One of the most common questions I’ve been asked is how to build a membership site (like this one), using WordPress. After trying nearly a half-dozen different solutions, I’m happy to say that the solution is simple!
With just one plugin, you can convert your site to a membership site, begin providing premium content for your members, and secure content for members only.
During the development of this site, I purchased and tested several of the most popular plugins designed to accomplish this relatively simply function. These included Easy PayPal, wp-Member, WP eCommerce, and a few others. Then I discovered WishList Member.
I downloaded the plugin, installed it within a couple of minutes, and then configured the settings, following the fantastic video tutorials on their site. The control panel was instantly intuitive to me, and it was so simple to lock down my “members-only” content. One tag and that’s it!
Additionally, they offer a very simple, one-click integration with the 1ShoppingCart solution, which made that step a breeze! I set up my entire membership site in less than 30 minutes!
My members have commented on how easy it was to sign up on my site, and that the premium content is available exactly as they expected. My goal for this site is to provide reviews and recommendations for others who may be looking to do the same thing… so if I can save you a headache, I’ll be a happy guy! Do yourself a favor… check out WishList Member and then post your own experience in the comments below.
WishList Member is a powerful membership script that can turn any WordPress blog into a full blown membership site. The best part is, it’s easy to use. Just unzip, upload and within minutes you can have your own membership site up and running.
Features Include:
Unlimited Membership Levels
Your membership site can have as many “levels” as you want. So if you want “Silver”, “Gold” and “Platinum”, you can! Now you can charge more for a higher level of access – all within the same blog.
Simple Installation With New or Existing WordPress Blog
Whether you have an existing WordPress site or if you are starting a new one, installing WishList Member is a breeze. Just unzip the file, upload to your “plugins folder” and activate.
Flexible Membership Options
WishList Member gives you the ability to create Free, Trial or Paid membership levels (and any combination of all three).
Check out WishList Member for yourself!
Sequential Content Delivery
Depending on your setup, you may want to graduate your members from one level to the next. For example, members start at “Module 1″ and after 30 days they are automatically upgraded to “Module 2″. That’s what the Sequential Content Delivery system is for.
Control Viewed Content
If you don’t want your members to see content they don’t have access to, just click the “Hide” button. This works REALLY well if you have a “modular” membership and only want people in “Module 1″ to see “Module 1″ and not “Module 2,3,4,5″ etc.
Shopping Cart Integration
WishList Member seamlessly integrates with the most popular shopping cart systems including PayPal, ClickBank, Google Checkout and many more. Plus, WishList Member now has total integration with 1ShoppingCart.
Easy Member Management
At a glance you can see your members, their registration status, membership level and much more. It’s also a snap to upgrade members, move them to different levels, “pause” their membership or delete them entirely.
Multi-Level Access
WishList Member can go beyond just a membership site as you can easily give your members access to multiple levels within your membership (this works well if you’d like to create a central download location).
See how easily WishList Member can be set up!
Total Content Protection
WishList Member gives you the ability to determine exactly what your members can access. You can even drill down and grant access to specific posts, pages, categories and comments for each membership level. The possibilities are endless!
Secure RSS Feeds
Secure RSS feeds allow your members to view their membership material in their favorite RSS reader. But, it also gives you complete control – non-members can’t access the feed and if a person stops paying, their feed automatically stops working.
Subscription Length Control
With this feature you can control the length of time each member has access to your membership site. Now you can automatically expire a membership after 3 days, 7 days or whatever time period you want.
Login Redirection
If you would like to control the first page your members see when they login, now you can. The best part is, you can have a different redirection page for each membership level. It’s perfect for adding welcome messages, updates, news and so much more.
Set up your own membership site with WordPress and WishList Member!
“Sneak Peak” Content Display
Protecting your content is extremely easy because everything after the “more” tag is automatically protected for members only. So an eye-grabbing post title, combined with a compelling opening paragraph is more than enough to wet the appetite of non-members!
Custom Error Pages
When a person tries to access content they don’t have permission to view, they will be taken to an error page. Now you can determine what that page will be. This gives you the chance to encourage them to register or upgrade to a different membership level.
Partial Content Display
Let’s say you want the majority of a post to be displayed for non-members except for one sentence. With the Partial Content Display feature you can hide that “secret sentence” so that it only displays the “secret sentence” for your members. It’s very cool 
Much, Much More!
WishList Member has a wide variety of additional features that expand the way you can use WordPress to build and grow your membership site. Plus, we’re always adding more based on suggestions from our customers.
I’ve tried several of the most popular membership management systems for WordPress, but I quickly discovered that they were all far-too complicated and frustrating. They were either too technical or they didn’t provide the flexibility or features I needed to make my site work well.
That’s why WishList Member is very unique.
It’s extremely easy to use and yet still contains all the powerful features you’d expect with comparable membership systems priced in the $1,000-$4,000 range.
But here’s the best part…
You don’t need to “switch” to a whole new system.
Your Entire Membership Site
Can Be Run Within WordPress!
Getting a membership site up has never been easier and with WishList Member you never have to worry about the membership system not working with WordPress – that’s because it was built for WordPress!
Plus since it’s user friendly you won’t have any headaches regarding the “technical” aspects of starting and managing your site. If you like using WordPress, then you’ll LOVE using WishList Member.
The other important thing you need to know is that…
WishList Member Is Backed By
A 100% Satisfaction Guarantee!
Oh, one more thing…
After you purchase WishList Member, you’ll also receive access to a complete series of video tutorials and instructions to help you setup your membership site.
These videos will cover the basics of getting started, but also provide some advanced tips and tricks for setting up the structure of your site. There are a variety of VERY cool things you can do
with other plugins and tools and they’ll show you how in these videos.
Plus, since you get FREE updates with your purchase, whenever they add new features or upgrades, you’ll be able to instantly update your version.
In fact, updating your version of WL Member is super easy. You just upload the new plugin and that’s it. No “deactivating” and no extra “tweaking” necessary.
So, check them out, select the option that is right for you and start your membership site today!
February 9, 2010
Hello,
I would like my site to be a membership site but with one important thing. Each person that sign up to my site could invite their friends to join and each time a friend buy something on my site, they (the person who invited first) receive a rebate or a 10$ credit on is next purchase. You get the idea? Is it possible to do this with this plugin?
Thank you very much for your help,
Josée,
February 10, 2010
Hi Josée and thank you for dropping by WP101.com! I understand what you’re trying to do, and you can get there, using the WishList Member plugin — AND your payment processing gateway. WishList Member only handles the member registration on your site, and gives you the ability to protect and/or display content to your members. It works in conjunction with the payment processor of your choice (PayPal, 1ShoppingCart, etc.).
I use 1ShoppingCart, which integrates perfectly with the WishList Member plugin, and enables me to generate coupon codes, create rebates, and even manage my affiliate program. When you set up WishList Member, you’ll select a payment processing service with which to integrate. With these two pieces in place, you’ll be ready to set up your site as you described.
Hope this helps, and good luck!
June 26, 2010
Does Wishlist Member *really* have full integration with 1ShoppingCart? I understood that if a subscription member cancels their payment and you are using 1SC, you need to manually update/remove that member from access. Has that changed? Thanks in advance.
June 28, 2010
I’ve not encountered this situation, Chris. Seems like this would be an issue with 1ShoppingCart, not the WL Member plugin. I doubt that any 3rd party payment service would remove members from your WordPress User registry. Do you know of a better solution for this particular situation?