Creating Membership Sites – WordPress + Wishlist = Your Membership Success!

Membership Sites are a hot item just now, with many people creating new sites to share information with their communities. There are many types of memberships and ways to create them. Some of the programs out on the market today can be terribly expensive and clunky to use. Many don’t allow a lot of custom work done on the site, so it’s hard to brand your Membership Site. While there isn’t (yet!) a perfect solution, a combination of WordPress and WishList is about as close as you can get!

Why WordPress + WishList?

First of all, WordPress is a free blogging platform that can do so much more. With all the themes, plugins, and training that is available online (and most of that is free as well!), a simple blog can be transformed into a very active and feature-rich website with photos, video, files, password-protected areas and memberships! There are even plugins to add forums, varied content, calendars and more! With such a flexible platform, there isn’t much that you can think of that you can’t do with a WordPress website.

WishList, while not free, is a very inexpensive option to the other membership management software solutions that are currently available. There is a one-time fee for the plugin, which means no recurring monthly fees. You can purchase a license to use on one site, or a multi-site license that would allow you to setup multiple Membership Sites. This “premium plugin” for WordPress can handle almost anything you throw at it and the developers are continuing to tweak it and add features. They’re even creating additional plugins to help you maximize your site! You can even link it directly to your shopping cart or autoresponder program, making your site appear seamless and perfect! It’s easy to install and since it is a premium plugin, the files are encrypted so you know you have a secure program.

Combining WordPress and WishList is a win-win situation for you and your members. While using this combination takes a little while to setup, the levels of customization make it worthwhile. Your members will feel right at home due to the branding you can use on your Membership Site. And it’s as easy to update your Membership Site as it is to post to your blog!

Bonus Tip: WishList has a great affiliate program, so if your members like the setup of your site, you could earn your money back in no time!