Are Wordpress Membership Sites Secured?

Byron_Wells · 11-16-2009, 12:40 AM

Alright Warriors

I am hearing conflicting views on this one, so I thought I run it past you guys..

At the moment I am looking at setting up a membership site, I already have a blog and thinking of turning that into a membership site.. But I have heard that these are not secured enough.. Is that true?

If I wish to offer digital downloads I should go with a stand alone php membership script?

Ebo Etoyep · 11-16-2009, 01:52 AM

You might want to checkout aMember. They have a pretty easy-to-use WordPress integration plugin and the script can handle payments, etc.

TheNightOwl · 11-16-2009, 04:32 AM

Q: Are Wordpress Membership Sites Secured?

Well, unless I'm mistaken, only as secure as your WP installation - which is more than a little dubious in my opinion.

(I've never had a love affair with WP, but whatever honeymoon I was on... I think it's over. But that's another rant.)

I've been searching for a good solution for a membership site for some time now. I started with WP (WishListMember or MemberWing or several of the other WP membership site plugins), but WP is just too unsecure for my liking.

(Unsecure rather than insecure, that is; I don't hear it sitting in a corner muttering into its beer about how it'll never be able to get the girl!

)

I don't like the thought of having a customer database so open to the prospect of being hacked. WP requires constant upgrades to keep marginally behind(!) the crackers.

Now, can any site or out-of-the-box script be hacked? Of course! But WP is used by eighty-gazillion sites and is therefore a prime target for crackers who like to set worms loose on a known exploit just for the hell of it.

Some of the other scripts, by comparison, are used by only a handful of folks (as compared to WP).

aMember gets mentioned a lot, but it's also said quite often that it's a really steep learning curve. Still, it warrants further investigation.

People talk about RAP and its two different membership options, but I'm not all that keen on being locked to PayPal as the only payment processor - especially with its apparently arbitrary locking down of accounts. RAP's not a bad script, but I wouldn't use it for my main business simply because I can't swap payment processor if some teenage idiot at PayPal decides to dick around with my account.

DLGuard is a great solution, depending on what kind of membership you want. If you just want to protect content on a static site and send out links to the new content via autoresponder, that could be the go. (And you can use it for a whole lot more besides!)

But if you want to whole membership site deal in a relatively simple, but still powerful format, then you might like what I've been leaning towards more recently: InstantMember.

Still, haven't actually done it yet so maybe the opinion of someone who has might carry more weight on the matter.

TheNightOwl

11-16-2009, 12:40 AM	#1
Byron_Wells Advanced Warrior Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 609 Thanks: 31 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Are Wordpress Membership Sites Secured? Alright Warriors I am hearing conflicting views on this one, so I thought I run it past you guys.. At the moment I am looking at setting up a membership site, I already have a blog and thinking of turning that into a membership site.. But I have heard that these are not secured enough.. Is that true? If I wish to offer digital downloads I should go with a stand alone php membership script?

11-16-2009, 01:52 AM	#2
Ebo Etoyep Active Warrior Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 36 Thanks: 3 Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts	Re: Are Wordpress Membership Sites Secured? You might want to checkout aMember. They have a pretty easy-to-use WordPress integration plugin and the script can handle payments, etc.

11-16-2009, 04:32 AM	#3
TheNightOwl Gatchaman fan War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 516 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 211 Thanked 88 Times in 53 Posts	Re: Are Wordpress Membership Sites Secured? Q: Are Wordpress Membership Sites Secured? Well, unless I'm mistaken, only as secure as your WP installation - which is more than a little dubious in my opinion. (I've never had a love affair with WP, but whatever honeymoon I was on... I think it's over. But that's another rant.) I've been searching for a good solution for a membership site for some time now. I started with WP (WishListMember or MemberWing or several of the other WP membership site plugins), but WP is just too unsecure for my liking. (Unsecure rather than insecure, that is; I don't hear it sitting in a corner muttering into its beer about how it'll never be able to get the girl! ) I don't like the thought of having a customer database so open to the prospect of being hacked. WP requires constant upgrades to keep marginally behind(!) the crackers. Now, can any site or out-of-the-box script be hacked? Of course! But WP is used by eighty-gazillion sites and is therefore a prime target for crackers who like to set worms loose on a known exploit just for the hell of it. Some of the other scripts, by comparison, are used by only a handful of folks (as compared to WP). aMember gets mentioned a lot, but it's also said quite often that it's a really steep learning curve. Still, it warrants further investigation. People talk about RAP and its two different membership options, but I'm not all that keen on being locked to PayPal as the only payment processor - especially with its apparently arbitrary locking down of accounts. RAP's not a bad script, but I wouldn't use it for my main business simply because I can't swap payment processor if some teenage idiot at PayPal decides to dick around with my account. DLGuard is a great solution, depending on what kind of membership you want. If you just want to protect content on a static site and send out links to the new content via autoresponder, that could be the go. (And you can use it for a whole lot more besides!) But if you want to whole membership site deal in a relatively simple, but still powerful format, then you might like what I've been leaning towards more recently: InstantMember. Still, haven't actually done it yet so maybe the opinion of someone who has might carry more weight on the matter. TheNightOwl
	Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Global Giving Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund. I have friends in Japan, none of whom -- fortunately -- were affected. But lots of people are still doing it tough. So, thank you on their behalf. Who is Gatchaman?