How to Turn Your Blog into a Membership Site with WordPress

If you’re thinking of creating a membership site, it’s essential to know what goes into the process and why it may or may not work for your business. A membership site is a website that requires users to sign up or pay a fee to access its content. Consider premium services like Netflix or Hulu. Users are required to make a monthly payment if they want to use these platforms.

Put more simply, it’s gated content that works to build an audience because it delivers content specific to what the user wants. Only people who care about your products and services are going to pay for them or sign up for your email list, so it narrows down your target market significantly and shows you who’s loyal to your brand.

Benefits of a membership site

You might be wondering what benefits come from having a membership site, and there are plenty if you’re in the right business. You can sell anything from physical to digital goods and you get to decide how to market to your audience.

Membership sites build a list of loyal customers for you since they’re willingly paying for the consumption of your content. If you offer a solid UX with products that interest users or give them solutions, it’s well worth the money in their eyes. You already know they’re willing to spend, and this makes it easier to produce an increased ROI and boost your sales.

A members-only platform also provides users with an uninterrupted, complete experience they wouldn’t be able to get with a free service. It’s easy to grow your revenue and expand your brand’s visibility if your customers are boasting about it. The only way that’ll happen is if your site gives them a seamless UX.

What to look for

You need a membership plugin that will turn your WordPress website into a membership platform. You want to make sure that you have all the features and components you need to create a platform that works for you and your target audience. Making the wrong choice could mean money down the drain and little to no business growth.

It’s important to always keep your audience in mind when planning and executing business endeavors. Without them, your business wouldn’t earn a penny, and catering to their needs should be your main priority.

When shopping for a membership plugin, ask yourself the following:

• What is my budget?
• What are the features that must be included?
• What are my goals? Will this plugin help me achieve them?
• Will I be required to code or to have coding knowledge?
• Does this come with add-ons and integrations I can purchase later if I need to?

Let’s look at how to turn your WordPress site into a members-only service.

Install and set up MemberPress

MemberPress is by far one of the most versatile, easy-to-use membership plugins on the market right now. It offers several different payment gateways so it’s easy for users to gain access, allows you to sell digital and physical goods, and allows you to design stunning pricing pages that match your brand image.

First thing’s first: create an account with WordPress. Then, you need to consider which subscription of MemberPress you’ll purchase based on factors like your budget and goals. Consider which features are a must-have so you know you’ll have them once you buy your plan.

MemberPress comes with different pricing plans so it’s easy to find the one that’s right for you.

Once you choose the plan that’s right for you, go to MemberPress and download the .zip file. From your WordPress dashboard, click on Plugins > Add New > Upload.

Select the file and click Install Now.

Then click Activate Plugin and your MemberPress plugin will be activated.

You should now be able to see a MemberPress menu option in the sidebar on your dashboard.

From the menu, click Options where you can configure the plugin’s settings to your liking.

Your plugin should now be fully installed and ready for business.

What’s next

If you have content you know users will pay for, it’s time to set up a membership site and watch your business thrive. The great thing about this type of platform is that it caters to a specific audience you know is going to love the products and services provided. However, it can be tricky trying to figure out which plugin will be most beneficial to your business’ growth. MemberPress makes it easy to create the site and experience you want to give users while helping you stay true to your brand image. How will you create a membership site?