Wordpress Membership Plugins

26 replies
OK warriors, need your help.

I'm looking for a WP membership plugin. I've done research on a lot of the most common out there. They're good, but pricey. And have too many options!

What? Huh? I hear you thinking it. Too MANY options? Yes, too many. Things like Wishlist Member are great, but have too many options and ways to configure it, plus the cost. s2Member is a great free one, but there are so many things to configure that it gets overwhelming.

I guess I better explain what I want first, then you might understand where I'm coming from.

I'm starting a site where I will have members, but it's not a paid membership site. It's a fun take on zombies and what I want is that different people get different access to the site based on their group. So me and my other top people are in some high level group with access to everything (pages/posts). Then some other people may be of a lesser rank with access to most things, but not all. On down the line, the newbies get access to a lot of stuff, but it's basic. They can contribute by commenting and posting stuff and through the forum, and they can move up in rank, thereby gaining access to more stuff.

I might also have the option to pay-for-access if someone wants a higher group level access, but I can do that without the need for any payment integration in the plugin. Even just a PayPal button would take care of that.

I've seen free plugins where you can define groups, but I haven't seen one where you can restrict pages or posts based on that group. Ideally there would be a hierarchy, where I could specify a certain level for a page/post and then everyone with that level or higher group can see it and no one else can.

Sounds easy, right? And this might be able to happen with other plugins, but I'm cheap, so I want something free. And yeah, s2member can probably do this, and maybe I should just dig in and configure only what I want. But ideally I want a plugin WITHOUT all the extra crap. I don't want it, or need it. If I ever do I'll change plugins. You try to be everything to everybody and soon you're as complicated as I DON'T want to be.

If anyone wants to develop this (maybe I should!) I think it would be a great cheap option for a membership plugin. Sell it for $7, not a penny more.

So...if anyone can help or offer advice, please join the discussion. Thanks!
#membership #plugins #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author TycoonRob
    Nobody? There's got to be someone with some advice....
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  • Profile picture of the author callseller
    I use S2Member for one of my sites and it works fine.
    Takes a little doing to get it configured.

    For free groups you may take a look at BuddyPress.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      For all the different levels you do want and what you want to do, S2 really is the only direction for you.

      A lot of these plugins come bloated because they are looking to appeal to masses - which everyone will be looking for different things.

      If anyone wants to develop this (maybe I should!) I think it would be a great cheap option for a membership plugin. Sell it for $7, not a penny more.
      Haha, you will spend hundreds to do this Mr. Cheap. You'd be better off buying something that already has been tested and has support.
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      • Profile picture of the author zenmack
        Now this is funny. I came on to make a post around a issue involving a membership site stuff.

        I am using Fladliens WPMembership as I am building a huge dating niche 90 day how to get a girlfriend membership site. I am going to clone it for affiliates and use FastMember's plug in as it does allow affiliate payouts.

        I do have DAP but it was a bit too much for my pea brain to figure out. Well at the time it seemed real complicated and involved. I'm right brained and following detailed instructions like that for my type is a nightmare. I shoulda hired a nerdy type to do that for me back then.

        Now onto making my post on how to protect my amazon s3 buckets and links.
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    • Profile picture of the author chykee
      amember can do the treat
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  • Profile picture of the author cstrouse
    The membership plugin from wpmudev is great and a2member pro is another good one. Wishlist is overkill for most sites.
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  • Profile picture of the author TycoonRob
    Hey thanks for all the advice. I might just have to stick with s2member and configure it the way I want and just ignore all of the complicated stuff. At least if I want to "upgrade" my site later I'll have the capability w/o having to purchase a different script.
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  • Profile picture of the author oda
    wp pay per view mate.
    That might work as you can literally sell access to certain posts or group of posts.

    Its a pretty cool plugin.

    Not sure if has the functions you need, but I like it.

    Failing that Invest in profits theme, I use it for all my membership based sites that have levels of membership and for my BIGGER membership site.

    Profits theme is great and will definitely cover you for what you need.
    Heres a Blog post I made about profits theme.
    My Favorite Wordpress Theme. | Justin Cleghorn

    Hope that helps,

    Oda
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  • Profile picture of the author cmorgansweb
    Try this plugin wordpress.org/extend/plugins/groups/ it might work for what you're trying to do. It will allow you to group members and give each group different access.
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    • Profile picture of the author TycoonRob
      I got the Groups plugin and it works EXACTLY the way I wanted it to. Simple to config and delivers specifically what I needed. I don't plan on being a paid site, but if I ever do I can use the ideas here to find a good membership plugin.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michelle Stevens
    I'm using this one Fast Member | Builds Membership Sites In Minutes Not Hours (not an affiliate link) and it's pretty darn cool.

    It was a WSO a while back. The price has risen a bit since then but still pretty good value I think
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  • Profile picture of the author svk_hereiam
    any experience with Optimizepress anyone?
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  • Profile picture of the author Michelle Stevens
    Yeah OptimzePress has a membership theme but it's not secure.

    You need to use a membership plugin like the ones mentioned above with it too
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  • Profile picture of the author megansays
    I don't do memberships, but the makers of WP eStore, which I love, and WP Affiliate, which I also love, have a membership plugin called WP eMember. Judging by how well the other two work, it might be worth taking a look at. It's $50.
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  • Profile picture of the author MemberWing
    Check .
    I tried to convey the simplicity of how [it should be] to build membership site.

    Gleb
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  • Profile picture of the author paul nicholls
    I have recently purchased fast member

    its really good and easy to use

    i use fast member in combination with optimize press

    optimize press - is the platform i use

    fast member - the security for the site

    paul
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  • Profile picture of the author zacsmith
    I agree with megansays about WP eMemberWP eMember. After looking at all the plugins recommended here several years ago, I found eMember has the best combination of features and ease of use for the price. I've had it running on my main membership site for years. I have 1 member level for each of 24 different publications, with pages and downloads for each level well protected. You can mark content within a page to be protected with shortcodes, or protect the entire page/post by checking a box. Support is excellent and there are frequent free upgrades.

    It has many options, but the defaults work well. The time it takes to set up depends on how many levels you want.

    Can you tell I'm a fan? Highly recommended.

    gary
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  • I have made half a dozen membership sites I for launching products and I have a big main one now to unite all the products and my monthly membership and use wishlist does a fantastic job. I have a content presentation about it so if anyone wants some content JV to their list how to do it, PM me and I can tech to your list and show behind the scenes how it all works it's really not that hard anyone can do it with wordpress and wishlist
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  • Profile picture of the author strangerstudios
    Paid Memberships Pro is also free (for the software) and you might find it simpler to setup than s2members.

    WordPress › Paid Memberships Pro « WordPress Plugins
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  • Profile picture of the author dennisrosenberg
    Another interesting option is Profits Theme which is a Wordpress theme with built-in membership protection features -- no need to add a separate membership plugin (although you can if you want).
    [not an affiliate link]
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  • I have membership sites and use wishlist plugin it's fantastic, been using it for years! No problems so far!
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  • Profile picture of the author Redwyn88
    Like a few others have said, if you're open to considering themes in addition to plugins then check out the Profits Theme.
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    • Profile picture of the author TycoonRob
      Originally Posted by Redwyn88 View Post

      Like a few others have said, if you're open to considering themes in addition to plugins then check out the Profits Theme.
      I have checked out ProfitsTheme and compared it to OptimizePress and based on what I've read I would probably go with ProfitsTheme, and the discount is nice too.
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    S2member and optimize press. These are simple to use, and easy to set up. Even a degenerate like me can do it. LOL.

    I know the since the emergence and big popular trend of membership sites started there are many other cool tools, and softwares even in the WSO section that gets my thumbs up.
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