Is it necessary to use a plugin such as "wishlist member" for building a membership site?

13 replies
I know how to build my own sites and whatnot, but I never before created anything that has a login feature.

Basically what I'm looking to do is have a bunch of videos on YouTube which are 5-minute samples of the full thing. The full videos will be accessible at my website. each video will be sold individually or as a weekly/monthly/yearly membership.

The user will need to create a profile and login info so that they can access the full videos. The payments will be made through PayPal.

A good site example is this one:

https://www.webpianoteacher.com

Is it necessary to pay $197 for a wordpress plugin such as wishlist member in order to setup a site like this?

Thanks!
#building #membership #plugin #site #wishlist member
  • Profile picture of the author Sid Hale
    Originally Posted by Bkelly301 View Post

    I know how to build my own sites and whatnot, but I never before created anything that has a login feature.

    Basically what I'm looking to do is have a bunch of videos on YouTube which are 5-minute samples of the full thing. The full videos will be accessible at my website. each video will be sold individually or as a weekly/monthly/yearly membership.

    The user will need to create a profile and login info so that they can access the full videos. The payments will be made through PayPal.

    A good site example is this one:

    https://www.webpianoteacher.com

    Is it necessary to pay $197 for a wordpress plugin such as wishlist member in order to setup a site like this?
    Of course not...
    but you need to be able to do more than create HTML/CSS pages.

    Your post doesn't make it clear whether you have any experience with creating/maintaining a database, nor the "backoffice" (server side) code necessary to
    1. register new members in the database after payment,
    2. protect the content from being accessed by anyone who is not registered (i.e. require login),
    3. update the database to disallow access to a member if/when they cancel their subscription, etc.

    That's the basics, but depending on what other features you want, there may be more required

    If you have these talents, creating a secure non-WP membership site is very doable.
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    Sid Hale
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  • Profile picture of the author Bkelly301
    Forgot to mention...

    I don't know how maintain databases and al that stuff that you said .

    My web building experience is limited to using Wordpress and the thesis theme, and doing the html and css stuff....

    So with that said, do you think I should go with a plugin like that, or do you have any resources to point to in which I could learn to maybe do the backside programming?
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    • Profile picture of the author Sid Hale
      Given that your web building experience is primarily with Wordpress...


      Originally Posted by Bkelly301 View Post

      I don't know how maintain databases and al that stuff that you said .

      My web building experience is limited to using Wordpress and the thesis theme, and doing the html and css stuff....

      So with that said, do you think I should go with a plugin like that, or do you have any resources to point to in which I could learn to maybe do the backside programming?
      You're lacking a large part of the skillset necessary to do what you want without using a plugin. That skillset isn't learned in a week or two and I doubt you would be sufficiently prepared to tackle this yourself without a year (or more) of dedicated learning.
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      Sid Hale
      Coming Soon... Rapid Action Profits (Pro)

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  • Profile picture of the author DeadRooster
    You could probably do all that stuff without a plugin, but why not save yourself a lot of time and headache and use one?

    If it's the cost issue, go sell something on eBay or cash in some beer cans.

    Seriously, I use a membership plugin and I couldn't imagine trying to run a site like that without it. It would be crazy.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by Bkelly301 View Post

      Basically what I'm looking to do is have a bunch of videos on YouTube which are 5-minute samples of the full thing. The full videos will be accessible at my website. each video will be sold individually or as a weekly/monthly/yearly membership.

      The user will need to create a profile and login info so that they can access the full videos. The payments will be made through PayPal.
      I've mentioned in the past - it's against youtube TOS to be using their embeds for a paid membership site where users must pay to access the content.

      You can however set up paid lessons directly on youtube.

      So you are planning to host the full videos elsewhere, correct?
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      "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"

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      • Profile picture of the author tyronne78
        It isn't necessary. I use a free plugin called Optimize Member. But Wishlist Member is great for building membership sites from what I hear.
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      • Profile picture of the author Bkelly301
        Thanks for the replies everyone!

        I guess it's kinda just the standard to go use a plugin (unless you are a coder of course). I'm just looking for basic functionality here, so I guess one of these plugins will work. I just read about a new plugin called "restrict content pro", as well. Maybe I'll try that one out.

        Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

        I've mentioned in the past - it's against youtube TOS to be using their embeds for a paid membership site where users must pay to access the content.

        You can however set up paid lessons directly on youtube.

        So you are planning to host the full videos elsewhere, correct?
        No I didn't know this. Thanks for the heads up!!

        So what would you recommend I host the videos with? Vimeo?
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      • Profile picture of the author MikeAmbrosio
        Originally Posted by Jill Carpenter View Post

        I've mentioned in the past - it's against youtube TOS to be using their embeds for a paid membership site where users must pay to access the content.

        You can however set up paid lessons directly on youtube.

        So you are planning to host the full videos elsewhere, correct?
        Looks like Youtube is working on this:

        YouTube's paid subscription offering takes shape

        Not sure of the status, or what it will cost to host paid videos, but at least it's in the works...
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeAmbrosio
    Membership plugins (for Wordpress) or solutions like Sid Hale's (Rapid Action Profits) may cost something up front but will save you down the road. You have the learning curve, so the first site might be a challenge, but once you learn your chosen membership system, other sites will go up faster and faster.

    If you like using WP, I picked up a very feature rich plugin on Code Canyon for $30. It's called Ultimate Membership Pro (just do a search on the site). Couldn't beat the price.

    Hope this helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bkelly301
    Okay so basically here's what I want to do (I don't mind paying for hosting services and premium themes and whatnot):

    - Make a ton of videos.

    - Have 5-minute samples available of each video on my website.

    - Have each full video available for something like $ per video

    - offer weekly, monthly, and yearly subscriptions that allow users access to all videos for $.

    I've been racking my brain trying to figure out which themes and/or plugins would make this task the easiest.

    Any suggestions?
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      Originally Posted by MikeAmbrosio View Post

      Looks like Youtube is working on this:

      YouTube's paid subscription offering takes shape

      Not sure of the status, or what it will cost to host paid videos, but at least it's in the works...
      There are already paid videos available on youtube too. For example, I know of a channel that does free content, but mid month there is a "special more indepth" video that costs something like $2.50 to see - payment made via youtube and the video becomes accessible.

      I see that $10 a month thing - looks promising.

      Originally Posted by Bkelly301 View Post

      Okay so basically here's what I want to do (I don't mind paying for hosting services and premium themes and whatnot):

      - Make a ton of videos.
      Make the videos and optimize for web. Then take those 5 minute cut versions, and load those to youtube. Those are teasers and will be an additional traffic source for you.


      - Have 5-minute samples available of each video on my website.
      If these are not behind the paid area, then stick them up on a page on your main site. And feel free to use the youtube embed for them.


      - Have each full video available for something like $ per video

      - offer weekly, monthly, and yearly subscriptions that allow users access to all videos for $.

      I've been racking my brain trying to figure out which themes and/or plugins would make this task the easiest.

      Any suggestions?
      Would need to know more about the content itself.

      Are all these videos on one complete subject that should just be it's own product? Or will there be multiple products in the end?

      If it's multiple products, then you need a plugin capable of allowing you to add products, which each member gains access upon paying for them.

      There are different plugins for setting up membership sites.

      As for where/how to host the videos, you can investigate paid services or host them via amazon S3. It can be mere pennies a month with amazon - depending on how much you have and how often it's streamed.

      Again, that is only one solution.

      I also have access to easy video player (which is now easy video suite). Gives me an upload area on my server to store into amazon, and then take those videos and embed them anywhere on my server (ie: inside private member area).

      But you don't need evp necessarily either. Depends on what you are most comfortable using and what your overall budget is.

      Anyway, it doesn't have to be wishlist - but could be. You will want to start looking at blog posts on the web for different wordpress membership plugins and find all the specifics of what you want to do and how they all work.

      Take some further time to investigate and see if you can find some how to videos on youtube as well.

      Consider everything you want. For example, if you want your membership to be available for affiliates to promote via someplace like JVZoo and maybe you have an Aweber autoresponder then you'll want something that has the appropriate add-ons to integrate all these things. These will affect your final decision on what will work best for you.

      Spend some time on some other wordpress run membership sites and peek under their hoods to see which software they are using.

      Also, when in other membership sites take notice of how all the content is arranged so you can determine if the same navigation is what you are going to want.
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      • Profile picture of the author Bkelly301
        Hey thanks a lot for the replies!

        I actually ended up purchasing Wishlist member for $197, but I'm also going to purchase "restrict content pro" for $42. They both have a 30-day money back guarantee, so I'm going to return whichever one I don't want.

        Yes, all videos are about the same subject, but they can be sold as individual lessons.

        I'm going to be offering monthly subscriptions (which gives unlimited access to everything) as well as selling each lesson individually.

        I've been studying others' membership sites, and the piano lesson site in the OP is the one I'm modeling after. Only, he doesn't sell individual lessons (just monthly subscriptions). Trying to find a plugin that allows me to do BOTH monthly subscriptions AND individual sales, all while offering a teaser video/blog post for each lesson...well, that has proven to be pretty difficult.

        I think wishlist members allows me to do what I'm looking for. However, it's not quite as simple as I thought it would be.

        If anyone else knows of any other options, I'm still open to suggestions. I will definitely check out some of this free options that were recommended. However, I have a feeling that they may not be able to do exactly what it is that I'm trying to do.
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