How to Create a Membership Website

Remember how ten years ago, many true professionals in various fields, from fitness centers to language schools, were limited in the number of people they could teach due to their location.

Today, in the digital age, it has become easier than ever to reach a wide audience with content. For example, a good copywriter from Hamburg, who used to work only with local residents, can now spread their knowledge worldwide.

And one of the most popular ways to expand your readership is by creating membership sites.

Membership services are extremely popular for several reasons. Over the next few years, 53% of the total revenue of the software industry will come from the subscription model, but the most important thing is the community surrounding each service.

A good idea could be to offer various forms of content. This means that you don't necessarily have to offer just articles or videos. You can use:

• Videos
• Audio files
• Art and photography
• Text materials (articles, blog posts, reviews, thematic research, participant reviews, etc.)
• Presentations
• Infographics
• Webinars, live broadcasts, etc.

And it doesn't necessarily have to be digital content. There are many services that send snacks, cosmetics, etc., to colleagues.

Take a look at Graze - a subscription platform that sends you healthy snacks based on your personal preferences.

# 2: Library

With a subscription, your employees get access to all the content you upload to the platform and can use the already published materials.

Usually, the content library should be about the size of a year's supply of content, because otherwise, there is no point in being a member of it.

Good idea - to divide the library into several categories. Look at MasterClass.

On their website, there are several sections and topics. Some subscribers may be looking for culinary lessons, while others - acting masterclasses.

However, this doesn’t mean that they cannot try something else, as subscriptions cover the entire library.

As mentioned above, the library has classes on a variety of topics. Therefore, those who initially subscribed to speech lessons may get something new, as they have already paid their dues anyway. This is likely to add value, create a sense of variety, and increase their engagement.

# 3: Progressive (Coaching)

This model may suit you if your services involve progressive payment. For example, training, tutoring, and mentoring can be cited as examples.

The mechanism is that participants receive a certain amount of work once for a certain period of time.

For example, if you conduct meditation sessions, you can offer potential participants a subscription that includes three 45-minute individual lessons and access to a meditation guide.

# 4: Community

Members of this business model derive value from belonging to a community of individuals who have similar interests, attitudes, and aspirations.

There are several ways to communicate with colleagues:

• Messages and discussions on specific topics.
• Forums.
• Chats on social networks.
• Messengers and other chat platforms.

Patreon is a good example of a platform that uses this model. It is a membership-based platform where creative people earn money for creating content through subscriptions.

Again, content plays an important role here, but many people join the platform because there is a strong sense of community around the content.

This suggests that membership services aren’t necessarily linked to the value of the content itself, but rather to the value of belonging to the community.

# 5: Result Achieving

This model is best suited for services that have clear results that need to be achieved by the end of a specific period.

This means that users subscribe to your service, follow your instructions and recommendations, and take all necessary steps to achieve the promised results.

A common example would be fitness subscriptions.

To participate in a weight-loss marathon, people sign up as members for a period of three months.

🎯 Promised result: — 5kg minimum.

By the way, if your business is in the fitness industry, you might find our article on the general tips for fitness website development useful:

# 6: Mixed

And finally, the most commonly used combinations of different modes.

Knowing what the previous model means is important for understanding what is available.

However, most likely, you will not use just one of them.

For example, almost all membership websites have a community, including at least group chat.

If you offer regular updates, you will have a content library anyway, as it is impractical to make previous updates unavailable. Hybrid models are also a great way to increase the value of participants and diversify the user experience.

Finally, it is unlikely that any specific model will fully meet the needs of your business.

That is why every membership site is unique and is created in such a way as to reflect the values and approach of the founder.

Subscription Models 🤝

Let's move on to the part where you have to choose how and how much to charge your members.

Will everyone pay the same amount if you take over on a monthly (or annual) basis, or will there be different membership tiers? 🤔

Well, most companies offer different membership levels. The most common ones are Basic-Standard-Premium or Silver-Gold-Platinum.

Also, it's a fantastic opportunity to stick in members' memories; while naming the membership tiers, try coming up with something unique.

Here are a couple of real life examples:

• Frequent Flyer — Crew — Pilot.
• Lunar Lover — Stellar Supporter — Galactic Benefactor.
• Sprout Scout — Plant Parent — Green Goddess.

And what's particularly good about these names is that you can guess what services these subscriptions offer, right?

For example, what service does "Basic Subscription" denote? Literally, any service.

However, the "Sprout Scout" membership level will make you think about gardening.

🌌 Lunar Lover? — Space & Astrology
✈️ Frequent Flyer? — Aviation & maybe Travelling

Therefore, you have a better chance of being remembered if you come up with something original and memorable.

Members Database 📚

You will require (or already have) a client database if you are the proprietor of a membership website.

Therefore, you may require Client Relationship Management (CRM) software in order to handle this database.

CRM software for member service has the following features:

• Automation of registration for new members
• Unified labeling of cities and countries (no USA, USA, etc., only USA for all members).
• Accounting and sales management automation
• Checking and removing duplicate records
• Content distribution automation
• Report generation and analysis

There are quite a lot of pre-packaged CRM solutions on the market. And if you aren’t planning on using a CRM software to automate & controll all parts of your workflow, then options like Oracle and Salesforce may suit you well.

However, if you’re interested in developing your own one or just want to learn a bit more about it, you could check out our article on a custom CRM development.

Websites dedicated to club membership typically allow potential members to learn about subscription options before requesting information. The following information may be requested when creating a profile:

• Full name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Bank card details (for future payments)
• Date of birth

Additionally, you need to provide personalization, as a high degree of personalization is a crucial element of such a service. Personalized experience can be provided in the following ways:

• Acknowledge users' birthdays and other holidays.
• Use names and surnames instead of "you" in all messages and emails.
• Avoid generic phrases and sentences as much as possible to create a "one of many" feeling.

Adding social media registration is also a good idea. This will save users time and allow them to automatically interact with their social media accounts. This feature can be implemented, for example, using the Facebook social network's SDK.

# 2: Home Screen 📊

The main screen is where users can access all available content, key features, their account, upcoming events, etc. However, these features typically become available at the login stage. Before that, subscription options and general company information should be displayed here.

Information about the company can include:

• Services.
• Contact information.
• A search bar (if needed).
• About Us
• Blog
• Links to Social Media & others.

# 3: Filtering & Sorting 🔍

To be honest, not every kind of business or membership model need this functionality, hence it's really infrequent.

And vice versa, if the content library is used as a membership model, filtering and sorting functions will be required.

The type of filter also depends on the content you provide, but a general list might look like this:

• Publication date
• Topic (e.g., sports, technology, fashion).
• Content type (e.g., video, audio, text);
• Other.

Regardless of the type of content, a search bar is necessary for most websites.

# 4: Content Page 📑

It strongly recommended that you create a distinct page for every piece of information to avoid your platform looking overly disorganized.

Again, the type of membership model plays an important role here, but if we briefly describe what you want to do, you can put all the content on one page and show something like a preview.

From there, users can access the full version. It would also be good to offer potential new users the opportunity to learn more about what content they will get when they subscribe.

You can provide a full list of materials with titles or offer some materials intended only for club members for free.

# 5: Calendar 📅

Numerous membership websites come with an integrated calendar that lists all of the crucial dates. They can include:

• Upcoming events.
• Holidays.
• Scheduled meetings.
• Content updates & others.

Additionally, calendars are a great way to provide club members with additional benefits.

With an integrated calendar, users can not only use the website to access services but also, for example, plan their day.

# 6: Forum 💬

Many membership websites have their own forums where the digital community can gather to exchange ideas on current topics or simply socialize.

You can divide the forum into several sections:

• All topics.
• Each topic separately.
• Messages.
• “My replies”.
• Community announcements & others.

To increase engagement, you can add leaderboards showing the most active users and provide them with bonuses, such as discounts or special badges on their profiles.

# 7: Payment Gateway 💲

To incentivize membership, you need a secure, reliable, and convenient payment gateway.

Convenience for the user means:

• It should be compatible with websites and various operating systems.
• Compatibility with common payment methods, such as credit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, and PayPal.
• Fast and immediate payment processing.
• Reliable protection of all financial data.

❗ Always inform users about how they can cancel their subscription.

# 8: Customer Support 🤖

Add a well-developed customer support service that helps users resolve any issues that may arise so that the user experience isn’t marred by easily fixable glitches.

To assess user retention (and more), you can use the following metrics:

• % of users who first engaged with your content.
• % of users who returned to your site the next day.
• % of users who returned on the 7th day.
• % of users who unsubscribed in the following month.

If you find that your retention rate is lower than expected, here are a few ways to increase it:

# 1: Provide personal approach

Today, maintaining a high level of retention requires a personalized approach to each user. In other words, use names, not just "you." For example, when sending promotional emails, send friendly reminders and wishes (e.g., "Have a great day").

# 2: Accept & consider feedback

Knowing what your customers want, what they like, and what they don't like about your service is crucial for any online business.

Demonstrating that you take into account and listen to your users' feedback is a great way to increase retention.

# 3: Send notifications & reminders

Don't forget to send users notifications about new content.

Depending on the platform you use, there are various ways to send notifications:

• for mobile apps, you can use push notifications;
• for web platforms, you can use email or desktop notifications.

If you use PWA, consider email notifications, as these notifications cannot be used.

# 4: Detect gaps & weaknesses

It's always helpful to pay attention to the weaknesses in your business.

For example, by identifying when and where users start to drop off your services, measuring the retention rate, you can identify the reasons and ultimately strengthen the weak points - this will lead to an increase in the retention rate.

Engagement 🔗

Engagement is another very important indicator of how good and interesting your content is for each of your users.

This is a fairly broad definition, as it applies to almost any action that takes place on or off the site.

Let's track:

• Job offers by email;
• Visits to user portals;
• Engagement with content (e.g., views, clicks, time spent);
• Social media metrics (followers, chat participants, etc.).

One of the most useful tools for increasing engagement through your site is gamification. It can include achievements, leaderboards, rewards, and platform currency that users can later exchange for specific goods, products, etc.

Another way to improve gamification is customization. If the activity can be tailored to specific needs, people are more likely to participate.

Customization tools range from setting unique avatars for profiles to providing employees with different ways to transfer content.

Flexibility & Functionality 🤸

Honestly, there are quite a few tools that allow users to create their own websites from ready-made templates or create websites based on popular frameworks like Wordpress.

However, the reason many business owners switch to custom development (as mentioned above) is that this isn’t always enough.