How to Create a WooCommerce Members Only Store in Your ...

As both MemberPress and WooCommerce are powerful plugins when used together with the MemberPress WooCommerce Plus plugin, whatever you're trying ... SkiptomaincontentSkiptoprimarysidebarSkiptofooterAdditionalmenu GetMemberPresstoday!Startgettingpaidforthecontentyoucreate! GetMemberPressNow Creatinganonlinestoreforyourmembershipsite—orevenjustofferingoneortwoproductsyourmemberscanbuy—isagreatwaytoaddanotherrevenuestreamtoyourproject. Perhapsyouwanttoofferextrastoyourpayingmembers,suchasdownloadablefiles,brandedclothing,orsomeothertypeofproduct.Maybeyou’dliketogiveyourmembershipcontentawayforfreebutgiveyouruserstheopportunitytopurchaseitemslikecontentupgradesoraccesstoanewsletter. Nomatterthetopicofyourwebsiteorthewayit’scurrentlybeingmonetized,thereareplentyofbenefitstosettingupamembers-onlyonlinestore. Inthisguide,we’llshowyouhowtocreateanonlinestoreinyourMemberPresssite.Ifyoudon'talreadyhaveMemberPress,youcancheckitouthere. Providedthatyou’reusingWordPress—oryou’repreparedtoswitch—bythetimeyou’vefinishedthisarticleyou’llbereadytolistphysicalproductsordigitaldownloadsforsaleinsideofyourmembershipsite. Let’sgetstarted! WhyCreateanOnlineStoreinYourMembershipSite? Listingitemsforsale,whetherthey'rephysicalproductslikemerchandise,books,orequipment,ordigitaldownloadssuchassoftwareapps,audioandvideofiles,oreBooks,isapopularwaytogeneratemorerevenuefromyourmembershipsite. Whilegivingawaycontentforfreeisaprovenwaytomarketyourmembershipsite,youdon’thavetomakeeverythingfreelyavailable.Afterall,ifyourmembershipsiteisn’tprofitable,itprobablywon’tbeviableforlong. Forcontentthatfallsoutsidetheexistingpricingstructureofyourmembershipsite,suchassupplementaryfilesorbrandedt-shirts,allowingmembers-onlyshoppingthroughanonlinestoreisastraightforwardwaytomakethoseitemsavailabletoyourmembers. Asisoftenthecase,ifyou’reusingWordPressforyourmembershipsite,addingecommercefunctionalitytoyourwebsiteisverystraightforwardandprobablyeasierthanyouthink. Bytheendofthisguide,you’llknowexactlyhowtocreateanonlinestoreinyourmembershipsiteandcontrolwhocanaccessitsproducts. ChooseanEcommerceWordPressPlugin Outofthebox,WordPressdoesn’thavetheabilitytosellitemsonline.However,thankstosomeexcellentfreeplugins,youcaneasilyaddthisfunctionalitytoyourwebsite. Whenitcomestocreatingamembers-onlyonlinestoreforyourmembershipsite,werecommendWooCommercetogetherwiththeMemberPressWooCommercePluspluginbyHappyPlugins. WooCommerceisnowownedbyAutomattic,thecompanybehindWordPress.comandcorecontributortotheWordPresssoftware.SoyoucouldsaythatWooCommerceiseffectivelytheofficialecommercepluginforWordPress. WhilethereareotherecommercepluginsforWordPress,WooCommerceisfreetouse,easytounderstand,andcanbeextendedincountlesswaysthankstoitslibraryoffreeandpaidadd-ons. AnotherworthymentionisMemberPress'sisterapp,BuyNowPlus.WithBuyNowPlus,youcanquicklycreatebuynowbuttonsthatmakeforaneasyandstress-freecheckout.BuyNowPlusisabsolutelyfreeofchargeandeasytouseasapaymentgatewayforyourMemberPresssiteandbeyond. InstallanEcommercePlugin IfyoudodecidetouseWooCommerce,youshouldinstallitonyourwebsitedirectlyfrominsideyourWordPressDashboardbeforeinstallingtheMemberPressWooCommercePlusplugin. SimplylogintoyouradminareaandnavigatetothePluginspage.ThenclickontheAddNewbuttonandenterWooCommerceinthesearchfield. Next,clickontheInstallNowbuttonfortheWooCommercepluginfollowedbytheActivatebutton.TheWooCommercesetupwizardshouldbedisplayedtowalkyouthroughconfiguringyourstore. Oneimportantsettingonthewizardestablisheswhetheryouwanttosellphysicalproducts,digitalproducts,orboth.Youcanchangethislater,butit’sagoodideatochoosetherightoptionfromtheoutset. Onceyou’vecompletedthewizardyoucaninstalltheMemberPressWooCommercePluspluginandstartcreatingthefirstproductforyourmembershipsiteonlinestore. CreateaProduct WithWooCommerceactiveonyoursite,you’llseethatanewposttypecalledProductshasbeenaddedtoWordPress.Tocreatethefirstitemforyouronlinestore,clickontheAddNewitemundertheProductsmenu. FromtheAddNewProductscreen,youcanenterthedetailsofyourproduct.WooCommerceletsyouaddaproducttitleanddescriptioninthemaincontentarea. Ifyouscrolldownthepage,there’saspaceforaddingashortproductdescriptionthatwillbedisplayedonthecategorypagesofyoursiteandotherareas,dependingonyourtheme'ssettings. Youcanalsouploadaproductimageaswellasacollectionofimagesthataredisplayedintheproductgallery.AswithregularWordPressposts,youcanusecategoriesandtagstoorganizeyourproducts. Onceyou’veenteredthemainproductinformation,youcanmoveontoconfiguringyourproductbylocatingtheProductdataboxonthesamepage. ThefreeversionofWooCommercegivesyoulotsofcontroloverthetypesofproductsyoucancreate.Forexample,youcancreateschedulesthatcontrolwhenaproductisreducedinprice,setalimitonhowmanytimesadigitalproductcanbepurchased,andcreatelinkedandgroupedproducts. It’shighlyrecommendedthatyouexplorealltheoptionsandsettingstoensurethatyourproductsareconfiguredinanoptimalwayforyourwebsiteanditsmembers. It’salsoagoodideatogiveeachproductauniquestockkeepingunit(SKU)numbertomakeitmoreeasilyidentifiableonyourwebsite.TheSKUfieldcanbefoundundertheInventorytabontheProductDatapanel. Onceyourproductisready,youcanpublishittomakeitavailabletoyourwebsitevisitors.However,inthenextsectionofthisguide,we'llcoverhowtomaketheproductavailabletoyourmembersalone. PublishingYourProducts Bydefault,publishedproductswillbeaccessibleonyourwebsitelikearegularpage.Youcaninsertlinkstotheproductsintotheothercontentonyoursite,suchaspostsandpages,oraddlinkstothemenusandsidebarsofyourwebsite. However,ifyouwanttocreateanonlinestoreinsideyourmembershipsitethat’sonlyavailabletoyourmembers,you’llneedtoadjustafewofthesettings. OneoptionistoclickontheEditlinknexttotheCatalogvisibilityoptiononthePublishpaneloftheproductpage.Doingsorevealsthecontrolsthatletyousetthestatusoftheproduct. Ahiddenstatusmeansthattheproductwon’tbedisplayedonyoursiteunlessavisitorfollowsadirectlinktothatproductoryouinserttheproductintoapieceofcontentonyoursiteusingtheWooCommerceshortcodes. Thereareafewexceptions,butgenerally,settingthestatustohiddenmakesitunlikelythataregularvisitortoyoursitewillfindtheproduct. Youcanthenmaketheproductavailabletoyourmembersbyinsertingtheproduct—oralinktotheproduct—intooneofthepagesorpostsonyoursitethatonlyyourmemberscanaccess. Alternatively,youcancreatearuleinMemberPresssothatonlymembersormembersonacertainmembershipplancanaccesstheproducts. Todoso,clickonRulesfromtheMemberPressmenu.ThencreateanewruleandselectAllProductsfromtheProtectedContentdrop-downmenu.Youcanthensettheaccessconditionssothatonlymemberscanaccesstheproducts. MemberPresshassophisticatedrulefunctionality,soyoucaneasilyrestrictaccesstosomeproductsorindividualproducts.Thisisespeciallyusefulifyouwanttosellproductsthatanyonecanbuyaswellasproductsthatarereservedforyourmembers. Anotheroptionistorestrictaccesstothecheckoutpagesofyourstorebutmakeyourproductpagesavailable.Thisapproachcouldhelpincreasesign-upstoyourmembershipsite,asauserwouldhavetobecomeamembertocompleteapurchase.  YoucanfindoutmoreabouttheMemberPressrulessettingsinthecorrespondingplugindocumentation. There’slotsmoreyoucandowithWooCommerceandMemberPress,sobesuretoexperimentwiththesetwopluginsandexploretheirsettingsandonlinedocumentation. DoyouNeedanEcommerceWordPressTheme? Ifyou’restartinganewmembershipsitethatwillhaveamembers-onlyonlinestore,oryoujustwanttoofferafewitemsforsale,thenit’sagoodideatochooseaWordPressthemethathasgoodecommercesupport(withWooCommercesupportinparticular). AlthoughanygoodWordPressthemeshouldworkwithWooCommerceandtheotherleadingecommerceplugins,choosingaspecificallyecommerce-compatiblethemeusuallymeansyou’llgetaccesstopurpose-builttemplatesforallthepagesyouronlinestorewillneed. Thesetemplatesusuallyincludeashoppingcart,checkout,andcustomerdashboardareas.Dependingonyourchosentheme,youmightalsogetaccesstoextraslikeone-clickcheckouts,wishlists,andotherfeaturesfoundatpopularonlinestores. However,ifyourmembershipsiteisalreadyupandrunningandyou’rehappywithyourchoiceofWordPresstheme,youdon’thavetoswitchtoanecommerce-focusedoptionifyoudon’twantto. Asmentioned,mostgoodthemesshouldworkwellenoughwithpluginslikeWooCommerce.Ifyoufindthatyouwouldliketoaddsomeextraecommerce-focusedpagestoyourwebsitebutdon’twanttochangethemes,youcouldtrycreatingthemyourselfwithapagebuilderpluginlikeElementor. AWordonShippingSolutions Ifyou'vegotphysicalgoods,you'vegottahavephysicalshipping.WehighlyrecommendtheWooCommerceShippingServicespluginbyPluginHive. Asthe#1shippingsolutionforWooCommercestoreowners,thepluginallowsyoutoautomateshippingwithliverates.Italsofeaturesone-clicklabelprintingandordertrackingforthebigguyslikeUPS,USPS,FedEx,DHL,Stamps,Aramex,BlueDart,AustraliaPost,CanadaPost,andmore. WooCommerceShippingServicesplansstartat$9permonth,andtheyoffera14dayfreetrialsoyoucantrybeforeyoubuy. FinalThoughts Hopefully,you’renowreadytostartlistingproductsonyourwebsitethatyourmemberscanviewandpurchase. AsbothMemberPressandWooCommercearepowerfulpluginswhenusedtogetherwiththeMemberPressWooCommercePlusplugin,whateveryou’retryingtoachievewithyourmembershipsiteandonlinestore,youshouldbeabletoaccomplishit. IfyouhaveanyquestionsabouthowtocreateaWooCommercemembersonlystoreinyourmembershipsite,letusknowinthecomments! Ifyoulikedthisarticle,besuretofollowusonFacebook,Twitter,Instagram,andLinkedIn!Anddon'tforgettosubscribeintheboxbelow. AffiliateLinkDisclosure AboutJoeFylanJoeisacertifiedWordPresswhizwhostaysbusycreatingWordPresswebsites,includingMemberPresssites,ontheregular.Joelovessharinghisexpertisewithotherusersoutthere.CheckoutallhislatestWordPressnewsandreviewsatGetWebTips. AddaCommentCancelreplyThanksforchoosingtoleaveacomment!Pleasekeepinmindthatallcommentsaremoderatedaccordingtoourprivacypolicy,andalllinksarenofollow.Pleasedon'tusekeywordsinthenamefield.Let'shaveapersonalandmeaningfulconversation.Name* Email* ThissiteisprotectedbyreCAPTCHAandtheGooglePrivacyPolicyandTermsofServiceapply. Comment Δ ReaderInteractions5commentson"HowtoCreateaWooCommerceMembersOnlyStoreinYourMembershipSite" JeffBairdJanuary24,2021 HiJoe, IfI’mnotmistaken,IthinkthisisthefirsttimeMemberPresshasrecommendedthepluginbyHappyPlugins.I’mgladtoseethatyourecommendit.Haveyoudonetestingonitand/orhaveyouheardfromusersthathaveimplementedthissuccessfully? Jeff Reply PaulCJanuary28,2021 Yes,oneofourdevelopersransometestswithitbeforewepromotedit–wedon’thavealotoffeedbackfromcustomer’syetasit’sstillquitenew.Butthelittlewe’veheardseemspositivesofar.Ofcoursethey’restilladdingnewfeaturesandbug-fixesallthetime–soweexpecttheirintegrationwillonlygetbetterwithtime. Reply BradCrowellFebruary3,2021 HiJoe, Alsogladtohearyou’repromotingtheHappyPluginsbridgetool,butI’mwonderingwhyyouchosetousethatpluginintheabovescenarioatall.Whatfunctionalityisitbringingintotheequation?Ifyouwantedtoofferproductsonlytoyourmembers,can’tyoujusthideaproduct(orcategoryofproducts)fromthepublicWCcatalogusingasnippet,andthenembeditintoaprotectedpage?-brad Reply PaulCFebruary4,2021 HiBrad,Ithinkthebiggestbenefitisthattheuser’scanpurchasemorethanonemembershipatatimeusingWooCommerce’scartfunctionality.Orbuyamembershipandaproductatthesametime.AnotherbenefitisthatitopensyourmembershipsuptothehugeecosystemofWooCommercewhichallowsmanymorepaymentgatewayoptionsandotherintegrationsthatMPdoesn’tyetsupport.Hopethathelps! Reply BobTolbertMay31,2021 HiJoeandPaul, ThankyouforrecommendingMemberPressWooCommercePlus. Yes,weareindeedaddingnewfeaturestothepluginallthetimebasedoncustomersfeedback. Fromthetimethepluginwasreleasedabout8monthsagowehaveaddedmanyfeatures,andwearealwaysopenforsuggestions(throughoursupportteam). Wehavereceivedgreatresponsessofar🙂 Thanksagainforyourkindwords! Regards,Bob Reply PrimarySidebar Nevermissanyofourtips,tricks,andnews SubscribetotheMemberPressblogtoday! SeeAllFeatures PopularResources AreYouUnderpricingYourMemberships?(4FactorstoConsider) HowtoStartaBusinessonaBudgetToday(9Examples) Whatisthe“AmericanInnovationandChoiceOnlineAct”? FreelanceOrContract:WhichIsRightForYourNewOnlineBusiness? 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