How to build a membership website on WordPress

Membership websites are one of the most compelling business models on the internet. Recurring revenue. A community you own. Content you control. And unlike an ad-supported blog or an affiliate site where income depends on traffic that can disappear overnight, a well-built membership site generates predictable monthly income from people who’ve actively chosen to support what you’re building.

The challenge is that building a membership site is more involved than building a standard WordPress site. There are more decisions to make, more components to configure, and more ways for things to go wrong if you don’t understand the moving parts.

This guide on how to build a membership website on WordPress walks through the entire process: what a membership site actually is, whether WordPress is the right platform for yours, what you’ll need to build it (with US and UK costs side by side), and how to get from zero to a live membership site step by step.

What is a membership website?

A membership website is a site where some or all content is restricted to paying members. Visitors who haven’t paid see a limited version of the site, typically a sales page explaining the membership and its benefits. Members who have paid and logged in see the full content.

Membership sites vary enormously in what they offer. Some common models:

Content membership – members get access to exclusive articles, guides, videos, podcasts, or resources published regularly. The ongoing value is the content itself.

Community membership – members get access to a private forum, group, or community alongside other members. The value is the people and the conversations.

Course membership – members get access to structured learning content, courses, modules, and lessons. Sometimes evergreen, sometimes cohort-based.

Tools and resources membership – members get access to templates, tools, calculators, spreadsheets, and other practical resources.

Mixed membership – most successful memberships combine elements of the above exclusive content, community, plus resources.

Is WordPress the right platform for a membership site?

Before getting into the how, it’s worth being honest about the when.

WordPress with MemberPress (or similar plugins) is the most flexible and ownership-friendly platform for a membership site, but it’s not the only option, and it’s not always the simplest.

WordPress is the right choice if:

You want complete ownership of your membership, your members’ data, and your content. No third-party platform can change its fees, restrict your features, or take your community away.

You want the flexibility to build exactly what you need: specific content structures, custom membership tiers, and integration with your existing WordPress site.

You have an existing WordPress site and want to add membership functionality to it rather than building on a new platform.

Cost efficiency matters at scale. WordPress membership sites cost significantly less per member than all-in-one platforms as your membership grows.

Alternative platforms worth knowing:

Kajabi – all-in-one course and membership platform. Significantly more expensive (from ~$99/month in the USA or ~£80/month in the UK) but handles everything, including email marketing and community. Better for creators who want less technical complexity.

Podia – similar to Kajabi, slightly cheaper. Good for digital products and basic membership.

Patreon – for creators who want a simple membership model with minimal setup. Limited control, and Patreon takes a percentage of revenue.

Squarespace Member Areas – basic membership functionality built into Squarespace. Good for simple access restriction on a Squarespace site.

For most serious membership site owners who want maximum control at a reasonable cost, WordPress with MemberPress is the strongest long-term foundation.

What you’ll need

Before starting the build, understand the components involved.

Self-hosted WordPress – the foundation. Free software, hosted on your own hosting account.

Quality hosting – membership sites are more resource-intensive than standard blogs. SiteGround GrowBig minimum – the staging environment is invaluable for testing membership configuration before it goes live to paying members. For larger memberships with significant traffic, Kinsta is worth the investment.

A membership plugin – the software that handles content restriction, member management, and subscription payments. MemberPress is the leading option and the one this guide builds on. Read our MemberPress review →

A payment gateway – Stripe (recommended) and PayPal are both supported by MemberPress. Stripe is the cleaner integration for most use cases.

An email marketing tool – essential for onboarding new members, communicating with your community, and reducing churn. MailerLite or Kit is a strong starting point. Read our email marketing guide →

A theme – Kadence or Astra- works well for membership sites. Clean, fast, and highly customisable.

Optional – community features:

• bbPress (free) – adds forum functionality to your WordPress site
• BuddyPress (free) – adds social networking features (profiles, activity feeds, groups)
• PeepSo (free/paid) – more polished community features than BuddyPress

Step 1 -Set up WordPress and hosting

If you don’t already have WordPress set up, start here.

Choose SiteGround GrowBig as your hosting plan. The staging environment is specifically useful for membership sites where you want to test payment flows, access restrictions, and member journeys before going live with real members.

Install WordPress through SiteGround’s one-click installer. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.

Set your permalink structure to Post name under Settings → Permalinks. Do this before adding any content.

Install your theme. Kadence (free) is a strong choice for membership sites, fast, flexible, and compatible with all major membership plugins.

Read our full WordPress setup guide →

Step 2 – Install and configure MemberPress

MemberPress is the membership plugin that handles the core functionality of content restriction, subscription management, payment processing, and member access.

It’s a paid plugin, plans start from ~$179/year (USA) or ~£149/year (UK). This is the primary cost of a WordPress membership site, aside from hosting.

Installing MemberPress

Purchase MemberPress and download the plugin ZIP file. In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin. Upload the ZIP file and activate.

Run through MemberPress’s setup wizard – it guides you through connecting a payment gateway, configuring basic settings, and creating your first membership level.

Connecting your payment gateway

Go to MemberPress → Settings → Payments. Add Stripe as your primary payment method.

To connect Stripe, you’ll need a Stripe account – create one at stripe.com. Connect it to MemberPress using your Stripe API keys (available in your Stripe dashboard under Developers → API Keys).

Add PayPal as a secondary option if you want to offer it as an alternative payment method.

Test mode: Before going live, enable Stripe’s test mode and run through the full membership sign-up and payment flow using Stripe’s test card numbers. Confirm that:

• The sign-up form works correctly
• Payment processes (in test mode)
• The member gets access to restricted content
• A welcome email is sent
• The member appears in your MemberPress member list

Step 3 – Create your membership levels

Membership levels are the access tiers your members sign up for. A simple membership site might have one level. A more complex one might have free, monthly, and annual tiers.

Go to MemberPress → Memberships → Add New.

For each membership level, set:

Name – what this membership is called. “Monthly Member”, “Annual Member”, “Founding Member”, etc.

Price and billing type:

• One-time payment
• Recurring – monthly, quarterly, or annual
• Free – useful for a free tier or trial period

Access – what content members at this level can access (configured in the next step).

Welcome email – the email sent automatically when someone successfully signs up. Write this before going live; it’s the first impression your new members get.

Registration page – MemberPress creates registration pages automatically. Review and customise the copy on these pages; they’re part of your sales funnel.

Practical tier structures for new membership sites:

For most new membership sites, starting with one or two tiers is better than overcomplicating the decision. A common starting structure:

• Monthly – lower commitment, higher monthly cost (e.g. $12/month in the USA or £9/month in the UK)
• Annual – higher commitment, lower effective monthly cost (e.g. $99/year in the USA, equivalent to ~$8.25/month, or £79/year in the UK, equivalent to ~£6.50/month)

The annual option incentivises longer commitment and reduces churn. Offering it from the start is worthwhile.

Step 4 – Create your members-only content

This is where you create the actual content your members are paying for.

In WordPress, content that’s restricted to members is created exactly like regular posts and pages the restriction is applied through MemberPress rules rather than through a separate content editor.

Create your member content:

Go to Posts → Add New or Pages → Add New and create your members-only content as you normally would. Write the post, add images, and publish it. At this stage, it’s public; the restriction comes in the next step.

Recommended content structure for a new membership:

Before launch, have 5–10 substantial pieces of member content ready. This gives new members immediate value when they sign up and reduces the risk of early cancellations from members who feel there isn’t enough to justify the subscription.

Content ideas by membership type:

Content membership: In-depth guides, exclusive articles, video walkthroughs, downloadable resources, templates

Community membership: Forum access, weekly Q&A sessions, member directory, group coaching calls

Course membership: Structured modules, lesson videos, workbooks, quizzes

Step 5 – Set up access rules

Access rules are what make your content members-only. They tell MemberPress which content requires which membership level to access.

Go to MemberPress → Rules → Add New.

Protected content – what content is being restricted. Options include:

• All posts
• All pages
• Posts in a specific category
• A specific post or page
• Custom post types

Access conditions – who can access this content. Choose which membership level(s) have access.

Practical approach:

Create a dedicated category for all members-only content call it “Members” or “Exclusive” and create a rule that restricts all posts in that category to members. Then tag any new members-only content with that category, and it’s automatically restricted without needing a new rule each time.

For pages, create individual rules for each members-only page.

The “unauthorised” message:

When a non-member tries to access restricted content, MemberPress shows an unauthorised message, either a custom message or a redirect to your membership sales page. Customise this in MemberPress → Settings → Account.

Make the unauthorised message count. It’s a conversion opportunity for someone who found their way to your restricted content is interested. Give them a clear, compelling reason to sign up.

Step 6 – Create your sales page

Your membership sales page is the most important page on your site; it’s where visitors decide whether to become members.

Create a new WordPress page – title it something like “Join [Your Membership Name]” and set the URL to /join/ or /membership/.

What your sales page needs:

A clear headline: what is this membership, and who is it for? The most important sentence on the page.

The problem you solve – what challenge does your ideal member have that this membership addresses?

What’s included – a specific, concrete list of what members get. Not vague benefits, actual content, features, and access.

Social proof – testimonials from existing members, if you have them. For a new membership, quotes from beta testers or early interest registrants work.

Pricing – clear, honest pricing with both monthly and annual options visible.

FAQs – answers to the questions people have before signing up. What happens if I want to cancel? How do I access the content? Is there a free trial?

A clear call to action – a prominent button that links to your MemberPress registration page.

MemberPress registration shortcode:

You can embed the registration form directly on your sales page using MemberPress’s shortcodes. In your page, add [mepr-membership-registration-form id="YOUR_MEMBERSHIP_ID"] to embed the sign-up form directly.

Step 7 – Set up your member experience

The registration and payment flow is important, but the experience after a member joins is equally critical. A confused or underwhelmed new member cancels quickly. A well-onboarded member who immediately gets value stays.

Member dashboard

MemberPress creates a member account page automatically, where members can manage their subscription, update payment details, and see what they have access to. Customise this page to feel on-brand.

Go to MemberPress → Settings → Account to configure the account page.

Welcome email

Customise the welcome email sent when someone signs up. Go to MemberPress → Emails → Member Welcome Email.

Write a warm, personal welcome email that:

• Thanks them for joining
• Tells them exactly how to access the members’ area
• Points them to the best starting content
• Sets expectations for what’s coming

Member onboarding sequence

Beyond the welcome email, set up a short onboarding sequence in your email marketing tool, 3–5 emails over the first two weeks that guide new members through the membership and ensure they get value early.

Email 1 (immediate): Welcome + how to get started
Email 2 (day 2): Your most popular or best content
Email 3 (day 5): A lesser-known feature or resource they might have missed
Email 4 (day 10): Community or engagement prompt
Email 5 (day 14): Check-in, are they getting value? Any questions?

This sequence dramatically reduces early cancellations by ensuring new members actually engage with what they’ve paid for.

Step 8 – Add community features (optional)

For memberships where community is a core part of the value, adding a forum or social features makes the membership stickier and more valuable.

bbPress (free) – forums

Install bbPress from Plugins → Add New. After activation, go to Forums → Add New to create your first forum.

bbPress integrates with MemberPress – you can restrict forum access to members only using MemberPress access rules, the same way you’d restrict any other content.

Organise your forums logically – general discussion, specific topic areas, introductions, questions and answers. A well-organised forum gives members a clear sense of where to go.

BuddyPress (free) – social features

Install BuddyPress for more extensive social features, member profiles, activity feeds, private messaging, and groups.

BuddyPress adds significant complexity to your site. Only install it if community features are central to your membership’s value proposition, and test thoroughly on a staging environment before enabling on your live site.

Step 9 – Set up your staging environment

Before going live with real members, test everything on a staging site.

SiteGround’s GrowBig plan includes a staging environment a copy of your live site where you can test safely.

In your SiteGround dashboard, go to Site Tools → WordPress → Staging and create a staging copy of your site.

On the staging site, test:

• The complete sign-up flow from a visitor’s perspective
• Payment processing using test card numbers
• Content restriction confirms that restricted content is inaccessible without logging in
• Member dashboard functionality
• Welcome email delivery
• Cancellation flow: what happens when a member cancels
• Mobile experience sign-up and member area on a phone

Only go live once you’ve confirmed everything works correctly on staging.

Step 10 – Launch and grow your membership

With everything tested and working, it’s time to launch.

Pre-launch list before going live:

☐ Payment gateway in live mode (not test mode)
☐ Welcome email tested and confirmed delivering
☐ Sales page published and converting
☐ Member content published and restricted correctly
☐ SSL certificate active
☐ Member dashboard customised
☐ Cancellation policy clearly stated
☐ Privacy policy updated to cover membership data
☐ Email onboarding sequence configured

Founding member pricing

For new memberships, launching with a “founding member” price a lower introductory rate available only during the launch period, locked in for as long as the member stays is an effective way to generate early signups and social proof.

“Join for $9/month (USA) or £7/month (UK) as a founding member, price locks in for life” creates urgency, rewards early adopters, and builds a base of members invested in the membership’s success.

Reducing churn

Membership churn – members cancelling is the primary business challenge for membership site owners. The most effective ways to reduce it:

Deliver ongoing value. Consistently publish new content, host events, or add resources. Members who see regular new value stay. Members who feel the membership has stagnated cancel.

Engage your community. Active, engaged communities are sticky. Respond to forum posts, host live Q&As, and make members feel seen.

Identify disengaged members early. Use your email marketing tool to identify members who haven’t logged in or engaged recently and send a re-engagement sequence before they cancel.

Annual plans reduce churn. A member on an annual plan has a one-year commitment. A member on a monthly plan can cancel at any time. Incentivising annual sign-ups (typically an equivalent of 2 months free) meaningfully reduces monthly churn.

How much does a WordPress membership site cost?

Component	USA	UK
Hosting (SiteGround GrowBig)	~$25–$28/month (renewal)	~£19–£21/month (renewal)
Domain name	~$12–$15/year	~£10–£15/year
MemberPress (Basic)	~$179/year	~£149/year
Kadence theme	Free	Free
bbPress (forums)	Free	Free
Email marketing (MailerLite free)	$0	£0
Payment processing (Stripe)	2.9% + 30¢ per transaction	1.4% + 20p per transaction (UK cards)
Total fixed cost	~$500/year	~£400/year

At $500/year (USA) or £400/year (UK) in fixed costs, a membership priced at $12/£9 a month needs roughly 4 paying members to cover costs. At $20/£15 a month, around 2–3 members. The business model has excellent unit economics once you have a meaningful member base.

Note: UK VAT is covered in the FAQ below. US-based membership sites should check their state’s rules on sales tax for digital subscriptions, as these vary significantly by state – a tax professional can confirm what applies to your situation.

Frequently asked questions

How do I build a membership website on WordPress?
Set up self-hosted WordPress with quality hosting, install a membership plugin like MemberPress and connect a payment gateway such as Stripe, create your membership levels and pricing, build your members-only content and set access rules to restrict it, create a sales page, set up onboarding emails, and test everything on a staging site before launching. Full detail on each step is above.

Do I need technical knowledge to build a membership site on WordPress?
Basic technical confidence, the kind needed to set up any WordPress site, is sufficient. You don’t need coding knowledge. The main areas requiring attention are configuring MemberPress correctly and thoroughly testing the member experience before launch. Following this guide covers both.

Which is better for a membership site – WordPress or Kajabi?
WordPress with MemberPress gives you more flexibility, lower long-term costs, and complete ownership. Kajabi is an all-in-one platform that handles everything with less technical setup at a significantly higher monthly cost. For creators who want maximum simplicity and are comfortable with the higher price, Kajabi is a legitimate choice. For creators who want ownership and cost efficiency, WordPress wins.

Can I offer a free trial with MemberPress?
Yes, MemberPress supports free trials on recurring membership plans. You can offer a 7-day or 14-day free trial that automatically converts to a paid subscription. Free trials increase sign-up conversion but also attract trial members who cancel before paying. Monitor your trial-to-paid conversion rate.

How do I prevent members from sharing their login details?
MemberPress includes concurrent login prevention on higher plans, which blocks the same account from being logged in on multiple devices simultaneously. This reduces password sharing but doesn’t eliminate it entirely.

Can I migrate my membership from another platform to WordPress?
Yes, member data (names, emails, subscription status) can typically be exported from other platforms as CSV and imported into MemberPress. Payment history and active subscriptions are more complex and may require manual contact with members to re-subscribe on the new platform. Plan a migration carefully to minimise disruption to paying members.

How do I handle VAT on membership subscriptions?
In the UK, digital membership subscriptions are subject to 20% VAT once you’re VAT-registered (the current threshold is £85,000 in annual turnover). Below the threshold, VAT registration is optional. Once registered, MemberPress can be configured to add VAT to subscription prices. Consult an accountant for guidance on your specific situation. US-based site owners should check their state’s sales tax rules for digital subscriptions instead, as there’s no VAT equivalent at the federal level.