How to use OnlineComrade
Everything the site can do, in the order you are likely to need it. If you only read one section, make it the first one — the whole site works on a single idea.
The one idea behind the whole site
There is no separate form for jobs, houses, events and products. There is one form. You choose a tag, and that tag decides which page your post appears on.
You never have to hunt for the right page to post on. Post once from your portal, choose the tag, and the site files it correctly. The colour of each tag follows it everywhere — so a blue chip on a card always means a job.
Getting started
Browsing needs no account. Posting, messaging and following do.
Create a free account
Name, username, email, password. No fee, no card, nothing to install. Your username cannot be changed later, so pick one you are happy with.
Fill in your profile
Add a picture and a line about yourself under My Portal → My profile. People are far more likely to reply to someone who looks real.
Find your portal
My portal in the menu is where everything you do lives: your posts, messages, profile, business, and a guide. Your picture in the top corner takes you there too.
Making a post
About a minute, start to finish. Go to My Portal → Create post.
Choose what you are posting
This comes first because it changes the rest of the form. Choose Job and you are asked for salary and a deadline. Choose Vacant House and you are asked for rent and deposit instead.
Pick a category
Required, and the list changes to match your tag — job categories for a job, product categories for an item. A subcategory is optional, and if none of ours fits, tick “Mine is not listed” and type your own.
Write a title people would search for
“Two bedroom in Amalemba, 12k” beats “house available”. The title is what appears on cards and what search matches first.
Add photos
Up to five. Photos straight from your phone are fine — they are shrunk and compressed automatically. The first photo becomes the main image on listing pages, so put your best one first.
Add your WhatsApp number
Any format works — 07… or +254… — it is tidied up automatically. This is what powers the WhatsApp button on your post.
Publish
Most posts are checked before going live. You will see Awaiting review against it until then, usually a few hours.
Managing what you posted
My Portal → My posts lists everything you have shared.
Edit
Fix anything at any time. Edits stay live — they do not go back for review.
Mark sold
Puts a Sold badge on the card. Better than deleting: people still see what you stock.
Delete
Removes it for good. Use this for things you will never offer again.
Check the status
Awaiting review means not public yet. Live means anyone can see it.
Finding what you need
Every listing page has the same three tools, and they work slightly differently on purpose.
The search box
Looks across every category, and searches far more than titles — descriptions, locations, employers, venues, house types and category names all count.
The quick filters
The row of pills above the search box. Each is a real category with a count, and categories with nothing in them are hidden — so a pill never leads to an empty page.
Sorting
Newest first, price low to high, price high to low, most liked, or A to Z. Sorting combines with either a search or a category.
Typing a search clears any category you had selected, and picking a category clears the search box. That is deliberate: a search that is quietly limited to one category is the fastest way to think something is not on the site when it is.
You will see “No matches found” rather than a page of unrelated listings. Try a shorter word — searching “bedsit” finds bedsitter, and common local words work too, so “mtumba” finds thrift listings.
Contacting the person who posted
Two ways, and most people here use the first.
The green button on any post opens WhatsApp with the message already written, naming the item — so the seller immediately knows which one you mean.
Message on the site
For when you would rather not share your number. Conversations live in My Portal → Messages, and the thread shows which listing it is about.
You can send photos and emoji, search for any member by username to start a new chat, and press and hold any message to reply to it directly or react to it. A number badge in the menu means you have something unread.
Listing your business
Free, and the single most useful thing on the site if you sell anything regularly.
Turn on your business account
Open My Portal → My business. If you registered as an ordinary member there is a button to switch — one click, free.
Fill in the form once
Name, logo, description, up to three categories, contacts, location, a maps link, opening hours, what you sell, and your terms of business. You can add promotional posters too.
Post your products
Any product you post attaches to your business automatically and appears on your page as well as in the Market.
Collect reviews and get verified
Customers leave a star rating and a comment. Once we confirm you are real, a blue checkmark appears next to your name everywhere. Verification is free and cannot be bought.
Payment, delivery, returns, warranty. It is the section customers read hardest before spending money with someone new, and the one that most often decides whether they do.
How many products you can list
Only products count against a limit. Jobs, houses, events, updates and offers are unlimited — those bring people back to the site, so we would rather have more of them.
| Account | Products at a time | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Member | 5 | Just sign up |
| Registered business | 15 | Free — set up your business page |
| Premium business | 50 | Contact us about upgrading |
Delete something that has already sold, or register your business to move from 5 to 15 at no cost. Your portal overview shows how many slots you have used.
Staying safe
No money passes through this site, so these habits are what protect you.
Meet in public
Daylight, somewhere busy. Bring a friend for anything expensive.
Check before you pay
Test electronics. View the house. Pay once the thing is in your hands.
Never pay for a job
No genuine employer charges an application, training or registration fee.
Report anything wrong
Every post and business page has a Report link at the bottom. Reports are private.
Ready to post something?
A room to let, a job going, an event this weekend, or something you are selling.
Following, likes and comments
The parts that make it worth coming back rather than visiting once.
Like
The heart on any card or post. It saves nothing — it simply tells the poster people are interested, and feeds the “most liked” sort.
Comment
Ask publicly when the answer helps everyone — “what time does it start?” is better asked in the open than five times in private.
Follow a member
Keep track of someone who posts things you want. Their profile shows everything they have shared.
Subscribe to a business
Keeps you across their new products and offers. Your portal overview lists everyone you follow.