{"id":811,"date":"2019-07-09T19:27:21","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T19:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-466366-1461687.cloudwaysapps.com\/?p=811"},"modified":"2020-11-11T15:02:54","modified_gmt":"2020-11-11T15:02:54","slug":"membership-website-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/membershipwebsiteslab.com\/membership-website-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Reasons You Should Build a WordPress Membership Website"},"content":{"rendered":"
A WordPress Membership website is a fantastic business model. You\u2019re essentially able to scale your business by selling access to your expertise and knowledge.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For many businesses, the idea of a membership website is a smart one. They are a great way to build up recurring revenue around your knowledge and expertise.<\/span><\/p>\n This could be for a recurring monthly income, or you can sell individual online courses. They can also be a great way to add extra value to your existing customers or your team as a training or education hub. (we have our very own training site)<\/span><\/p>\n So, how do you built a site like this? There are plenty of membership site options out there, but we believe that WordPress membership websites are the best option. Why? Well, here are five reasons:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n First of all, if you have your WordPress membership website, it\u2019s entirely owned by you.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you use online membership platforms \u2013 you pay a monthly fee to rent their software, but you\u2019ll never actually own the site. If you accidentally miss a payment, your website will be taken down, and you could lose all your members-only content. (I\u2019ve actually seen this happen before)<\/span><\/p>\n When you create a membership site with WordPress, you own the site. You have full control of every aspect of the site so you can control the look and feel as well as the functionality you offer to users.<\/span><\/p>\n Online membership platforms aren\u2019t really as customisable as you may need; they usually have templates and preset themes you can change colours and fonts, but you may be frustrated with the options beyond these templates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You lack the control that you have when you choose to have your membership website on WordPress. It may take a little longer to customise or you may need help if your HTML and CSS skills aren\u2019t up to scratch but its ultimately down to you on how it looks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If a membership site is part of your overall business strategy, it will be a crucial asset for you. And something that you should own. You would never build your house on rented land, so why do the same for your online business too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Think about the purpose of a membership website; it\u2019s a place for your members\/customers to access projected exclusive content. So, what happens when you grow your marketing starts working, and your member\u2019s numbers grow?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n All of a sudden, you need to ensure that your site can accommodate an influx of new people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Not only that, but what if you have new ideas and want to implement new features based on member feedback?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In both scenarios, you need to be able to extend your website. With WordPress membership sites, they\u2019re so much easier to add functionality new features.<\/span><\/p>\n With online platforms, you\u2019re usually restricted to the features they have in their software. If you want to add a forum or members directory in 6 months and the software doesn\u2019t support that, then you\u2019re stuck and have two choices. Accept it, and don’t add these features, move to a platform that supports these functionalities or move your site to a WordPress membership site.<\/span><\/p>\n With WordPress, the plugin market is massive \u2013 you can get a plugin for pretty much any need or have it custom built to suit your needs. There is an enormous plugin market, so it is effortless for you to expand the site and add more features whenever you want.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The same can\u2019t be said for some other rented membership site platforms. Often, you get a site that stays how it is forever. So, if you need to extend it, then you can\u2019t.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n WordPress comes with so many extension options as well, which you can implement at your leisure. It\u2019s a brilliant idea to roll out your membership website and give customers a chance to provide feedback. Based on their suggestions, you can then alter the site and improve. If you take on their ideas, they will have a better experience, feel listened to, valued and more likely to stay around longer.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Companies should always have future growth in mind, so it makes sense to build your membership site on a platform that caters to this.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n WordPress membership websites are very cost-effective to set up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n All you need is a hosting account, you can download WordPress and set it up completely free.<\/span><\/p>\n The beauty of WordPress is that you only pay for what you need.<\/span><\/p>\n This happens a lot with other website building platforms; you pay for a membership site and end up with loads of features that you just never use. In essence, a lot of your money is just being thrown away, so you\u2019re not making the most out of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With WordPress, you have different plugins that can be added to extend the functionality for your members. To launch a membership site, all you really need is a membership plugin to take payments and set restrictions on the content that only paying members can access.<\/span><\/p>\n A typical membership site will have some course management software like Learndash to manage your valuable content and then a plugin to control access.<\/span><\/p>\n For all of this, your initial outlay may just be around \u00a3400. Then the time required to set everything up.<\/span><\/p>\n For this reason, it\u2019s a fantastic option for all businesses, but particularly useful for companies on a limited budget and they\u2019re starting small with their membership site.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n There\u2019s a reason so many companies turn to WordPress when weighing up the different membership site options. You simply can\u2019t deny that it provides you with access to so many various tools.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There are loads of extensions and plugins you can use to really enhance the functionality of your WordPress membership website. These can increase usability but also the way you engage with new members and inform them of new and sell other courses or services.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s say you wanted to welcome new members when they first sign up and give them a weekly update. Connecting your site to your Email marketing like <\/span>MailChimp<\/span><\/a> or CRM marketing tools like <\/span>ActiveCampaign<\/span><\/a> or Infusionsoft (Now called Keap) allows you to do this and create a personal and meaningful conversation at the same time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n1 \u2013 You own your own membership site<\/b><\/h2>\n
2 \u2013 A WordPress membership website is more extendable<\/b><\/h2>\n
3 \u2013 Extremely cost-effective<\/b><\/h2>\n
4 \u2013 Connects to more tools a more extensive set of business tools<\/b><\/h2>\n