Virtual online communities spread by advertisement of interesting topics, themes, and issues that people will find attractive and interesting and thus, want to explore such topics by visiting the site and seeing what it has to offer them. Virtual communities also spread by linking to other popular sites that are often visited by people on the Internet. Having links to another site increases the chance that people will visit your online community because they would be curious about what your site has to offer. The more accessible your online community site is to the audience who use the Internet, the more likely your community will grow and expand. Another way in which virtual communities spread is by members encouraging friends, colleagues, and family members to join the online community.
Online communities can also spread via online surveys, contests, parties and meetings.
For a virtual community to grow, it must be willing to facilitate the growth of the community by setting rules which will help make the community grow. There are many different types of virtual online communities. There are online chat rooms, newsgroups, shopping malls, and many more. Real time is when people interact as if they were face to face. They simultaneously communicate with each other without much delay in receiving the message or responding back.