Membership Plugin

WordPress Membership Plugin

Membership Registration Process Overview

There are several ways to handle the registration process using the Simple Membership plugin. The process may differ from other plugins, so we recommend reviewing this guide to understand how it works.

To fully grasp the available options, we recommend reading all the information on this page.

Table of Contents

Key Concepts to Understand First

Before we dive into the registration process, it’s important to understand a few key concepts that may work differently compared to other membership plugins you’ve used.

How Membership Selection Works

Unlike some plugins, our registration form does not include a membership level selection. Instead, users choose their membership level on a landing page (typically the ‘Join Us’ page) through payment buttons or links. The level they select and pay for determines the registration flow. Read this guide to understand the role of the ‘Join Us’ (landing) page on your membership site.

This approach offers greater flexibility in how the plugin can be configured to manage your entire membership system, making it easier to tailor the setup to fit your site’s structure and workflow.

Options for Handling Paid Memberships

You can configure your site to handle paid memberships (if you want to offer paid memberships) in one of two ways:

  • Option 1: Payment Before Registration
    • Users select and pay for a membership level on the “Join Us” or Landing page.
    • After payment, they receive a unique link to register for that level.
  • Option 2: Register First, Upgrade Later
    • Users sign up for a free membership level to create a basic account.
    • They can then visit a payment page, choose a paid membership level, and complete the payment.
    • After payment, their account is upgraded to the paid level.

Now that you’re familiar with the key concepts and how membership selection works, let’s walk through the actual registration process step by step.

Standard Membership Registration Process (Option 1)

I would like to draw your attention to three components of the registration process:

  • The starting point for your users/potential members.
  • Free membership registration process (if you want to allow it).
  • Paid membership registration process (if you want to allow it).

1) The Starting Point for Your Users/Potential Members

The graphic below provides an overview of the initial step in the membership registration process, which is identical for both free and paid memberships.

The first step of the registration process is to inform your visitors of the various membership options available on your site. This enables users to choose the membership level that best suits their needs. The Join Us (Landing) page is where you can display all of these details.

After installing the plugin, a default page titled “Join Us” is automatically created. You can find the URL of this page from the plugin’s settings menu. The “Join Us” page is the landing page for your potential members. This landing page serves as the first point of contact for your users, where they can view the different membership options available on your site. You have the ability to customize this page by adding your unique membership offers and any necessary instructions that can assist a first-time visitor to navigate your membership site with ease.

You will also add the following elements to the “Join Us” page:

  • Membership Payment buttons (for each paid membership level that you want to offer)
  • Link to the registration page (for free membership option)

After reading the available membership options, users can initiate the registration process by clicking the payment button (for paid membership) or the link to the registration page (for free membership).

The graphic below provides and example of how a standard membership “Join Us” page may look like:

Now that the users have a way to select their preferred membership level, let’s discuss the subsequent steps.

2) Free Membership Registration Process

The graphic below provides an overview of the registration process for the Free Membership option.

If the user selects the Free Membership option (if you offer it), they can click on the registration link to proceed to the registration page. This page is accessible to anyone who wishes to create a free membership account. If you wish to offer multiple free membership options, refer to this document to learn how to do so.

Note that the Free Membership option is not mandatory, and can be disabled in the settings if you do not wish to offer it.

3) Paid Membership Registration Process

The following graphic gives an overview of what happens after the member has selected and paid for a paid membership level on your site.

If a user decides to opt for a Paid Membership, they make a payment by clicking on the payment button for the appropriate membership level. After the payment is confirmed, the membership plugin will enable the user to finalize their registration for the chosen membership level (according to the payment button).

After clicking on the “unique registration link” provided on the Thank You page or in the email, the users will be directed to the registration page where they can create a username and password for their account.

Important Notes for Paid Memberships

Paid membership level selection happens on a landing page (typically the ‘Join Us’ page) where users choose a level by clicking on payment buttons or links.

The plugin automatically determines the paid membership level a user has paid for based on the payment button they used. For example, if a user clicks the payment button for membership level ‘3’, the plugin will recognize that they are entitled to level 3 access. When the user clicks the ‘unique registration link’ (sent to their email after payment), the plugin will configure the registration form specifically for level 3.

It’s essential to understand that the membership level a user purchases is determined by the payment button they click on to complete the transaction. Therefore, you should present the different membership level options on your landing page (the “Join Us” page), rather than on the registration page.

Read the following documentation for more explanation:

Alternative Registration Process (Option 2)

There may be instances where it’s necessary for users to create a basic account and log in before making a payment. To achieve this, the plugin can be set up such that visitors are required to create a free basic account before being able to purchase a paid membership level.

Get Users to Register before They Can Pay for a Paid Membership

This documentation outlines how to configure the membership plugin to ensure the registration and account creation process is completed prior to payment for a membership.

Membership Payment Options

The Simple Membership plugin supports both one-time and recurring payments for paid memberships using PayPal and/or Stripe. You can choose to use either or both of these payment options. You also have the flexibility to create as many payment buttons as needed and link each one to a specific membership level. We also offer integrations with a few selected eCommerce-related plugins that you can use to accept membership payments.

Review the available options in the membership payment documentation section, then follow the appropriate guide based on the type of payment button you want to create.

Additional Resources

Here are some additional resources, tips, and options that will be helpful.

What If I am Only Allowing Free Membership(s)?

If your site offers only Free Membership, simply update the ‘Join Us’ page to inform users about the free membership option. Guide them to visit the registration page to sign up for a free account.

For sites offering multiple free membership account options, please follow the 2nd method of offering free memberships explained here.

Hide the Membership Level Field

The membership level field is required and must be included in the registration form. However, you can hide it by enabling the following checkbox option in the Advanced Settings menu of the plugin:

Hide Membership Level Field on Registration Form

Membership Renewal and Upgrade Payment

If you want to offer premium membership renewal and upgrade options then read the following two documentation:

Adding CAPTCHA To the Registration Form

You can add CAPTCHA to the registration form using our free CAPTCHA addon(s). Visit the addons menu to see the available CAPTCHA options and choose the one that suits your needs.

Manual Approval for New Members

Read the manual approval documentation to learn about this feature.

Email Activation for New Member Accounts

Read the email activation feature documentation to learn about this feature.

Read the documentation on regenerating the unique registration completion link.

Anyone Can Register Option of WordPress

This documentation has explanation of this option.