15 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
15 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

How to build a membership site

by Splatterfox
14 replies
Hey guys,

many people in my network asked me about a video course in my profession and after preparing one for months and doing tons of coachings, I decided that I want to push this project now. First I thought of making a one-time course but now I'd prefer a membership site where content is added regularly, people can talk in a small forum and the whole thing is more "longterm" and alive.

Can you recommend any SaaS or other platform for this? I thought about a WP plugin which does exactly this (managing an academy kind of membership site), which looks perfectly for my needs, but I'm not sure whether this would be sufficient. I don't want to aim too big, rather rearrange and restructure everything if more people join than expected.

Did you build such a site before? Can you recommend any software or so for this?

Thanks!
#establish #membership #site
  • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
    Originally Posted by Splatterfox View Post

    Did you build such a site before? Can you recommend any software or so for this?
    There are plenty of membership platforms you can use but if you want the forum and discussion aspect then XenForo has a lot of what you would need https://xenforo.com

    Not a membership plugin so to speak but you can build it out how you want to.

    Best regards,

    Ozi
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10921034].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Splatterfox
      Originally Posted by Oziboomer View Post

      There are plenty of membership platforms you can use but if you want the forum and discussion aspect then XenForo has a lot of what you would need https://xenforo.com

      Not a membership plugin so to speak but you can build it out how you want to.

      Best regards,

      Ozi
      Thanks for the answer Ozi!

      I could just take a quick look at it now with mobile: does it include the possibility to make an academy type of platform with video uploads etc. and does it enable me to charge regular payments for the platform ?
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10921601].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
        Originally Posted by Splatterfox View Post

        Thanks for the answer Ozi!

        I could just take a quick look at it now with mobile: does it include the possibility to make an academy type of platform with video uploads etc. and does it enable me to charge regular payments for the platform ?
        You want to run your billing as a separate operation.

        You can use a variety of other solutions both paid and free but it depends on how you want to run the forum aspect and how much money you are willing to invest in a solution.

        You can use things like S2 Member with Wordpress or any number of membership platforms but most you will need to run the forum component outside of the membership site.

        With something like Xenforo you can set up different forums with deferent permissions and upload content and run the discussion all in one place.

        Otherwise a lot of people use a private group in Facebook or Google+ and then have a membership area for the content somewhere else.

        It really depends on how much you think you can build the community aspect because if you have only a few contributors and a few members the discussion part can look pretty bleak.

        If you want to invest money then you have things like Kajabi amongst others where you have the convenience of built-out solutions.

        I run several membership sites both wordpress based and hosted solutions and each has it's benefits and drawbacks.

        Your decision on what way to go will come down to how much you want to do, what your coding knowledge is, what you can afford and how much you want to scale.

        There are solutions that suit each level of development.

        It was just when you mentioned you wanted a discussion type membership that I suggested a forum based solution as I've set up and also seen and been part of some pretty well run memberships based around that model.

        One way I handle the discussion side is I have regular monthly live broadcasts and we incorporate live training and chat.

        i find that easier to administer than having to monitor and run an active forum.

        You've just got to look at what goes on around here or some of the other forums to understand the complexities of running a forum.

        Forums generally require teams of people to run and active users to maintain interest.

        You may want to focus on your training first and then when you have enough numbers look to building the discussion side. - It depends on your situation and resources.

        best regards,

        Ozi.
        Signature
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10922084].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author elbeer
    I would set up a forum and add monthly paid membership. There are many free forum software around that can do this. Personally I use SMF pretty easy and clean the subscription system is basic but it works
    Signature
    Ppvguru Simply the Most Profitable Forum on the Net!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10921590].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author MValmont
    I did mine with optimizepress.

    It is quite easy to use and you can pretty much do everything with it...If I can do it you can do it, as i'm not a technical guy at all.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10922089].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author DavidKellog
    Even plugins for wordpress, like woo commerce (Free), would be able to offer you this functionality, without too many headaches.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10922103].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author FlyingSuccess
    I need help with this sooo much!
    Signature
    Michelle
    My PERSONAL BLOG
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10922749].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Djwillster123
    I would recommend Wpmember
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10924738].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author starlox
    For Wordpress I can recommend Wishlist, S2 Member and OptimizePress, forgot DAP. If you don't find it straight away just google wordpress + plugin name
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10924783].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author dwooding
    @Splatterfox I have built many membership sites using Xenforo. It is a robust solution well suited for a community where people can discuss and you can add content regularly.

    You can use the free, built in Paypal subscription capability to accept recurring payments and give paying members access to certain areas for paying members.

    You *might* be able to do video uploads - not really ideal - likely depends on your hosting capability. In my opinion a better solution is to host videos with Youtube (unlisted), Vimeo (settings to only display on your domain) or Wistia (using a addon to enable). Super simple, just drop the appropriate link in the forum and Xenforo embeds the video.

    Works great on mobile.

    Hope that helps.

    Dave
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10924815].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Splatterfox
      Originally Posted by dwooding View Post

      @Splatterfox I have built many membership sites using Xenforo. It is a robust solution well suited for a community where people can discuss and you can add content regularly.

      You can use the free, built in Paypal subscription capability to accept recurring payments and give paying members access to certain areas for paying members.

      You *might* be able to do video uploads - not really ideal - likely depends on your hosting capability. In my opinion a better solution is to host videos with Youtube (unlisted), Vimeo (settings to only display on your domain) or Wistia (using a addon to enable). Super simple, just drop the appropriate link in the forum and Xenforo embeds the video.

      Works great on mobile.

      Hope that helps.

      Dave
      Thanks for the interesting approach.

      The YouTube thing: I also thought about this, but it would make it to easy to simply spread the links around and not needing the subscription anymore.

      The idea of having a "free" forum for anyone and, besides this, the paid and exclusive ones where the content is shown is interesting. So far the only thing that keeps me away from the forum is, that its not fully designed for an academy/coursesystem. A dashboard where the user can navigate through the courses with a comment- or discussion-area might work better.

      But I will definetly have a closer look at Xenforo.
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10924822].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author dwooding
        Originally Posted by Splatterfox View Post

        The YouTube thing: I also thought about this, but it would make it to easy to simply spread the links around and not needing the subscription anymore.
        Agree.

        Sure, people join for the content and leave shortly after. Then there are those that stay for the community aspect. If done well, you can build up a substantial community over time.

        Attached is a person's membership over the last couple of years, currently over 500 paying members (hopefully you can see the info).
        Signature
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10924833].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author William2010
    I used Wishlist several times,and it is doing really good. You should check it out
    Signature
    Answer this 5 simple questions and let me help you gain your freedom!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[10925069].message }}

Trending Topics