Top Membership Management Software: Build a WordPress Community

Build a WordPress Community with Membership Management Software

Membership Management Software or Membership software (also known as an Association management system) is a membership website software solution which provides membership organizations with the functionality they require to provide their services to their members.

Definitions: Membership;

• the state of belonging to or being a part of a group or an organization : the state or status of being a member.
• all the people or things that belong to or are part of an organization or a group: the body of members.

The membership software should include at least the following:

• Storing and editing member information in a database.
• Creating, renewing, upgrading and downgrading memberships.
• Communicating with members by email.

Most membership websites have very diverse needs and structures, and this is reflected in the additional features membership software usually includes:

• Publishing and delivering textual and audio-visual content.
• Providing advertising opportunities via listings or targeted placements.
• Tracking members interests and activity to provide relevant services.
• Facilitating interaction and collaboration between members.
• Raising supplementary income from donations.
• Organizing and distributing tickets to events.

Like many other modern software solutions, most membership software is website based and delivered from a web server as a service solution. Membership software often integrates the core features of a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress, to provide a single coherent interface for members and administrators.

There are many membership management software solutions available from a wide variety of different commercial providers and open source projects. The following are what I consider to be the best.

 

WishList Member Unzip, Upload, and Within Minutes You’ll Have Your Own Membership Website! WishList Member is a powerful, yet easy to use membership solution that can turn any WordPress site into a full-blown membership website. Just unzip and upload the plugin, and within minutes you’ll have your own membership website up and running … complete with protected, members-only content, integrated payments, member management, and so much more! Features Include … Unlimited Membership Levels. Integrates With Your WordPress Site. Flexible Membership Options. Easy Member Management. Sequential Content Delivery. Control Viewed Content. Shopping Cart Integration. Multi-Level Access. And much more… Click here for the official WishList Member website

Membermouse MemberMouse is a membership plugin for WordPress that allows online store owners to promote and sell their products and services to site members. Member’s Area: Password protected member’s area, easily protect pages, and deliver unique member home pages for each membership level. Customer Management: Comprehensive member management including order history, engagement statistics, access rights, pause, cancel, refund and more. “My Account” Self Service: Let customers update their personal and billing information, cancel their account, reset passwords and more. Self-Configuring Checkout: Checkout pages configure themselves and are easily edited within WordPress. Get your checkout looking exactly how you want it. SmartTags: Extensive shortcode library adds dynamic functionality to your site without having to code. Display customer details, upgrades and more. Many more: 1-Click Upsells, Time-Release / Drip Content, Save-the-Sale / Downsells, Split-Test Prices, Trial Offers & Coupons, Share Anywhere Links, International Currency, Employee Accounts, Sharing Auto-Lock, Group Functionality, PCI Compliant Security, Gifting Functionality, Extendability, Overdue Payment Handling, Custom Fields and High Performance SQL. *Notable WordPress Users of member mouse: Mashable, CNN, The New York Times, Forbes, Reuters, TechCrunch Click here for the official MemberMouse website

 

Email & Billing Solutions

As well as your membership management software you will require autoresponders for your email marketing and payment gateways for your billing solutions. The following are my recommendations:

Email (autoresponders)

• AWeber, GetResponse, iContact and MailChimp.

Billing (payment gateways)

• PayPal, Authorize.net.
  For more on payment systems see my article, Best Online Payment Systems: Payment Processors, Payment Gateways.

Finally, if you have any thoughts or suggestions relating to Membership Management Software , don’t forget to let me have them in the comment box below. Thanks for dropping by.