The Simple Membership Plugin can be easily integrated with the free Accept Stripe Payments Plugin to accept payments for membership via the Stripe payments plugin.
The Stripe payments plugin has a nice on-site quick checkout process via the Stripe gateway. Also, it has options to accept other payments like Apple pay, Google pay etc via Stripe gateway. So this integration opens up more ways for you to receive membership payments from your users.
Creating a Membership Product in the Stripe Payments Plugin
First, you need to configure the Accept Stripe Payments plugin’s basic settings to get that plugin up and running. Once set up, you can then create a new product for managing your membership fees or payments.
Step 1) Create a Membership Level
Create a membership level in the Simple Membership plugin (if you don’t have one already).
Read this documentation that explains how to create a membership level.
Step 2) Create a New Product in the Accept Stripe Payment Plugin
Click on the Add New Product menu under the Stripe Payments plugin’s admin dashboard menu.
Create a product that closely represents the membership that you are going to offer. For example, the product title may read “6 Months Membership to Our Site”. Enter a price for the membership that someone must pay to gain access to your membership only content. Configure all the details as needed to create the new product.
Step 3) Connect the Product to the Membership Level
Scroll down to the section that reads Simple Membership Level
Select a membership level from the drop-down to connect this product to the level in question. Below is an example screenshot.
Save or Publish the Stripe payments product.
Step 4) Embed the Newly Created Product on a Page
You can now embed this newly created product (for membership payment) on your Membership Join Us page. Visitors can then pay using any payment methods available in that plugin.
This documentation on the Stripe payments plugin website explains how you can embed any product (created in that plugin) on any WordPress post or page.
What Happens After a Payment or Transaction?
If the payment is made by a NEW member then the user will receive an email that contains a special link to complete the registration. Read the registration process overview documentation to learn more on how a typical membership registration process works.
If the payment is made by an EXISTING member then the membership level (associated with this payment button) is applied to the existing member’s profile.
Note: The member must be logged into the site as a member for this plugin to recognize the user and treat him/her as an existing member.
Using it with a Subscription Product/Plan via the Accept Stripe Payments Plugin
You create a subscription plan in the Accept Stripe Payments plugin. Then you attach that plan to a product. At the same, time you specify which membership level that product is for. The product is what tells simple membership which product corresponds to which membership level. You can create multiple plans and then create a product for each plan. You will be able to assign a membership level to any of the products that you created.
When a customer purchase the product (with the subscription plan), they are buying a membership product that will have a recurring charge (as you specified in the plan).
If the subscription is cancelled or it ends, then the membership profile will also be deactivated.
This documentation on membership level is good to read to understand how the member’s access works based on what you specify in the membership level. It also has some details on how it behaves with a one time payment setup and a subscription payment setup.