How To Setup Woocommerce Membership 2019

Setting Up WooCommerce Memberships in 2019: A Comprehensive Guide

WooCommerce memberships offer a powerful way to create exclusive content, products, and communities around your online store. By restricting access to certain areas of your website, you can build a loyal customer base, generate recurring revenue, and offer unique value. This guide will walk you through setting up WooCommerce Memberships in 2019, ensuring you have a solid foundation for building your membership program. While this guide is targeted for 2019, the core principles and plugin functionality remain relevant for subsequent years as well.

Introduction: Why WooCommerce Memberships?

Creating a membership site can significantly boost your business. Here’s why:

• Recurring Revenue: Sell subscriptions for access to content or benefits, creating a predictable income stream.
• Customer Loyalty: Memberships foster a sense of community and belonging, leading to increased customer retention.
• Exclusive Content: Offer premium content (courses, tutorials, webinars) that is only available to members.
• Product Bundles: Grant membership access to discounted product bundles or early access to new releases.
• Flexibility: WooCommerce Memberships integrates seamlessly with your existing WooCommerce store, providing a flexible and customizable solution.

Before we delve into the setup, remember that WooCommerce Memberships is a premium plugin that requires a purchase. Make sure you have it installed and activated before proceeding.

Setting Up WooCommerce Memberships: A Step-by-Step Guide

Here’s how to configure your WooCommerce Memberships plugin:

1. Installing and Activating the Plugin:

After purchasing the plugin, download the .zip file. In your WordPress admin, navigate to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin. Upload the .zip file and activate the plugin.

2. Creating Membership Plans:

This is the core of your membership program. You’ll define the access rights and benefits for each plan.

• Go to WooCommerce > Memberships > Membership Plans.
• Click Add Membership Plan.
• Name your plan (e.g., “Premium Membership,” “Silver Package”).
• Set the Access Method: This determines how customers gain access to the membership. You have several options:
• Manually Assigned: You manually add members.
• Product Purchase: Customers gain access when they purchase a specific product.
• Recurring Subscription: Tied to a WooCommerce subscription (requires WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin).
• Set the Membership Length: Define how long the membership lasts (e.g., one month, one year, or a fixed expiration date). You can also choose “Unlimited” for memberships that don’t expire.
• Grant Access to Content: This is where you define what members can access. Use the “Grant Access” section to select:
• Products: Grant access to specific products only members can purchase or view.
• Posts/Pages: Restrict access to specific pages, posts, or custom post types. You can either *grant* access to specific content or *restrict* access to non-members.
• Taxonomies: Restrict access based on categories or tags.

Here’s an example of granting access to a specific page using PHP (although you’ll typically configure this through the WordPress admin interface):

// Example: Check if the current user is a member
if ( wc_memberships_is_user_active_member( get_current_user_id(), 'premium-membership' ) ) {
// User is a member of the 'premium-membership' plan
echo 'Welcome, Premium Member!';
} else {
// User is not a member
echo 'This content is for Premium Members only.';
}

3. Associating Products with Membership Plans:

If you selected “Product Purchase” as the access method, you need to link a product to your membership plan.

• Edit the product you want to use as a membership trigger.
• Go to the Memberships tab in the product data metabox.
• Select the Membership Plan that should be granted upon purchasing this product.

4. Restricting Content:

You can restrict access to specific posts, pages, or products directly from their edit screens. Look for the “Membership Access” metabox and choose the appropriate restriction settings. Options include:

• Grant Access to Members: Only members of a specific plan can view the content.
• Grant Access to Non-Members: Only non-members can view the content (useful for promotional content).
• Restrict Access: Completely block access to non-members and optionally display a custom message or redirect to a login/registration page.

5. Customizing Membership Emails:

WooCommerce Memberships sends out automated emails for events like membership activation, expiration, and renewal. You can customize these emails in WooCommerce > Settings > Emails > Memberships.

6. Creating Membership Discounts:

While WooCommerce Memberships doesn’t have built-in discounting features for members, you can use WooCommerce coupons. Consider using a separate coupon code solely for members and promote that coupon within the member area to provide a discount. You can also explore other WooCommerce discount plugins that offer more advanced member-specific discounting options.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Here are a few potential issues you might encounter and how to address them:

• Access Issues: Double-check that you’ve correctly associated products with membership plans and that access restrictions are configured properly on posts and pages. Clear your browser cache and cookies.
• Email Problems: Ensure your WordPress site is properly configured to send emails. Test your email settings and consider using an SMTP plugin for better email deliverability.
• Plugin Conflicts: If you’re experiencing unexpected behavior, temporarily deactivate other plugins to see if there’s a conflict.

Conclusion: Building a Thriving Membership Community

Setting up WooCommerce Memberships can seem complex initially, but by following these steps, you can create a robust and engaging membership program. Remember to focus on providing value to your members. High-quality content, exclusive benefits, and a strong sense of community are crucial for long-term success.

While this article provides a comprehensive overview for 2019, staying updated on the latest plugin documentation and best practices is crucial. Consult the official WooCommerce Memberships documentation for the most current information and advanced features. Building a thriving membership community takes time and effort, but the rewards of recurring revenue and customer loyalty are well worth it!