If you’d rather jump to the comparison table to compare the various membership scripts that we reviewed, click here. Otherwise, stick around to learn what you need to look for when buying a membership script/plugin.
If you want to make the right decision before investing in a membership script. You must read this. Here, I outline the important features that you should consider for your membership site. Everyone’s needs are different. I’ll just tell you what the features are, and I’ll give you links to a comparison table where you can – at a glance – determine the right script for you. All the scripts that I have reviewed work under WordPress. Here we go:
Ease of Installation and Usage
Most of WordPress’s membership plugins are very easy to install. In almost all cases, you simply upload the plugin to the plugins folder and then activate it from the administration panel.
Many plugin developers also provide comprehensive documentation to walk you through any hiccups you may encounter. However, it’s important that you make sure there indeed is enough documentation for the plugin that you are about to buy.
While you’re looking at the installation documentation, also review the other sections. Does the documentation look comprehensive? Is there cool stuff in there, like video tutorials?
Support
Another crucial aspect of buying software is the after-sale support. You should know how dedicated the seller is to their product. You can tell if a seller is dedicated to their product if they provide an easy to find link to their support page or if they provide a telephone number (one of developers the membership plugins we reviewed actually provides his personal telephone number!). You can also check their public support forum (if they have any) and see whether there are a lot of unattended customer questions.
Money Back Guarantee
You’re an honest person. You’re not gonna abuse a privilege that makes your online shopping safe and enjoyable. Right? So, look for a membership script that offers a solid money-back guarantee. You never know how the plugin will run on your specific website with all the variable configurations and settings. Most membership script developers provide a money-back guarantee, but be careful with the wordings they use. You may end up being suckered out of your money. We already done the reviewing and dissecting for you in our comparison table, though – so you can buy safely.
Supported Payment Processors
One way to accept payments for your membership site is cash. Have your subscribers stuff an envelope full of cash and mail it to you. But that’s probably not the safest idea, especially when there are many more safer and more efficient alternatives. Most membership plugins natively integrate with 3rd party payment processors, such as ClickBank, e-junkie, 2Checkout, Google Checkout, PayDotCom, 1ShoppingCart, PayPal, and more. If you already have an account with a payment processor, make sure that the plugin that you are buying supports it. If you don’t, review the payment processors mentioned, pick your favorite, and then make sure that the plugin supports it.
Download Protection
In your membership site, not all of your content will be text on web pages. Some of your premium content could be in audio or video format. It could be in PDF format. Or it could be in any other format that’s not viewable in a web browser; a format that needs to be downloaded to the user’s computer in order to be consumed. The problem is, when you offer downloadable content through direct links, these links can easily be shared on the Internet. Anyone who knows the link can simply paste it in the browser and download your premium content. With the use of membership plugins, you can avoid that. These plugins have mechanisms in place to prevent access to your content through direct links.
Sequential Content Delivery
Many membership plugins have this ability. Basically, instead of giving your subscriber access to all of your content at once, this feature allows you to specify an "age" for the subscriber before they can access the content. You might want to do that to protect your content from malicious intentions. For example, someone might subscribe to your website, copy all of your content and cancel their subscription on the same day!
Another use of this feature is course delivery. If you’re offering a course in separate dependant modules that build upon one another. You might want to make Module 1 available the first week, Module 2 the next, and so on.
Partial Content Protection
Giving your potential subscribers teaser content is a very effective way to entice them to subscribe. The partial content protection feature is a good way to accomplish that. You would simply make parts of your post visible and the important parts hidden.
Autoresponder Integration
Always maintaining a list of your audience is essential to your membership site success. That’s why most of the membership plugins offer native integration with autoresponder services such as AWeber and GetResponse.
Affiliate Program
Your membership site is your product. You want people to buy it. Would you also like other people to refer their friends and contacts to your membership site? Then your membership site needs to have an affiliate program. That way, when a user is referred to your membership site and they end up becoming a subscriber, the referrer would get a commission.
Protected RSS Feeds
What if you’re every few days churning out content for your subscribers, how would your subscribers keep up? Well, one way would be for them to check your site every few days, but if you want to give your subscribers an added convenience, you could create a protected RSS for them to subscribe to. Not all membership plugins provide this functionality and many membership site owners would actually prefer the subscribers visited their site frequently.
Available Membership Levels
Will your membership site offer only a two-tier subscription model, free and premium? Or will it be multi-tiered? Do you want to make some content available to Level 1 subscribers, other content available to Level 2 and above and so on? If so, you need to know how many membership levels the plugin that you’re buying offers. Most offer unlimited options, but some are limited.
Available Licenses and Prices
You need to beware of the restrictions of the licenses offered. Most membership plugins have several licenses depending on the intended use of the software. For example, you could buy a 1-site license for a price or a license for unlimited number of websites for a much higher price. Some unlimited licenses allow you to install the software on your website or on any of your clients’ websites (if you’re a web developer). Some unlimited licenses allow unlimited installation only on your personal sites.
Some cheaper licenses restrict some features, so that’s another thing to look out for.
With this information, you should now have a solid knowledge of the common features of membership plugins. If there is another issue that’s unclear, ask your question in the comments below.