What is a Membership Website?
A membership website is a website that has gated and exclusive content for the members.
The reason why membership websites are important is that they offer special advantages, like newsletters, reports, guides, e-books, webinars, online courses, discounts, free shipping, and more.
The type of membership and its advantages can be determined by the owner of the website.
How to Choose the Right Membership Builder
Choosing the right membership website builder is as important as creating your website.
When contemplating the establishment of a membership website, it is crucial to bear in mind specific critical factors, despite their non-mandatory nature.
When we look at these, the first point is its functionality. You need to check if your aim of building a website is confronted by the website builder you choose.
Another point is the straightforwardness. If it is your first time creating a website that needs a membership feature, you should consider if it is easy to use and navigate or not in order to use your time effectively.
The third point is about the customer support of the builder; you can or cannot foresee the issues that you will encounter, but the builder’s support should have a guarantee.
Then, you need to check if the membership model of the builder is suitable or not. Your target membership model can change based on your needs, so pick the one that fits you best.
The pricing of the builder is also vital because you need to decide how long your membership will last and what your budget is.
The last but not least point is integrations. If you aim to have a membership website builder with integration opportunities, you need to check which integrations are necessary.
Best 11 Membership Website Builders
There are many content management systems (CMSs) or website builders that you can use for creating your website.
However, we have picked and chosen the best ten membership website builders only for you.
1. Wix
“My overall experience with Wix has been tremendous so far. It has made most of my work simple and effective, and Wix is one of my daily drivers.” - Susang R., Product Marketing Manager
Wix is one of the most famous and suitable choices for the membership website-building process.
You can create a special Members Area where you can customize your membership model and details of your website.
Also, it is possible to set up an account page, member profile card, and members menu. For further customization, you can customize the private or public pages, roles, badges, and permissions of members.
Pros:
- Plenty of templates
- SEO friendly
- User-friendly and competitive features
- More intuitive drag-and-drop editor
- No coding or less coding knowledge
- Relatively fair pricing
- Excellent customer support
Cons:
- You should choose and follow your payment option properly.
- The mobile editor can sometimes be problematic.
- Its Artificial Design Intelligence isn’t so adaptable to all projects.
Pricing: There are free and paid plans. You can get your money back in 14 days as the guarantee. Then, the paid plans divide into three: Website Plans, Business and E-commerce Plans & Enterprise Plans. The paid plans start from $16 per month, and the extras can charge differently.
For further information about Wix, take a look at this article: A Detailed Wix Review in 2024 (Overview of Top Features)
2. GoDaddy
“With GoDaddy Website Builder, they have everything you could possibly need and want all in one. From design to domain, it's amazing and saves you so much more time, hassle, and frustration than other website builders.” Meagen K., CEO
For the ones who want professional-looking websites for their e-commerce or personal websites, GoDaddy is a good option to consider.
Also, you have a choice to choose and advertise your brand professionally with GoDaddy.
You can create your membership website and add private pages to elevate your gated content.
Pros:
- Likable user interface
- Various choices for pricing
- Real-time editing
- High importance for domains
- Smooth integration with social media
- Support in terms of chat and call
Cons:
- There is a lack of SEO features for the website-building process.
- The integration with third-party tools should be developed.
- It can be better for the user to multiply the amount of graphics and stock photos.
Pricing: You can start knowing GoDaddy freely, yet the main pricing plans start from $9.99 by saving 16% of the yearly budget. You can choose your pricing plan based on what you want.
3. WordPress
“It was a pleasant journey. I've been using/editing/building WordPress websites for the last 3-4 years. I learned a lot and saved tons of time using it. I'd highly recommend it for most of the people as it has a very pleasant UI, and it's easy to use even for not tech people - your client.” Aleksander S., Javascript Developer
WordPress does generally work with add-ons when it comes to membership website building.
Also, it has a guide where potential users are instructed step-by-step, from choosing the membership model to the pricing plans and different membership solutions.
There is also an additional part where it gives advice for your budget.
With the plugins of WordPress or being guided for creating a membership website, WordPress is a famous and functional platform to prefer.
Pros:
- Convenient themes to choose from
- Helpful documentation
- Useful layout for editing
- Vast amount of plugins
- Multi-use for the team members
- Budget-friendly for most users
Cons:
- The initial setup process should be made easier for first-time users.
- Plugins may sometimes slow down the website
- The coding quality should be developed to add features or other codes to improve the website.
Pricing: It is possible to start freely for $0, and the paid plans start from $5, and it increases based on what you need and expect. If you are considering your budget and acting, the pricing plans are more profitable when preferred annually.
4. Raklet
“We are using Raklet from its birth, and we have to recognize that it has helped very much our administration and communication so that our Association could be helped to increase.” Elisabetta M, Prof. Dr. in Performing Arts
Raklet is a code-free membership management platform that helps you create, manage, and track your memberships with ease.
Since Raklet is a practical tool that can find effective ways to engage with building growth, any organization can find possibilities to benefit from.
Besides, the management option of Raklet is so various that opportunities help it define itself as a good example of membership management software.
Pros:
- Provides intuitive operations to conduct
- Has a mobile app that appeals to customers
- Seamless reporting
- Multilingual service to prefer and expand the range
- Flexible and customizable tool to use
- Responsive support team
Cons:
- Payment summaries could be improved.
- Integrations can be multiplied.
- More templates can be added in time.
Pricing: Raklet has one of the most flexible pricing on this list. The plans can vary as the features increase.
- There is a free plan called Free, with no strings attached. It provides 100 contacts, 1 admin, and 1GB of storage.
- The Essentials plan allows you to start with core features that provide 500 contacts, 1 admin, and 10GB of storage. It costs $49 per month annually.
- The Professional plan allows you to get the professional tools you need. It has 1000 contacts, 2 admins, and 20GB of storage. It costs $99 per month annually.
- The Premium plan prepares the best for your brand with 10,000 contacts, 3+ admins, and 100GB of storage. It costs $299+ per month annually.
- The Enterprise plan has custom solutions for larger companies with unlimited contacts and custom chances. You need to contact the team for the price.
5. SubHub
“Subhub has made it so easy to launch my podcast membership site. It has all of the needed features and then some. I have been able to build a functional easy to navigate site that I can grow into. Also, the customer service is top-notch! Easily some of the best service I've ever received consistently.” Johnnie Ray K., Co-Host
SubHub offers its users the most needed features with practical outcomes and effective solutions.
SubHub is preferred by most of the users due to its membership management system that meets their expectations.
Also, multi-membership options appeal to the needs of the users when they create their websites.
Pros:
- Quick customer support team
- Reliable payment process
- No need to have developers work
- Supportive tutorial material
- Mobile optimization possibility
- Intuitive editor to try and experience more
Cons:
- The look of the interface can be developed to make it more modern.
- More customizations like drag-and-drop and copy/ paste could be appreciated by the customers.
- There should be more choices for integrations.
Pricing: It is free for 14 days in the trial process. When it comes to pricing plans, there are three to mention: the Starter costs $47 per month, the Pro is $97, and the Premium costs $147 monthly.
6. Squarespace
“We are currently working on updating our web page to add some e-commerce features, this solution proves to be great, easy, and we are loving the results so far.” Federico A., CFO
Squarespace is a website builder where you can design your website with all-in-one tools.
The reputation of Squarespace has to be mentioned in terms of e-commerce and many other features.
Squarespace has Member Areas that encourage you to sell premium content and online courses, build a community, or create a newsletter.
Pros:
- Effortless functionality
- High-quality templates
- Less or no technical skills needed
- Customizable branding
- Mobile-ready design
- Successful customer support when needed
Cons:
- There may be lags that delay the process sometimes.
- Translation options are expected from the customers’ reviews.
- Pricing part has been a matter of discussion, so it might need some improvements with the costs.
Pricing: Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial to see and decide. However, there is no free plan option. When we examine the pricing plans, they range from $23 to $65 per month. It is available that you can save up to 30% annually.
7. Strikingly
“Excellent, elegant, and simple web design software for any level. Limitations are because of simplicity and pricing tiers, but I have used the free version for almost a decade and still love it. Never needed to upgrade because they offer so much!” Ally S., Accounting Analyst
Strikingly is an easy-to-use website builder with a membership option.
You are able to create a membership website for yourself with the Site Membership function of Strikingly. Then, it is easier to have members-only areas on your website.
If you want to add paid memberships to your website, it is also probable.
When you choose your template and start increasing your revenue, there will be gated content for your members only.
Pros:
- Intuitive user dashboard
- Mobile optimization option for website building
- Helpful customer service
- Template switching without rebuilding
- Analytics charts for informing the user about the website’s performance
- Budget-friendly resource P.S.: You can use Strikingly for free for 3 months if you have a college email address.
Cons:
- Some changes for SEO can be made to improve.
- It needs refreshing for different slight changes, so it might be time-consuming from time to time.
- Though you can use custom HTML for integrations, direct integration options can be increased.
Pricing: There are free and paid plans for Strikingly. There are many possibilities that you can benefit from, but if considering monthly, the plans change: the Limited plan costs $12, the Pro plan is $20, and the VIP plan costs $59.
8. Morweb
“I liked the flexibility to customize our needs and wants into a clean, fresh, and easy-to-navigate website. We were able to share our mission, services, impact, and story with our community on an easy-to-navigate website. They worked with us to clean up things from our old site and helped guide us through using best practices.” Nathan S., Vice President of Philanthropy
Morweb is a membership website builder that is generally preferred by nonprofit organizations and associations.
Like WordPress, Morweb also has an article that guides you through the process of having a membership website.
You need to control your pages and the necessary questions from your perspective. Then, you’re all set up with Morweb.
Pros:
- Flexible and easy navigation in design
- Ease of development
- In-depth training
- Customer-focused customer success
- Open-to-edit layouts
- Non-technical tool
Cons:
- Backend elements need some assistance from the Morweb team.
- It may not be so suitable for large enterprises.
- Customization options should be added.
Pricing: Morweb does not offer a free plan. Their pricing plans are arranged for the customers; the Starter plan is $149, the Grow plan costs $199, and the Engage and the Enterprise plans have an option for inquiring about pricing. You can choose them by requesting a demo.
9. WildApricot
“WildApricot saves me over 15 hours a week! It's given our organization a professional membership service, includes an easy-to-use website, and I love how it automatically charges our members' credit cards for their renewals.” Rick Watson, President
With the Membership Management Software Award, WildApricot is a membership website organization tool.
That is, WildApricot has features from member management to event and email management.
The widgets of WildApricot ease the process of membership website building along with mobile themes, blogs, and forums.
Pros:
- Clear and concise
- Customizable member database
- Reliable website builder
- Modifiable branding
- Reporting and page setup options
- Reachable and interested customer support
Cons:
- It could be better if the system allowed for the membership ID.
- Customer support is a matter of discussion; some say that it needs improvement, while some like it.
- It is better if the pricing can be regulated.
Pricing: You have a free trial with Wild Apricot, yet if you don’t upgrade after the free trial, your account will be deleted. When it comes to paid plans, they are extremely flexible. There are regular pricing and multi-chapter pricing.
In regular pricing, you need to decide the price based on the contact number. There are categories to look at, and if you consider monthly billing, the pricing starts from $60 per month.
10. Teachable
“Overall, Teachable solved a revenue issue for us! We needed a place for people to go and purchase our products and downloadable services without having to start from scratch - which is quite costly - and Teachable allowed us to do that. It helps us generate necessary revenue with ease.” Marilyn "M.E." P., CEO
Unlike other membership website builders, Teachable is known for its academic and educational purposes.
Regarding the user scale of Teachable, we clearly see that there are courses and course bundles presented since Teachable is also a learning management system (LMS).
In addition, regarding the membership website building part, Teachable allows people to focus on their content while it handles the membership process after instructions.
Pros:
- Easy to navigate
- Successful tracking module
- Successful onboarding process
- Simple to host courses and upload products
- Hassle-free payment process for the people attending courses
- Helpful tutorial videos
Cons:
- The changes in templates will make the users happier and more satisfied.
- There are some functional limitations in customizing the material and well-known integration tools.
- Some arrangements should be made for the pricing of Teachable due to the high cost of expenses.
Pricing: There is a free plan of Teachable to give a chance. There are three paid plans, the Basic, the Pro, and the Business costing $59, $159, and $665, respectively, per month. If the annual plans are preferred, it is possible to save up to 33%.
11. HubSpot CMS Hub
“We've grown our business immensely internally and externally. From how we relate to our customers and keep them organized to the internal organization for our employees, it's a dream come true when you're dealing with so many systems and processes, to have them all under one roof.” Geertje C., Marketing and Social Media
HubSpot CMS Hub offers you the chance to segment your members into categories like other membership website builders.
However, to leverage the impact, you are able to use the other free and paid tools of HubSpot to have a fully automated solution.
As you can understand, HubSpot CMS integrates with HubSpot CRM tools seamlessly, and using them can help you build a more effective membership website.
Pros:
- Cutting-edge user interface
- Useful analytics as the results
- Seamless integration options
- Helpful addons and plugins
- Attentive customer success manager team
- Vital SEO and reporting functions to use
Cons:
- Templates should be developed and arranged to be more useful for users.
- The A/B testing feature needs to be developed.
- Website migration processes from another platform may be somehow hard to follow.
Pricing: HubSpot offers suite pricing campaigns and other paid plans. The Starter CRM Suite costs $50 per month. The plans, the Starter, the Professional, and the Enterprise, are also effective for the budgets with many opportunities.
Or, you can calculate the price by choosing your plans and then your addons.
Membership Website Examples
These examples from different genres of content marketing are for the different kinds of membership.
The Script Lab
The Script Lab is a website that includes thousands of scenarios of many different movies and TV series.
You can easily reach the website, but in order to read some scenarios, you need to be a member of the lab.
When you do not log in with your account to read one of the scripts, you are stopped by the modal where you need to create a new account.
By doing this, the Script Lab increases the familiarity and the number of the Lab’s members.
Teepublic
Teepublic is a custom apparel brand that supports independent creators and gives importance to product quality and various designs.
Regarding the membership of Teepublic, the brand aims to reach buyers through their email addresses.
The visitors can leave their email addresses to know the brand’s updates or create a member account during the shopping process.
Teepublic has the same purpose as the Script Lab, but Teepublic aims to increase sales.
Happy Yoga Community
Happy Yoga Community is a yoga school and online hub for yoga enthusiasts and yogis.
This time, our example offers membership at a reasonable price in exchange for various opportunities, like yoga classes, webinars, Zoom classes, recorded sessions, and more.
It is also clear that Happy Yoga Community works with a membership with the first landing on the homepage with the CTA, “Join The Online Yoga Membership.”
An Alternative Solution for Membership Website Builders
Membership website builders can find a solution to your needs if you find the right website builder.
However, if you have a website where you want to collect membership information, we can suggest popups for you.
You can decide which popups to use based on what you need on your website.
The guiding questions for you might be:
- Will you collect form submissions to use?
- Will you announce your webinar and collect attendees to inform them about it?
- Will you send your e-book or exclusive guide to your visitors?
- Will you create a community to discuss your points?
If your answer is yes to at least one of these questions, then popups can help you, and you can start by taking a look at our popup template gallery.
Also, you need to know that popups can be used for locked content, gated content, and exclusive situations.
You can follow your leads and analytics on the Leads and Analytics page of the dashboard of Popupsmart.
If you want to give Popupsmart a try and create a membership popup to collect form submissions, it is the right time to discover.
To Conclude
Membership website builders should be chosen meticulously to show the impact you want to see.
The pros and cons of the membership website builders are compiled from the reviews of the users on different directories, which are Capterra and G2.
As a good way of turning your content marketing into profit, membership website builders that we have gathered will do more good than you think.
If you decide on the steps of your membership website and are ready to take action, choose your builder and start now!
Frequently Asked Questions
The frequently asked questions are determined by the users’ most common searches, and we answered them diligently in case you might need :)
What is the Difference between a Membership Website and a Subscription Website?
Membership websites encourage people to be a part of the group, community, or club without the need for any subscription fee. On the other hand, subscription websites need the people paying for the subscription so that they can be updated about the information.
How Can We Tell a Membership Website is Successful?
It depends on the expectations of the owner, of course. If a membership website is designed for new visitors encountering a limitation on the first attempt, we should not expect any success. However, the important thing is that you need to let your visitors know you and then call them to be a member for further opportunities. After you perform the second option, you can collect your members.
What are the Benefits of Membership Website?
We can order the benefits of membership websites as increasing sales, expanding customer database, and building authority. Some memberships may help you to increase your sales if there is a paid membership option. Or, presenting a membership option is beneficial for reaching more customers. Lastly, about building authority, you seem to create an inner circle with your members for your brand only.
Recommended Blog Posts
If you are really into the website-building process, there are other articles that you might want to look at!
- 12 Best Drag and Drop Website Builder to Use in 2024
- The 13 Best Website Builders for Nonprofit Organizations
- 12 Best Website Builder for Small Business (Pros + Cons)
- 30+ Stunning Wix Website Templates Free Options in 2024
