--- title: How Ultimate Membership Pro works description: The main parts of Ultimate Membership Pro (Memberships, members, payments, content restriction, showcases and modules) and the order to set them up. url: "https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/how-ultimate-membership-pro-works/" updated: "2026-10-18" category: Getting Started --- # How Ultimate Membership Pro works 4 min readBeginnerUltimate Membership Pro 14.2+ Here is how Ultimate Membership Pro works: it turns a WordPress site into a membership site. Visitors sign up for a Membership, pay if it's a paid plan, and get access to the content you lock for that Membership. When the Membership ends, the content locks again. This page explains the [main parts of the plugin](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/features/), what a visitor goes through to become a member, and the order to set things up. ## The building blocks Memberships **What** : The plans people sign up for: access type, price, trial, expiry **Where** : Memberships Members **What** : [WordPress users](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/roles-and-capabilities/) who hold one or more Memberships **Where** : Members Payments **What** : Payment gateways charge members; every payment is recorded **Where** : Payment Gateways, Payment History Content restriction **What** : Rules that decide who sees a page, a post or part of it **Where** : Locker box in the editor, Access Rules Showcases **What** : The pages members use: registration, login, plans, checkout, Member Portal **Where** : Showcases Modules **What** : Optional built-in features you switch on when you need them **Where** : Modules A member can hold several Memberships at once. Each one has its own dates and status, so a member can, for example, keep a free **Free Community** plan while a paid **Pro Monthly** plan renews every month. ## How a visitor becomes a member 1. The visitor opens your **Subscription Plan** page and picks a Membership. 2. They create an account on the **Register** page, or log in if they already have one. 3. For a paid Membership, they pay on the **Checkout** page through one of your payment gateways. Free Memberships skip this step. 4. The Membership becomes active and the content locked for it opens up. 5. The member manages their profile, Memberships and payments in the [**Member Portal**](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/set-up-the-member-portal/) (the My Account page). Access only counts while a Membership is active. [Once it expires](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/how-renewals-cancellations-and-expiry-work/), or before it starts, the member is treated like anyone without that Membership. Admins always see everything Administrators see restricted content even when they don't hold a Membership. To check what members and visitors see, log out or use a private browser window. ## Where to find things Every screen of the plugin lives under Ultimate Membership Pro in your WordPress dashboard menu. Dashboard An overview of your membership site. Members Your members: search, approve, edit and assign Memberships. Memberships Create and edit your plans. Payment Gateways Connect Stripe, PayPal, Wire Transfer and the other gateways. Showcases Registration Form, Login Form, Subscriptions Plan, Checkout Page, Member Portal and the other member-facing pages. Coupons Discount codes for your Memberships. Access Rules [Restrict whole groups of URLs](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/how-to-restrict-any-page-or-group-of-pages/), categories or files at once. Payment History [Every payment and order](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/manage-payments-and-orders/). Email Notifications The [emails sent to members](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/how-to-send-notifications/) and to you. Modules Built-in extra features, such as [Taxes](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/taxes/), [Invoices](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/order-invoices/) or Membership Gifts. Reports Reports about your members, Memberships and payments. Settings Pages Setup, Payment Settings, notifications, security and more. Shortcodes, Export-Import, Licensing Shortcode list, [settings transfer between sites](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/export-and-import-plugin-settings/), and your license key. ## The setup path Most sites follow this order. Each step has its own guide. 1. Check that your hosting meets the [requirements](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/minimum-requirements/). 2. [Install the plugin](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/install-ultimate-membership-pro/) and [activate your license key](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/where-to-find-your-license-key/). 3. [Run the setup wizard](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/run-the-setup-wizard/), or skip it and set things up yourself. 4. Check the [membership pages](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/step-1-set-default-pages/). The plugin creates them for you when you activate it. 5. [Create your first Membership](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/step-2-create-levelssubscriptions/). 6. [Restrict your first page](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/step-3-restrict-pagescontent/) to that Membership. 7. [Connect a payment gateway](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/step-4-set-payment-gateway-if-applicable/) if you sell paid Memberships. 8. [Customize what members see](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/step-5-manage-showcases/) with the showcases. ## Example: a coaching site **Coaching Club**Free sign-ups read the community articles; paying members also get the lessons. **Free Community** : LifeTime, free **Pro Monthly** : Recurring Subscription, $19 every month, 7-day free trial **Annual Pass** : Limited Time, 1 year, $149 once **Member Lessons page** : Show Page Only for Pro Monthly and Annual Pass **Payment gateway** : Stripe Connect **Showcases** : Subscriptions Plan page lists all three plans ## Troubleshooting I can see restricted pages while logged in You're logged in as an administrator, and admins always see everything. Test in a private window or with a member account. Where did the Register, Member Login and My Account pages come from? The plugin creates its pages when you activate it. You can keep them, rename them or pick your own pages. See [Set up the membership pages](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/step-1-set-default-pages/). Do I need a payment gateway? Only for paid Memberships. Free Memberships work without one. ## What's next [**Requirements**Make sure your server is ready.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/minimum-requirements/)[**Install the plugin**Upload and activate it.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/install-ultimate-membership-pro/)[**Run the setup wizard**Set the basics in six steps.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/run-the-setup-wizard/)[**Create your first Membership**Set up a free or paid plan.](https://ultimatemembershippro.com/docs/step-2-create-levelssubscriptions/)