Running a WordPress Membership Site: 10 Do’s and 10 Don’ts
A successful WordPress membership site comes down to a few habits: use a solid membership plugin, deliver content members can’t get for free, make sign-up, payment and cancellation easy, protect member accounts, and keep existing members as engaged as new ones. The most common mistakes are the opposite: thin content, a confusing experience, underpricing, too many emails and no support.
If you have a WordPress membership site (or plan to launch one soon from these membership site ideas), this checklist of 10 do’s and 10 don’ts will help you attract members and keep them. Like any business venture, there are certain things you should – and shouldn’t – do to make sure your membership site is successful.
WordPress Membership Site DO’s
Here are some essential tips to keep in mind if you want to create a WordPress membership site that attracts (and retains) members:
1. Get a Membership Plugin
Plugins (like Ultimate Membership Pro, for example) are the easiest way to create a great member experience, so make sure you get one that is suitable for your needs and will help enhance your content strategy. These WordPress membership site plugins are easy to install and they will provide you with a range of features, such as:
- Payment gateway integration
- Content restrictions
- Subscription management
- Relevant user roles
Before you choose, check that the plugin supports the payment gateways you need, the way you want to sell access (recurring, one-time or both) and the integrations you already use, such as your email marketing tool or page builder.
2. Make Sure Your Site Is Mobile-Friendly
Be mindful of the fact that a lot of your members might want to access your content from mobile devices — so your WordPress membership site must be optimized for mobile. Make sure your site looks great and works seamlessly on all kinds of displays – desktop, laptop, tablet and phone.
3. Create Valuable Content
There’s no way around this: if you want people to pay to be part of your community, you need to provide them with good content. Think about creating content that will truly add value to your members — things they cannot find when they run a quick Google Search, but teach them something new, entertain them, and help them network with each other.
4. Onboard New Members Properly
The first days after sign-up decide whether a new member stays. Send a welcome email, point people to a “start here” page, and show them the two or three resources that deliver the fastest win. A well-organized member account area, where people find their content, subscription and invoices in one place, also reduces confusion and support requests.
5. Measure Engagement Metrics
You can’t know how well you’re doing if you don’t measure your engagement metrics. Make sure you are tracking key indicators such as page views, time spent on a page, click-through rate and more to understand which content is the most popular and engaging. Track business metrics too: new members, cancellations (churn) and revenue per member. This will help you figure out how to make your WordPress membership site even better.
6. Offer Incentives
Incentives are a great way to get more members and encourage existing ones to stay involved in your WordPress membership site. Some ideas include:
- Discounts
- Free videos or ebooks
- Early access to content
- Reward points
- Access to elite networking groups
7. Make It Easy for Members to Buy from You
Adding the right payment processors for easy checkout is a must for any WordPress membership site. Stripe and PayPal are the most widely used options, and wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay can make checkout even faster on mobile. Keep the checkout short: ask only for the information you really need, show the price and billing period clearly, and confirm what happens after payment.
8. Use Email Marketing
Keep up with your audience by sending them regular newsletters and announcements. You can also use “drip campaigns” to send personalized messages for milestones, special offers or upcoming events. Connecting your membership plugin to your email marketing service lets you add new members to the right list automatically.
9. Secure Your Site and Member Logins
A membership site stores personal data and handles payments, so security is not optional. Keep WordPress, your theme and plugins updated, use strong passwords, and protect the login form. Ultimate Membership Pro, for instance, includes login security options such as login attempt limits, reCAPTCHA and blocking dashboard access for members, with two-factor authentication available in the Full Package and Agency plans.
10. Choose Reliable Hosting and Keep Backups
Membership sites are more demanding than brochure sites, because logged-in pages are harder to cache and every member expects fast access. Pick a host that can handle logged-in traffic, use a staging site to test updates, and run automatic daily backups stored off-site. This guide to WordPress hosting for membership sites explains what to look for.
WordPress Membership Site DON’Ts
Alright, now that you know what you should do, let’s take a look at what you shouldn’t do when building (and running) a WordPress membership site:
1. Bad, Low(No)-Value Content
Low-quality content, such as stock images and generic articles, won’t convince anyone to become a paying member of your site. Always over-deliver in terms of quality content — it’s the only legit way to ensure people stick around longer.
2. No Focus on Customer Experience
You must build a seamless experience for your members, from discovery to checkout. Make sure all the elements of the WordPress membership site are easy to navigate and understand.
For example, you should always ensure clear membership level descriptions, comprehensive FAQs, and an easy checkout process. Moreover, you should make sure to implement an easy cancellation process as well.
3. Underpricing Your Membership
A very low price can feel like the safe choice, but it often attracts members who are less committed and leaves you without the budget to create great content and support. Price based on the value and results you deliver, compare what similar communities and courses charge, and use tiers so members can choose how much access they want. The membership pricing strategy guide covers the main models.
4. Spamming Your Members
Nobody wants to pay for a thousand emails and messages a week.
If you want to keep your members engaged, keep your communications targeted and relevant. Agree on a predictable schedule (for example, one weekly digest), segment your emails by Membership or interest, and let members choose which notifications they receive.
5. Only Prioritizing New Members
Once someone is subscribed, that doesn’t mean you should forget about them. You need to keep existing members motivated and engaged — reward them for their loyalty and make sure they have the best experience possible when using your site.
6. Too Many Changes, Too Often
Don’t make too many changes at once, as this could overwhelm your members. Instead, keep the updates gradual and meaningful to make sure people are still having a positive experience when using your WordPress membership site.
7. Ignoring Automations
Automations are your friends — they make your life easier by removing all the manual grunt work and giving you more time to focus on other important aspects of running a WordPress membership site. Automate renewals and receipts, welcome emails, access changes when a plan expires, and the connection to your other tools (for example through Zapier).
8. Ignoring Failed Payments
Some members leave not because they want to, but because their card expired or a renewal failed. Remind members before their card expires, let them update their card from their account page, and follow up quickly when a payment fails. With Stripe Connect, Ultimate Membership Pro can send card expiry reminders automatically.
9. Overlooking Privacy and Legal Pages
You collect personal and payment data, so you need a clear privacy policy, terms of membership (including your refund and cancellation rules) and a cookie notice where the law requires one. Make these pages easy to find from your sign-up form and checkout. If you are unsure what applies to you, ask a lawyer familiar with your country’s rules.
10. Not Providing Any Customer Support
Customer support is absolutely crucial in any membership site. People will inevitably have questions, and you need to be there for them with quick and helpful answers.
Make sure you provide a good customer support system for your members, whether it’s an email address, live chat or phone number. This will make sure they feel valued as customers and that their problems are being addressed in a timely way. Consequently, you will build trust, retain them longer, and they’ll be more likely to recommend your community or course to their peers.
Conclusion
Despite popular belief, learning how to build a membership site on WordPress is the easiest part of running a community.
Challenges occur in making sure you create a seamless experience for each person who chooses to join your site. From the moment they learn about you to the moment they check out, and every month after that, make sure you cover all the bases and provide an outstanding experience. Use the 10 do’s and 10 don’ts above as a checklist, and review it every few months as your WordPress membership site grows.
Frequently asked questions
What do you need to run a WordPress membership site?
You need a domain, WordPress hosting that handles logged-in traffic well, a theme, and a membership plugin that manages registration, payments and content restriction. Add a payment gateway such as Stripe or PayPal, an email marketing tool, and clear privacy and membership terms pages before you launch.
What are the most common membership site mistakes?
The most common mistakes are thin or generic content, a confusing sign-up and checkout, underpricing, sending too many emails and offering little or no support. Many owners also focus only on new sign-ups and forget existing members, which drives cancellations. Failed renewals that nobody follows up on are another frequent leak.
How do you keep members from canceling?
Deliver new value on a predictable schedule, onboard new members so they get a quick first win, and reward long-term members. Make it easy to update payment details and remind members before their card expires. Ask people who cancel why they leave and use those answers to improve your content and pricing.
How do you secure a WordPress membership site?
Keep WordPress core, themes and plugins updated, use strong passwords and limit login attempts to block brute-force attacks. Add reCAPTCHA to forms, block dashboard access for regular members, and consider two-factor authentication. Choose a reputable host, use HTTPS everywhere and keep automatic off-site backups.
Should members be able to cancel online?
Yes. An easy, self-service cancellation builds trust and makes people more willing to join in the first place. In some places, consumer rules also require that canceling a subscription is as easy as signing up. You can still offer a pause or downgrade option and ask for feedback during the process.
Ready when you are
Turn visitors into paying members with Ultimate Membership Pro
Launch your membership website, protect exclusive content and automate subscription payments, all in one WordPress plugin.
- 14-day money-back guarantee
- Unlimited members
You May Also Like
Digital Membership Card: Benefits and How to Create One
Top 5 WordPress Community Plugins for Membership Sites
Community Membership Sites Are Thriving. Here’s How to Build Yours
