has an In widget toggle. When enabled (and the topic is active), the topic appears in the public website widget's "Get alerts" picker. Turn it off for internal-only topics you don't want residents to self-subscribe to.

How residents subscribe

Residents can opt in through:

• The website widget — pick topics + explicit consent checkbox.
• Keyword automations — e.g. text ALERTS to subscribe to a topic automatically.
• Staff — manually add a subscription from the Contacts page.

Subscriber counts

The Topics list shows an active subscriber count per topic — useful before sending a broadcast so you know your audience size.

Tips for government agencies

• Keep topic names plain-language ("Road Closures" not "Transportation Division Alerts").
• Don't create too many topics — five to eight well-named topics beats twenty obscure ones.
• Deactivate seasonal topics (e.g. "Leaf Collection") when the season ends instead of deleting them — you'll keep history.