An incredible surge in internet usage today brings lucrative revenue-earning opportunities. However, it is easier said than done. Making money online requires time, dedication, and intelligent analysis of the available options. One of the most consistent ways of earning passive income is by encouraging people to become a part of your website by signing up for memberships. You have numerous WordPress membership plugins to choose from that can help maximize membership count on your website. Getting more memberships for your website is an ROI-driven method that helps in creating brand awareness along with recurring revenue.
How To Choose the Right WordPress Membership Plugin for Your Website?
Here is a quick guide to picking a WordPress membership plugin that is best for your site:
- Buy a feature-rich membership plugin: A feature-rich plugin will give you plenty of options to make your site more interesting and compelling. But at the same time, make sure it is fast and easy to use.
- Get a lightweight membership plugin: Lightweight membership plugins typically give you the basics but are designed to be super fast and simple. Some of these plugins also provide the option to install an addon to get access to more features and increase functionality.
The choice of WordPress subscription plugins varies based on the type of your membership model and its complexity level.
Plugin Design And Feature : Your choice of WordPress membership plugin will also depend on the design and features of your site. Do you want to provide drip content to your members? Will they check out using Authorize.net or PayPal? Or you want to integrate multiple payment gateways? What should be the design of the pricing page? You need to select the most appropriate plugin based on these considerations.
Check Compatibility : Once you choose 2-3 plugins based on the above factors, check them for compatibility. Conduct a thorough test of membership plugins for WordPress to ensure their compatibility with popular WordPress themes and plugins. Finally, make the best choice to ensure your audience is engaged.
Top 10 WordPress Membership Plugins to Consider
There are tones of WordPress plugins that you can use for encouraging memberships on your WordPress website. We have handpicked the best membership plugins WordPress to design a membership-based platform that can sustain itself successfully. Top 10 membership plugins that are best for your website:
#1 OptinMonster
OptinMonster is a conversion toolkit that enables you to grow and monetize your website traffic exponentially. It helps create dedicated conversion optimization campaigns, increase your email list, grow revenues and further add more members to the site.
Highlights:
- Multiple campaign build-up types to drive more members.
- More trigger and targeting options.
- Allows integration with 30+ email service providers.
#2 MemberPress
These types of WordPress membership site plugins are popular for their smart and easy-to-manage functionalities for the WordPress environment.
Highlights:
- Fast and hassle-free setup.
- Restrict access to your posts, pages, categories, custom post types, tags and more.
- Integrates seamlessly with popular email marketing services and payment gateways.
#3 Paid Memberships Pro
This plugin offers a wide range of features to help build your membership website for free with basic functionalities. It also comes with add-ons that can take the site to the next level.
Highlights:
- Create membership levels with different prices and list the plans to let your users know what they are paying for.
- Integrate with six different payment gateways and set flexible pricing.
- 60 premium addons to ensure you build a feature-rich membership site.
#4 Paid Member Subscriptions
The free WordPress membership plugin is easy to set up and intuitive, yet robust with a wide range of features.
Highlights:
- Seamlessly create and manage unlimited member subscription plans.
- Restrict your content based on a user’s logged-in status or membership.
- Integrates with WooCommerce, allowing you to restrict product viewing, buying, or special offers only to members.
#5 Restrict Content Pro
The WordPress plugin allows you to hide content and also include membership management and subscription packages.
Highlights:
- Get 13 free addons with every payment plan.
- Manage your members with ease and create multiple subscription packages.
- Send customized welcome emails and automated member messages.
#6 Paid Member Subscriptions
A simple yet robust WordPress membership plugin, you can restrict content, manage multiple subscription plans, and instantly get paid using Paid Member Subscriptions.
Highlights:
- “Pay what you want” feature to give the users an option to decide how much they would like to spend per month.
- Create and manage unlimited subscription plans.
- Option to customize email templates.
#7 s2Member
This is a reliable plugin to get started with before you purchase a premium plugin. The free s2Member version comes with PayPal as a standard integration, while you can add new payment gateways once you upgrade to premium.
Highlights:
- Get access to content and download blocks.
- Added protection against cybercrime.
- Customize homepages for your subscribed members.
#8 ARMember Membership Plugin
The free WordPress membership plugin is feature-rich and intuitive and allows you to create unlimited membership levels.
- Restrict access to content with just one click.
- Set drip or scheduled content seamlessly.
- Instantly upgrade, renew, downgrade, or cancel.
#9 Membership by Supsystic
Despite being a free membership plugin, you get access to a wide range of features that can help build a WordPress membership site without having to pay for extensions.
Highlights:
- Create private conversations and chats with membership users.
- User Profile of Membership already includes Friends and Followers tab to allow the members to create a “room” in the community.
- Drip content support for free.
#10 Ultimate Member
Get started with the process of establishing a performance-driven membership site with Ultimate Member free WordPress plugin.
Highlights:
- Easy-to-customize frontend user registration and profile modules.
- Drag-and-drop builders, Gutenberg modules and conditional logic/custom form fields to create the right kind of form you need to power your membership site.
- Top-notch customer support with tutorials for getting started, contact information and support forum.
How Do Membership Levels Work?
You will find that all top WordPress membership plugins provide almost the same level of control and authority. You can create unlimited membership levels with any plugin. Instead, you need to consider aspects like:
- The level of control you have over what happens when a user’s membership expires?
- Is a user capable of having multiple membership roles?
- What is the amount of flexibility that you get over the trial periods of the plugins?
When you encourage people to become a member on your website, you make then a part of the content that you generate. You might have to try more than one membership plugins to find just the right plugin that suits your needs, but it is worth the try and if you opt for a paid plugin, it is worth the investment as well.
FAQs
What key features should one prioritize for the WordPress membership plugin?
Ideal WordPress membership plugins should provide flexible access control and content restriction features to tailor member access. It is also crucial that your chosen plugin seamlessly functions with existing WordPress themes and enables recurring billing options.
Which free WordPress membership plugins are ideal for a membership site?
You will come across several free membership plugins for WordPress that offer key features. You can try Ultimate Member and s2Member for a lucrative feature set to create a reliable membership website. For subscribing to these plugins, you don’t need to invest upfront, yet you get access to basic functionalities.
How do WordPress membership plugins handle content restriction activity?
When you subscribe to top WordPress membership plugins, they provide modern content restriction functionalities. Using advanced features of plugins, you can easily hide particular posts or entire pages and provide tailored access to users based on their subscription types. You can also impose strict restrictions with the help of specialized plugins.
How do I enable recurring payments on my membership platform?
You can use Paid Memberships or MemberPress plugins to set trial periods, renewal facilities, and subscription terms to ease out recurring billings. WordPress membership site plugin provides a facility to enable recurring payment options for your members, and seamlessly integrates with popular payment gateways.
