Nobody checks the community website.
One volunteer built most HOA websites years ago, on desktop. Only whoever still has the password can edit it. Residents stopped visiting long before anyone stopped updating it.
Side by side
Capability differences only. Where an old HOA website is the better tool, we say so below.
| The old website | Lantern | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can update it | Whoever has the password, if they still live here | Any authorized member, from their phone |
| Built for | Desktop browsers | Phones, where residents already are |
| Amenity booking | Usually a PDF form to print and return | Live scheduling with rules and limits |
| Event calendar | A static page someone edits by hand | RSVPs, reminders, and add-to-calendar |
| Getting a notice out | Posted on a page nobody visits | Push and email to residents |
| Documents, dues, and gate passes | PDF list, dues by mail | Delivery tracking, e-signature, ACH autopay, and gate passes, once the association adopts officially |
| Getting started | A redesign project and a budget line | A resident can start today. The board claims it later |
Keep a website. Just stop asking it to serve residents.
You do need a public page. Prospective buyers, realtors, and search engines all need somewhere to find your community. They want the amenities and the management contact. Lantern is not that. We are deliberately not a public marketing site. Nothing residents post gets indexed.
So keep a simple public page for the outside world. Stop asking it to do the resident-facing job it was never good at.
How to switch without a fight
Nobody has to announce a migration. Start with the part that hurts.
Start with what residents ask for most
Usually amenity booking or the calendar. Start with whatever drives the most phone calls to the office.
Move the living content
Schedules, events, and notices. A static site cannot keep exactly these things current.
Let the board make it official
When they claim the space, documents, dues, and gate passes unlock. The website goes back to being a shopfront.
Common questions
Does this replace our HOA website?
It replaces the resident-facing half. Schedules, events, notices, and the neighbor board belong in something mobile and current. Keep a simple public page for buyers, realtors, and search. We deliberately do not do that job.
Is it free?
Starting is free. Official adoption by the association is a conversation with the board.
Can a resident start this, or does it need the board?
A resident can start a community-run space today. That covers coordination features like amenity scheduling, events, and the neighbor board. Documents, dues, and gate passes are association functions. They unlock only when a verified board officer claims the space.
What happens to our documents and CC&Rs?
On a community-run space, nothing. Document delivery is an association function and stays locked. Once the board adopts Lantern officially, documents get real delivery tracking, read receipts, acknowledgments, and e-signatures. That goes well beyond a list of PDFs.
Can we keep our domain?
Yes. Your public page can stay exactly where it is. Residents use the app. You can link to it from the site.
Do we have to run a migration project?
No, and that is the point. There is no redesign, no vendor onboarding, and no budget cycle. You can get a court schedule working this week.
Start with one thing
Tell us what your neighborhood is using now and what is not working. We will help you set up the piece that matters most, free.
- Help setting up your first schedule, calendar, or board
- A shareable link and printable QR code
- Keep your existing group for conversation
- No cost and no board approval needed
Where communities usually start
Pick the problem your neighborhood feels most.