How to Manage a WordPress Membership Website Successfully

So, you’ve decided to create a website that requires users to pay for a membership, in order to access otherwise restricted content. Furthermore, you’ve chosen WordPress – nicely done.

However, a question still arises: how do you build and manage your membership website properly? What’s more, how do you grow your audience, and create a great community of loyal followers?

Let’s answer the questions step by step.

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How to Manage a WordPress Membership Website: 6 Easy Steps

1. Build Your WordPress Website
2. Add a Membership Plugin
3. Configure Membership Options
4. Set Membership Levels And Restrictions
5. Create Content For Members Only
6. Include Sign-Up And Login Forms

1. Build Your WordPress Website

Naturally, the two steps you have to complete, in order to create a website, are to purchase a domain name and choose a hosting type and provider.

After that, you can simply download WordPress, and start customizing your website by picking a theme, tweaking the settings, and so on.

2. Add a Membership Plugin

Select a WordPress membership plugin for your website. Some of the most popular ones are Ultimate Member, Simple Membership, ARMember, Ultimate Membership Pro, etc.

You can also use an add-on for other plugins, such as the WP Forms User Registration add-on. After you’ve decided on a plugin, and installed it, your users will be able to register on your website.

3. Configure Membership Options

Next up, membership websites usually provide different tier-levels of subscriptions, so it would be a good idea to do that for your own site, as well.

Additionally, you should look to add various payment options, in order to make it easier and more convenient for users who want to subscribe.

Typically, it’s good to include payment options with a debit card, credit card, and PayPal. You can further enhance the user experience by adding other forms of payment methods like Revolut, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.

4. Set Membership Levels And Restrictions

WordPress membership management cannot go without setting the proper levels of membership, with their respective restrictions.

The common practice is to set three levels of membership, but you can configure them based on your strategy, and preferences. Three tiers of membership will usually look like this:

• Bronze (free).
• Silver ($10-15).
• Gold ($20-30).

5. Create Content for Members Only

Of course, the goal of a membership website is to encourage users to subscribe, if they want to be able to access content. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have any free materials, or limit your content to non-members.

Instead, use a free trial strategy, or a limited access tactic that allows people to get hooked on your awesome content, and then decide to pay you to access them.

What’s more, another common strategy is to offer a discount if a user decided to subscribe for an entire year. For instance, if the price is $10 per month, the yearly membership price could be set at $100, so that a user saves $20 if they choose the yearly option.

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6. Include Sign-Up and Login Forms

Last but not least, you need to set up sign-up and login forms, so that everything is wrapped and ready to go. You might think that this step is not as important as the previous ones, but it is.

Sign-up forms matter, because they can make the difference between a successful subscription and a user who stops being interested in what you offer. For instance, a proper subscription sign-up form should:

• Let users know exactly what they will get in return for subscribing.
• Have a privacy statement, explaining how you will use and protect their personal information.
• Include a link to a sample page, where users can get a preview of what they will get.
• Avoid too many fields in your form that put off potential subscribers.
• Prompt a user, if they’ve input an incorrect email address.
• Test your form to make sure it works properly on all levels.

Bonus: Practical Expert Tips

Our CEO Mario Peshev is undoubtedly a great inspiration for everyone that is looking to build a strong community, and grow their business. After all, developing a company from scratch and turning it into a top 20 WordPress agency worldwide, with numerous rewards, and recognition, is an accomplishment to be proud of.

But how did he do it?

First, Mario had been actively publishing on his personal blog and social media for many years. Only for the past 5 years, for example, he collectively published over 500 pieces of free, educational content: articles, questionnaires, videos, guides, slide decks.

This brings huge value, as it’s an extensive knowledge hub, cheat codes, if you will, that can help businessmen, entrepreneurs, mid-level managers, and even executives to achieve success.

Of course, the value comes from the fact that Mario is a business advisor that has worked with dozens of SMEs, and agencies.

So, for many years, everyone that followed Mario could learn from his knowledge. What’s more, he actively advertised his value proposition to his audience. This, naturally, led to an increase in traffic, more newsletter engagements, and more followers on his social media channels.

This also builds a lot of trust, since his followers have been reading his tips for years, and in the end, it’s much easier for them to decide to pay for a service, and gain access to the whole bank, containing hundreds of educational pieces.

In a nutshell, here are the main takeaway points for successfully building a great online community:

• Build trust.
• Be helpful.
• Give back to the community.
• Focus on what you offer.
• Develop authority and expertise.
• Be consistent.
• Advertise yourself.

Summary

You now have some insightful tips on how to manage a WordPress membership website – which can be the first steps towards achieving your plans.

In reality, WordPress membership management is not that hard, especially if you’ve already established a great online presence, and a loyal community of followers.

Don’t forget to follow DevriX, and Mario Peshev for more interesting tips, and useful business advice.