Forums

[Marius Lombaard Company: Amway Contribution Level: 3]

hi all,

i want to build a new site with wordpress. for this site, visitors must be able to register to view certain pages. registration will be free.

i know how to do the optin with an autoresponder, but since my site will have pages that can be viewed by visitors, and other pages only viewable once you're registered on the site, this can obviously not be controlled by a third party autoresponder service.

where do i start to create a registration page or something? is there a specific plugin for these types of wp sites?

i will need them to enter only their first name, last name, email address and telephone. (same as with most newsletter optins)

it should also be a double opt-in.

any ideas?

regards,
marius lombaard

[Warren Veach Company: State Continuing Education Contribution Level: 4]

You might want to look at "Buddy Press". It's a Wordpress theme.

Here's a link:
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/buddypress/

[Marius Lombaard Company: Amway Contribution Level: 3]

i think yuo meant "plugin" instead of "theme" ?

Hi Marius
It is possible to create a password protected page in your wordpress blog, simply add a new page and ensure it's visibility is password protected. I think you would then be able to add further pages as child pages to this password protected parent page, thus achieving a membership area of your blog.
Haven't tested out this myself, though, and have a feeling that a plugin rather than this method might be easier?
All the best, Kathryn

[Warren Veach Company: State Continuing Education Contribution Level: 4]

i think yuo meant "plugin" instead of "theme" ?

Yes, I meant to say "plug in". Sorry about that, but you get the idea.

Still kinda early here....

[Marius Lombaard Company: Amway Contribution Level: 3]

@Warren: i've looked into the buddypress plugin. it's a social networking plugin. i'm not sure this is what i'm looking for, although i haven't read the documentation yet.

@Kathryn: i've used password protected pages in the past... it's not exactly what i'm looking for but thanks anyhow

any other takers?

thanks

[Warren Veach Company: State Continuing Education Contribution Level: 4]

BP may be more adaptable than you think. Many of the social networking features can be turned off and you only use what you need, or want.

However, the main feature is that you can "hide" certain pages from the public eye unless they are a registered member of the site.

Take a closer look at the documentation and visit a couple of the sites using BP.

Here's a link to several sites using BP:
http://buddypress.org/showcase/

[Warren Veach Company: State Continuing Education Contribution Level: 4]

I forgot about this:
http://premium.wpmudev.org/project/membership

[Peter Neuenswander Company: AdzZoo Contribution Level: 2]

Marius,

Wishlist products makes the best membership plugin for wordpress. I use it for my membership sites and it is very easy to use. Downside is that for a single site license it costs $97... but in my opinion it is worth it. If you need help or have questions on how to set it up just let me know.

http://member.wishlistproducts.com/

Peter

[Richard Bravo Company: Life Force International Contribution Level: 9]

.

Hi Marius,
There are a few free packages out there but to be perfectly honest I found their feature set limiting and security a little questionable.

These are the two most popular options for creating a Wordpress based membership site used by the pros:

1. Wishlist Member
Wishlist Member was built specifically for Wordpress.

2. aMember
aMember can be used on multiple platforms including Wordpress, Drupal and Joomla.

Both packages provide outstanding security and a plethora of admin features for creating a killer membership site.

My personal preference is Wishlist Member as I tend to do all of my projects on the Wordpress platform. But aMember is excellent. Either one will suite you well.

The next step in the process is deciding where to host your content.
Depending on the file size, particularly is you plan to have a lot of video, you'll want to look at a 3rd party content delivery network such as ezS3 or similar.

This also provides an extra layer of security and encryption options to keep your content from being illegally shared and ripped from your site.


As for Wordpress itself, you'll want to choose a theme that is conducive to the content delivery style you plan to have. There are a bunch of options out there.

My personal blueprint is as follows:
1. OptimizePress for the frontend promotion and content delivery.
This is a reletively new theme to hit the scene and in essence is a Kajabi clone.

OptimizePress was built specifically as the promotional/conetnt delivery side and does not have the standard blogging functions of a common WP theme, so you need to have 2 WP installs on your site f you go with the theme for your launch.

2. These are the themes I like for the "blog" functionality for non-member content.

My preference is for the following WooThemes as they provide the most common feature sets for a "marketing" oriented blog ... BusyBee, Headlines, FreshNews, Bueno.

StudioPress ... Church, Freelance, Going Green, Lexicon, Lifestyle, Mocha, Platinum.

FlexSqueeze ... this theme has built-in squeeze page functionality. I've used this for a few years and have been really happy with it.

Any of these themes can be wrapped with WishlistMember without OptimizePress to create a membership site.

I just prefer the OptimizePress+BlogTheme combo these days as it affords a much more professional experience and mimics the big launches you see these days.

*Actually is you look at Maria Andros' "Video Conversion Formula" launch that is taking place right now, she is running the site on OptimizePress.

You could also look at the JVpress theme.
I personally think this one is a little sloppy compared to OptimizePress, but it is a viable option.


*We aren't allowed to put links here anymore ...
so if you want my affiliate link for any of these just shoot me a pm.


Good luck with your site!
~Richard
.
.