[Support request] Free Membership

The core Simple Membership plugin doesn’t have a built-in feature to automatically “convert” a free membership into a paid one after a month.

However, you can achieve this with an upgrade path:

1. Create two membership levels:
   Level A: “Free Trial” (duration = 1 month).
   Level B: “Paid Monthly” or “Paid Annual”.
2. Set the free level to expire in 1 month
   In the Membership Level settings, set the Access Duration to “1 month” so that members on the free level automatically expire after that period.
3. Provide an upgrade link or button
   Once the free membership expires, the member will no longer have access. You can:
   Add upgrade buttons on a “Membership Expired” page.
   Use the membership upgrade feature so logged-in users can switch to the paid plan anytime during or after the trial.
4. Optional: Automate upgrade reminders
   If you want automatic emails prompting users to upgrade before expiry, you’ll need the Email Broadcast Addon or a connected email marketing tool to send these reminders.

If you want the upgrade to happen automatically without user action, that’s not a standard feature — it would require custom development or a more advanced membership/subscription platform.

ALTERNATIVELY, you can setup a trial subscription via the payment gateway…
How to Offer Customers a Free Trial Period on Your Membership Site
https://simple-membership-plugin.com/offer-customers-free-trial-period/