Can You Build a Reliable Income with a WordPress Membership Site?

While this platform is a powerful blog and website building option, can the same be said for its membership capabilities?

If you’re in a hurry, this section is for you.

Below, we’ve put together a list of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in WordPress, which you’ll have to deal with if you choose to use it to build your membership website.

Here are some pros and cons of using WordPress for a membership site:

Keep reading to dig into the details of WordPress’ membership features and find out if this is the right tool for you.

While many membership websites make use of a WordPress membership plugin, there are several built-in features that can help you accomplish the task.

The first method isn’t ideal if you plan to have a fully-fledged membership site because you’ll waste a ton of time changing the settings and setting the password for individual pages.

The second option is better, but there is still an obstacle you’ll have to tackle — how to share the password with your members.

With a handful of members, it’s simple enough to send out an email, but once you scale, it becomes a more tiresome task.

You could use an email integration as a workaround, but email marketing tools don’t come cheap and integrations never provide a seamless user experience.

However, that’s not all that WordPress has to offer when it comes to memberships . . .

Most WordPress themes, especially those that come with membership functionality, also come with a cost of their own.

When you choose a theme, you’ll need to consider the cost as well as which WordPress plugins you want to use.

If you want to build your membership for free, then stop reading and head over to systeme.io. You can create and launch your membership site in less time than it will take to finish reading this post.

If you’re still dead set on creating your membership website on WordPress, it’s worth considering a membership plugin.

These hyper-specific software add-ons are purpose-built to help you create a membership website that functions as you choose, without the limits of WordPress’ meager content blocking options.

With third-party plugins, you can:

And more!

We’ve created a list of the top 3 membership plugin options so that you can choose the right Wordpress membership plugin for you.

However, premium WordPress plugins like this don’t come cheap. How much will it cost you to add MemberPress to your WordPress website?

MemberPress has 3 pricing options:

Unfortunately, there’s no free plan or free trial, just a 14-day money-back guarantee.

On top of the annual-only pricing, this makes the MemberPress plugin out of reach for small business owners.

Wishlist Member has 2 pricing plans available:

Wishlist Member also doesn’t come with a free trial or free plan, just a slightly underwhelming 30-day money-back guarantee.

With an up-front cost of $199, it’s still outside of most people’s budgets.

This plugin is an obvious choice if you plan to use any other WooCommerce products, as they’re all built to work well together.

However, this plugin does not come with a lot of options.

There’s just 1 price ($199/year), no free trial or plan, and they have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee — marginally better than most plugins, but still not really an affordable option.

Keep reading to find out how to build your membership site with WordPress and the different options available.

As a WordPress user, you’ve got 2 ways to create a membership website:

Do these options still seem a little expensive or unnecessarily complicated?

We agree — that’s why we created systeme.io!

Systeme.io makes membership website building so easy, you can create one in a matter of minutes.

Use our combined membership site and online course builder to start creating restricted content for your members.

Here’s our simple 5-step process:

And more!

To access more of these features, and advanced tools like evergreen webinars, you’ll need to upgrade to one of our other plans — the good news is that they’re infinitely affordable.

With systeme.io, you won’t need to pay for plugins or integrations.

You’ll never pay more than $97/month for unlimited access to literally every one of our features.

Where else can you build unlimited memberships at this price point?

If you’re still uncertain about WordPress memberships (and whether you should work with their platform), keep reading to discover the answers to your burning questions.

Building WordPress membership websites isn’t difficult, but without membership plugins, you’ll battle to grow to the point where you can make a recurring income.

Even with a plugin, you’ll have plenty of upfront costs you’ll need to manage. On top of that, you’ll probably end up with a headache trying to navigate the different tools and make them work together.

That’s why smart business owners and budding membership makers opt for systeme.io, a 100% free option that’s easy to use and beginner-friendly.

Sign up now and build your first membership site within the hour!