MemberPress Review: How Good Is It? Worth The Money ...

MemberPress is a simple, effective plugin for creating a membership site. It's great if you want to: ... However, it isn't for everyone. If you're ... Home/Plugins/MemberPressReview:HowGoodIsIt?WorthTheMoney?(2022) Tags–MemberPress,memberships,reviews MemberPressReview:HowGoodIsIt?WorthTheMoney?(2022) ByDiannaGunn Lastupdated:February17,2022 8Comments Oneofthebestwaystobuildasustainablebusinessonlineistocreateapaidmembershipprogram—and,ifyou’reaWordPressuser,youcandothiseasilybyusingamembershipplugin.InthisMemberPressreview,I’lltakeacomprehensivelookatoneofthemostpopularpluginsforthispurpose. Promotedasthe‘all-in-one’membershippluginforWordPress,MemberPressisknownforitseasysetupandnumerousintegrations.Inthisguide,I’llbecoveringthefollowing: WhattolookforinamembershippluginMemberPressFeaturesHowtouseMemberPressPricingTheoverallqualityofMemberPressWhattypesofbusinesseswillbenefitmostfromtheMemberPressplugin Bytheend,you’llknowwhetherornotMemberPressisagoodoptionforyouandyoursite. Let’sjumpin… Whattolookforinamembershipplugin Thereareseveralthingstoconsiderwhenlookingforamembershipplugin: Contentdripping:Thisisthepracticeofreleasingcontenttomembersatpre-setintervalsoveraperiodoftime—forexample,acoursethatsendsmodulesoutbyemailonceaweek.Thisisacommonfeatureinmembershipplugins,butsomearelimitedtothecreationoflockedwebsitecontent. Contentexpiration:Thisoptionallowsyoutolimitthelengthoftimemembershaveaccesstocertaincontent. Communitycreation:Oneofthebestwaystogetpeopleinvestedinyourmembershipsiteistoturnitintoacommunity.Somemembershippluginsofferbuilt-incommunityfunctions,suchasforums;othersofferintegrationswithspecializedforumplugins. Subscriptiontypes:Somepluginsmayonlyallowyoutocreateonetypeofpaidmembership,whileothersoffertieredpaymentplans. Subscriptionmanagement:Yourmembersshouldbeabletochangetheirsubscriptionlevel,pausetheirsubscriptionorcancelatanytime. Coupons:Youwanttobeabletooffercouponsandothertypesofdiscountstonewmembersduringpromotionalperiods. Ecommerceintegration:Ifyoueventuallywanttoselllockedcontentasproducts,lookforaplugincapableofintegratingwithWooCommerceoranotherecommerceplugin. Emailmarketingintegration:Themembershippluginyouchooseshouldintegratewithyourcurrentemailmarketingserviceprovider.Thiswillallowyoutosendautomatedmembers-onlycampaignsviaemail. Customization:Lookforapluginthatallowsyoutocustomizethecheckoutprocess.Youmayalsowanttobeabletocustomizetheappearanceofpagesinvolvedinthecheckoutprocess. Paymentprocessingoptions:SomepluginsareonlycompatiblewithPayPal;othersacceptpaymentviacreditcardusingAuthorize.netorStripe.Tomaximizeyourmoney-makingcapabilities,lookforapluginthatallowscustomerstochoosetheirpreferredpaymentmethod. Easeofuse:Thebestmembershippluginistheonethatfeelsintuitivetouse,soyoushouldbeabletosetthingsupwithoutextensivetechknowledge. Documentationandsupport:Whenyoudon’tknowwhattodo,youshouldhaveaneasytimefindinganswers,sothemembershippluginyouchooseshouldhavecomprehensivetutorialsavailable.Youalsowanttoconsiderwhatlevelofsupportisavailable—andlookatreviewstodeterminehowhelpfulthatsupportactuallyis. MemberPressReview MemberPressFeatures ThefollowingfeaturesareavailablewiththeMemberPressBasicplan: EasysetupUnlimitedmembershiplevelsAbilitytocreatepaidcontentsubscriptionsFullycustomizableaccessrulesforalltypesofcontentFullycustomizablepricingpagesCustomizablecouponsContentdrippingSubscriptionmanagementoptionsforusersEasyconnectiontoPayPalStandard,PayPalExpressCheckoutandStripeDetailedreportingComprehensivedocumentation,includinganexcellentusermanualandanemailcourse(Officialfeatureslist) HowtoUseMemberPress GetMemberPressworkingonYourWordPressSite Thefirstthingyou’llneedtodoissignupfortheplanyouwant.Thesignupprocessissimple,requiringonlyyouremailaddressandyourpayment.Onceyou’vepaid,you’llbepromptedtoentersomeinformationaboutyourbusiness. Onceyou’veenteredtheappropriateinformation,you’llberedirectedtotheoverviewtaboftheMemberPressdashboard.Clickonthe‘Downloads’link. ThiswilltakeyoutoapagewhereyoucandownloadtheMemberPressplugin,andwhereyoucanalsofindtheactivationkey,informationaboutyourrenewaldateandafulllistofMemberPressadd-ons. Clickontheorange‘Download’buttontograbyourplugin. Onceyou’vedownloadedMemberPress,openyourWordPressadminpanelinanewtab,andselect‘Plugins>Addnew’fromthemenu.ThiswilltakeyoutoapagewhereyoucanuploadapluginorsearchforpluginsintheWordPressdatabase.Click‘UploadPlugin’,selecttheMemberPressZIPfileandpress‘Install’. WordPresswillthenunpacktheZIPfile.Thisshouldonlytakeacoupleofminutes,andyou’llautomaticallybeaskedtoactivatethepluginwhenitfinishesinstalling. Next,gotothe‘Settings’areaoftheMemberPressplugin,andcopyandpastethelicensekeyfromyourMemberPressaccountintotheboxprovided.ThiswillensureyourMemberPressaccountautomaticallyreceivesupdates. ConnectaPaymentGateway ThefirstthingyouwanttodooncetheMemberPresspluginisinstalledandactivatedisconnectapaymentgateway.Todothis,returntothe‘Settings’areaoftheMemberPresspluginandnavigatetothe‘Payments’tab.Oncethere,clickonthegrey‘+’button. Aboxwillappeartoaskforsomebasicinformation.Namethepaymentmethodandselecttheappropriategatewayfromthedropdownmenu. Next,MemberPresswillaskyoutofillinsomeaccountinformationforthepaymentgatewayyou’vechosen—thiswillvarybasedonthespecificplatformyou’vechosen. Whenalloftheinformationiscompleted,youcanclick‘UpdateOptions’atthebottomofthepagetosaveyournewpaymentmethod. CreateYourFirstMembershipLevel Nowyou’veconnectedapaymentgateway,it’stimetoexplorehowtocreatemembershiplevels.Todothis,you’llneedtoclickonthe‘Memberships’linkinyoursidebar,whichwilltakeyoutoanareawhereyoucanmanageyourmembershiptiers.Pressthe‘AddNew’buttonnearthetopofthepageandyou’llbetakentothemembershipcreationpage. Atthetopofthepage,you’llfindareasfortheleveltitleanddescription.TheseareasusetheWordPressbloggingsoftware,allowingyoutoformatyourmembershipdescriptionasyouwouldanyotherpage. Therightsidebaronthispageallowsyoutosetthetermsforthismembershiplevel.Enterthedesiredpricefirsttounlocktheabilitytochoosebetweenone-timepaymentsandrecurringpayments.Ifyouchooserecurringpayments,you’llbegivenfurtheroptionsforcustomization: Youcanrequirerecurringpaymentsonavarietyofintervals: WeeklyMonthlyEverythreemonthsEverysixmonthsYearly Youcanalsochoosetoincludeafreeorpaidtrialperiod.Ifyouchoosetoincludeatrialperiod,youcanspecifytheprecisenumberofdaysandcostofthetrial. Next,scrolldownthepagetotheMembershipOptionsarea. Thisareaallowsyoutocustomizenumerousaspectsoftheuserexperienceatthislevel: The‘ThankYou’pagecustomersseeuponpurchaseThewelcomeemailPaymentmethodsWhatinformationisrequestedfromusersWhocanpurchasethislevelofmembershipTheappearanceofthepriceboxWherecustomerswiththislevelofmembershiparesentwhentheylogintoyourwebsite Whenyou’vefinishedcustomizingthispartofthemembership,you’rereadytopublishusingthe‘Publish‘buttonintheright-handsidebar.Youmayalsochoosetoaddafeaturedimagetothemembership,althoughthisisn’trequired. CreateRules Thenextstepofbuildingmembershipsistocreaterulesforhowtheycaninteractwithyourcontent.Youcandothisbygoingtothe‘Rules’sectionofMemberPressandclickingthe‘AddNew’buttonnearthetop. Thiswilltakeyoutoapagewhereyoucandeterminethespecificsofyournewrule,allowingyoutochoosewhatcontentisprotectedbythisruleandwhatrequirementsusersmustmeettoaccessthecontent. Furtherdownthepage,you’llfindtwocheckboxesthatallowyoutoenablecontentdrippingorexpiration.Ifyouchooseoneoftheseoptions,MemberPresswillpromptyoutospecifywhattriggersthisevent.Youmustalsospecifythelengthoftimebetweenthetriggeringactionandthereleaseofthiscontent. Onceyou’resatisfiedwiththesesettings,youcanscrollbackupthepageandclick‘SaveRule’intheright-handsidebar.Thiswillimmediatelyputtheruleintoaction. Add-onsandIntegrations YoucanfurtherimproveyourmembershipofferingswithMemberPressadd-ons.Therearetwomaintypesofadd-onsincludedwiththeBasicplan: Emailmarketingintegrations:MemberPressoffersintegrationswithnumerousemailmarketingtools,includingAWeber,ConstantContactandMailPoet(readourreview).Theseintegrationsallowyoutocreateautomatedmembers-onlyemailcampaigns.MemberPressexpansions:Theseareadd-onscreatedtogiveMemberPressadditionalfunctions,suchasthecreationofPDFinvoices. MemberPressalsoofferssomeintegrationswithothertools,suchasbbPress. Alloftheseadd-onscanbeinstalledonyourWordPresssitewithasingleclick.Iftheadd-onconnectstoanoutsideservice,you’llneedtomanuallyconnectMemberPresstoyouraccountwiththeservice. Analytics Toreviewthesuccessofyourmembershipprogram,gotothe‘Reports’areaofMemberPress.Thiswilltakeyoutoapagewhereyoucanviewthedetailsofhowmembersareinteractingwithyoursite: Thispagealsofeatureslinegraphstotrackdifferenttypesoftransactions. YoucanaccessevenmoredetailedMemberPressanalyticsthroughtheProsubscriptiontotheMonsterInsightsplugin.ForthepurposesofthisMemberPressreview,I’llassumeyoudon’twishtopurchaseanyadditionalplugins. MemberPressPricing TheBasicMemberPressplanisavailablefor$249ayear.Atthislevel,MemberPresscostsroughlythesameasothertopmembershipplugins,suchasWPCourseware. MemberPressalsoofferstwootherplans: Plus:Availablefor$399ayear,thisplanoffersallofthefeaturesoftheBasicplanonuptotwosites.ItalsoallowsyoutoacceptpaymentsthroughAuthorize.net,sellcorporatemembershipsandaccessmoreintegrations.Pro:Availablefor$549ayear,thisplanoffersallofthefeaturesofthePlusplanonuptofivesites,aswellasexclusiveadd-ons.Lastbutcertainlynotleast,choosingtheProplanalsogivesyouaccesstoAffiliateRoyale,apluginthatallowsyoutocreateanaffiliateprogram. MemberPressReview:MyExperience MemberPressis,forthemostpart,arealpleasuretouse.TheinterfaceoperatessmoothlyaspartoftheWordPressadminpanel,andeventhemostadvancedfeaturesareeasytoworkwith. Idid,however,findmyselfdisappointedwithsomeofthethingsnotincludedinthisplugin.Severaloftheadd-onsprovidedcapabilitiesthatfeltliketheyshouldhavebeenbuiltintotheplugin,suchastheabilitytoaddaCaptchatothesignupprocess. AnotherthingIfoundlackingwastheform-buildingcapacity.There’snoabilitytochoosecustomfieldsfortheuserlogin,registrationoraccountforms.It’salsoimpossibletocustomizetheappearanceoftheseforms. MemberPressReview:ThePros Easysetup.Highlycustomizablemembershiplevels.Abilitytocreateasmanymembershiplevelsasyouwant.Customizablecontentdripping.Customizablecontentexpiration.Integrationwithnumerousemailmarketingservicesandothertools.Highlycustomizablecoupons.AbilitytosegmentmembershiplevelswithGroups.Comprehensivereporting. MemberPressReview:TheCons Lackofcustomizationforregistrationandloginforms.Nolifetimepurchaseoption,makingthepluginquiteexpensiveovertime.Featuresthatshouldbebuilt-inaresometimesbilledasadd-ons.Lackofbuilt-inforumtechnology. IsMemberPressforYou? MemberPressisasimple,effectivepluginforcreatingamembershipsite.It’sgreatifyouwantto: buildasimplemembershipsitewithwalledcontentruncoursesoffersubscriptionstoyourcontent. However,itisn’tforeveryone.Ifyou’relookingtobuildapaidcommunity,youmaywanttoconsideramembershippluginwithbuilt-inforumtechnology,suchasLearnDash(readourreview).YoumayalsowanttoconsideranotherpluginifMemberPressdoesn’tofferintegrationwithyouremailmarketingservice,suchasWPCourseware. Used/usingMemberPress?Thoughts? ByDiannaGunn DiannaGunnisafreelanceSEOstrategist,consultantandeditor.She'sobsessedwithallthingsmarketingandisalwaysstudyingthelatestdevelopmentsandstrategies.Findoutmoreaboutheratwww.thedabbler.ca. Relatedposts TOPDEALS Save20%onanyThemifypurchase! Get4-monthsoffBasicSubscriptions! Upto4-monthsfreewithWPEngine! (viewalldeals) Comments(policy) Justafootnotetomyothercommentandinreferencetothearticle.ThePropackagenolongerincludestheAffiliateprogramproduct.Insteadtheyhavesome3monthtrialsofotherthingsandtheAffiliateoneisatotallyseparatepurchase.WhichisalsoashameaswantedanaffiliateprogramforthemembershipI’mbuilding. Reply Hi,I’vehadMemberPressinstalledsince2019andthisyearhasbeenseriesofdoublecharges,duplicatecharges,feesnotassociatedwiththecorrectmemberaccount.IreachedouttoSupportforhelpandsentthemalloftheinfotheyrequestedandintheendtheysaidIwasatfault–thentheyofferedtorefundmymoney. Thatismajorredflagwhenthedeveloperisunabletodiagnoseandproblemandofferstorefundthesoftware. Iwillbemakingaswitchtoadifferentmembershipsoftwaremaker.Buyersbewarned. NS Reply Iagree–hadstartedtobuildmysitesusingMemberPressasthemissingplugintoallowbetterintegrationwithActiveCampaign.Laidoutadecentamountofcashforthe5sitelicencewhichadequatelycoveredme,butnowforsomereasonstagingsitesareincludedasafulllicence–despitetheirFAQssayingspecificallyadevelopmentsitewasnotincludedinthelicenceaccount. EmailedtheirsupportpointingoutthisandjustkeepgettingthesamereplyoverandoverthatIcanalwaysremovethelicencefromproductionwhenIwanttotestinstaging–whichwouldbreakmysiteinliveandistime-consuming.Allotherpremiumpluginsnowarerecognisingcertainsub-domainnamesasstaging,oraskyoutoputalineofcodeinyourconfigthatitcanlookfor. NowlookingintootheroptionsandhaverequestedrefundforfalseadvertisingandtakenascreenshotoftheFAQpage. Reply ComparethepricingofMemberPresswithforexampleMicrosoftOffice.M/SOfficeisaboutaquarteroftheprice.Thenlookatthefunctionality–bangsforbucksasyouAmericansliketosay.Officehasso,somuchmorewithWord,Excel(averypowerfultool),PowerpointandAccess–justtonamethefourmainmodulesyougetwiththelicence. ThenconsiderMemberPress.Vastlymoreexpensiveandlet’sbehonest–notexactltyearthshatteringfunctionality.Theformsforbuildingmembershipssubscriptionsarenothingifnotterrible.Theunderlyingstructureitsitson–providedfreetoitbytheworkofothers.Thelackofobviousways(withoutprogrammingmyself)tosetupamembershipnumbergeneration.TheUserIDendsupplayingthatrolewhichagainmeansMPhasn’tbotheredtothinkyoumightwanttohaveasettingwhereyouputinaformat.Let’sputitthisway,IusePageFormsonMediawiki–whichisafreeappandithasmorefunctionalitythanMP. Iboughtthe1styearbecausetimemeantIhadtochooseamembershipappIhadtochooseasystemI’dseenworking.HoweverovertheyearIwilllookforanalternative.MyoverallratingforMPis4/10. Reply IcancelledtheirservicelastyearandwasstillautodraftedthroughPayPalforasubscriptionmonthslater.Myaccountdoesn’tshowasubscription,invoice,anything.Theirphonenumberisdisconnectedandtheydon’treturnemails.PayPalisn’thelpfulinthesesituationseithersoIhadtoclosethataccountsoCaseProof(MemberPress)doesn’ttakeanother$99. Reply Thedocumentationisterrible.Bothwrittenandvideouserdocumentationincludesscreenshotsofoldsystem/UI,notcurrentoptionsandsettings.Neitherthewrittennorvideopresentationsgiveallthesteps/details.Oftenonlyacoupleofstepsaredetailedthentheinstructionsswitchtoadvanced/customsettingsleavingtheusertotrytoguesswhattodoabouttheothersettings. VERYdisappointedwiththepoorqualityofwrittenandvideousermaterials–andyougettowaithoursforaresponsefromcustomerservice. Reply Theircustomerserviceisdismal.Theyfailtofollowupandliterallyblankemailsfrompayingcustomerswithoutsomuchasaresponse.Theywerehappytohelpwithgenericresponsesuntilthegoinggottough.Lookelsewhere. Reply Hey! IseeJason’scomment,butIneedtoputagreatwordinforMemberpressasacounter-balancetohiscomment. IhaveusedMPsince2014andeverythingworksjustgreat.IamaconsumerandnotaphpdevelopersoIcan’tcommenton“codequality.” Idohavetodoadmintasksthough,andeverythingisdoable.Initialsetupwithpaymentgatewayswastricky,butalotofthathastodowithPaypal’sweaknesses. Ihaveabusyguitarlessonsite,Ihavedifferentmembershiptiers,canlockdownvariouspages.ItintegratesfullywithConvertkitandPaypalandStripe. Iloveit–sofar,sogood(after6years.) AR Reply LeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*CommentName* Email* Website Δ Allcommentsareheldformoderation.We'llonlypublishcommentsthatareontopicandadheretoourCommentingPolicy. 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