Membership websites are a great way to monetize expertise, generate steady income, and build an active community. But when it comes to deciding on a specific topic, the options can feel overwhelming. There are numerous membership website ideas to choose from, whether you’re a content creator, business owner, or entrepreneur ready to turn your knowledge into a profitable venture. The first step is to find the perfect membership idea that matches your passion and audience.
In this article, we’ll share some of the best membership website ideas to inspire you and also help you choose one for yourself. Besides that, a step-by-step guide will follow to help you launch your own membership website.
What is a Membership Website?
You can class any site that offers free or paid subscriptions to access exclusive content, products, or services as a membership website. To view this members-only content, a user will need an active account and must log in to access it. Whether you’re offering premium blog posts, online courses, or private communities, a membership site gives you control over who gets access and lets you build a loyal audience.
For example, think of platforms such as Skillshare or Coursera. These platforms offer online courses on a wide range of subjects, which makes it suitable for different audiences across the world.
Patreon is another example, where you can subscribe to your favorite creators for exclusive updates, videos, or behind-the-scenes content.
In a nutshell, a membership website is any site that includes members-only content. These members can access the content for free, by paying a fixed fee, or choose from a tiered system that offers different levels of membership for different costs.
6 Benefits of Running a Membership Website
There are plenty of reasons as to why membership sites are beneficial for both you and your subscribers. Let’s explore the key advantages of starting your own membership site and then dive into some top membership website ideas.
1. Recurring revenue
Money is always a key driver for most membership website ideas. Just think about the constant stream of income you can get, month after month, from subscribers who find value in what you have to offer.
With memberships, you won’t need to constantly chase single sales or strive to get new clients on a continuous basis. You’ll have a predictable inflow of money that will grow along with your membership. This, in turn, provides consistency for your revenue—and greater assurance when planning the growth of your business.
2. Scalable growth
With a membership website, your business’ growth has room to stretch and flourish without overwhelming you. While you attract new members over time, you can build a supportive yet scalable community.
Unlike a typical business—where growth often means higher costs or stretched resources—a membership site lets you grow with greater ease. More members simply mean more people engaging with the content or resources you have already created, without the need to reinvent the wheel each time.
3. Targeted content delivery
Imagine knowing exactly what each segment of your audience is interested in and being able to give it to them exactly. Membership websites can help facilitate this aspect.
No matter if we are talking about specialized courses, exclusive articles, or specific resources, targeted content delivery can help you make the best possible match with different levels of expertise, goals, or preferences. In this way, you can give every member a unique experience. In turn, this should give a boost to your member’s satisfaction and retention.
4. Stronger loyalty
One of the most rewarding aspects of running a membership site is knowing the loyal community you will build up over time. With members-only content, resources, and tailored benefits, those members can benefit from the extra value that your site provides.
In addition, they will also feel appreciation, which is an undervalued aspect that is worth highlighting more. Your members have the opportunity to feel ‘extra special’ because they know they’re getting something nobody else does. In return, they’re more likely to stay active and keep on coming back to participate in your community.
5. Enhanced control
You hold the reins when it comes to your content and how it reaches your audience. When you post on social media or any other third-party channel, it’s an algorithm that dictate what anyone can view.
On the other hand, a membership website gives you total freedom to create a perfect experience for your members. You control exactly when new content goes live, its structure, and the access each membership level gets.
6. Increased engagement
All of the five benefits we mention here combine to bring one huge overall positive. The dedication you show to your members through your site can equate to a more active and involved community. This excitement at what else you will provide in the future can add great value through community, inspiration, and exclusive access to content.
However, if you currently want to start your own membership website but aren’t sure which type of setup will suit you, stick around. After sharing some of the most popular membership website ideas, we’ll help you determine which one is right for you. From there, you’ll also get a step-by-step tutorial on how to launch it.
8 Membership Website Ideas to Inspire You
When it comes to choosing membership website ideas, you can find a near-endless set of possibilities. We’ve curated a set of membership website ideas that can help you sort your way through many different niches and industries. Each idea here comes with the potential of high engagement and profitability.
Let’s start with one of the most common ways to build a membership website.
1. Online Courses
One of the most popular membership website ideas is offering online courses. There are a lot of platforms that offer online courses, such as Udemy or Coursera. If you have expertise in a particular field that also matches these types of site, giving users access to exclusive, premium courses could be a sound decision.
With a membership model, you can structure your online courses in various ways to fit different skill levels. Take a photography site, for example.
For beginners, you could have fundamental courses that teach the basics of using a camera and lighting. On the other hand, you could cater to professionals through workshops in specialized styles such as portrait photography or landscape techniques. This tiered approach should attract more customers and will keep engagement high.
2. Language Classes
Offering language classes is one membership website idea that is highly effective. If you’re fluent in at least one foreign language (or are passionate about connecting with different cultures), you can create a membership site based around helping others to learn new languages.
For example, Duolingo is one of the most popular choices when it comes to language platforms. It has both a free and a paid version. These premium tiers give access to exclusive lessons, flexible mistakes recognition, and even live phone calls.
This type of site is perfect for individuals wanting to improve their language skills for travel, work, or personal growth while also having fun. By offering multi-level memberships, you can provide various levels of content, from beginner lessons to advanced language proficiency.
3. Fitness and Wellness Programs
Wellness, fitness, and general health are dynamic and engaging choices when it comes to membership website ideas. If you’re passionate for these areas, a membership site could be rewarding. BODi is a good example of a membership site within this niche.
By subscribing, members can gain access to a variety of exclusive content designed to support their fitness journey and overall wellness. An interesting idea to explore for your own site would be to create tailored workout routines for specific goals. For instance, you can offer one-on-one training sessions or even group sessions to help build a community.
4. Business Coaching and Mentorship
Providing guidance and support to entrepreneurs at all levels is a great way to win memberships. Tony Robbins’ site (for just one example) provides business coaching. This can offer invaluable resources for those seeking to grow their businesses. It could also help those who want to develop new skills of value to their professional lives.
An interesting element of this type of niche is how you can base it around personal branding. This alone can form a sense of community among your members. At the same time, there are a lot of other interesting directions to take, such as offering resources for startups or coaching for online businesses.
5. Hobbyist Communities
A rewarding membership website idea that is also common is that for a hobby community. You can turn passion for a specific hobby or interest, such as gardening, photography, or model building, into a dedicated space where enthusiasts can connect, learn, and share their experiences.
Ravelry is a free website for knitters, crocheters, and fiber artists, for example. It brings people who are passionate about a certain topic together and, with time, creates a strong community. A website like this can include interactive forums, host workshops and webinars, and even organize exclusive events for its community.
6. Parenting and Family Advice
A website focused on parenting and family advice is a valuable membership idea for supporting parents through the stages of raising children. It can provide a wealth of resources tailored to the needs of all families.
For example, you can create a website dedicated to mothers who are actively researching the best parenting tips for their loved ones. By choosing this type of membership website, you can incorporate various sections like expert articles, support groups, or community challenges—such as Mumsnet. In this way, you can foster a growing and loyal community that will actively engage with your content.
7. Job Boards
Creating a membership site for job boards connects job seekers with opportunities, and provides extra value through exclusive content. This approach can target specific industries or career levels, which offers a focused platform for job searching and career growth.
Jobs in Malta is a membership-based website that gives its members access to personalized job recommendations in that country. Besides offering members access to a curated and exclusive list of job postings, it also provides resume and cover letter-building services. Your own site could mimic this approach, and build on top of the core offering.
8. Gaming Communities
A website dedicated to gaming communities, such as Humble, is a top example of a membership website idea tailored to passionate gamers. Whether this focuses on a specific game, genre, or culture, a your site could provide diverse features and content that enhances the gaming experience and fosters a dedicated community.
Humble also offers a great deal of perks once you join their community. For one of many examples, it offers exclusive discounts on future purchases. Another huge traffic and engagement driver is its deep discounts on product bundles.
With a business like this, you can create engaging spaces for members to discuss games or host live streaming events and gaming tournaments. These features can generate excitement and make the members feel like part of the community.
How to Choose From the Best Membership Website Ideas
By now, you should have a clearer understanding of what a membership website is and how it can benefit your business. You should also have a better idea of which membership website ideas might be the best fit for you.
Next, you’ll want to narrow down all the options into a small set of candidates. Here’s how to do it.
Identify your passion and expertise
First, decide what you’re passionate about. Here, think about the knowledge and skills you possess that others might want to learn. Once you choose a topic you’re genuinely excited about, it will make the process of creating content and engaging with your community much more enjoyable.
Research market demand
Next, research the market to understand whether your idea has an audience. Google Trends is a good way to understand this at a basic level. However, typical Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies such as keyword research can help, as can trawling social media channels.
Each can give you ideas about the demand for certain subjects. In addition, joining forums or groups relating to your niche can also help you understand what people discuss or ask questions on.
Understand your target audience
Once you know that an audience exists, you need to identify your ideal members by considering their demographics, interests, and challenges. Knowing who you are talking to means you’ll create membership offerings that directly benefit them. This is exactly what your site needs to offer appeal and value.
Evaluate the competition
Now it’s time to look to existing membership sites in your chosen niche. Here, note what strengths they have along with the weaknesses you perceive. The idea is to create a guide as to what you can do differently with your own site. This research can help you find some unique angles or under-served areas that you can explore to give you a competitive edge.
Launch and test
The final step is to test the waters with a pilot membership website or even a free community before you go all in. At this stage, be sure to collect feedback from early adopters for insight on how to refine your offerings. This also lets you ensure that there is true interest for what you have to offer.
How to Start Your Membership Website: a 4 Step Process
Setting up your own membership website is going to be a crucial part of the process, naturally! For this, we’re going to use the Paid Member Subscriptions plugin.
This WordPress plugin enables you to set up multiple plans to accommodate any one of the membership website ideas you choose to run with. It has an easy-to-use interface that lets you set everything up with no technical skills and a lot of customization options. This includes templates for common and typical sections of your site, such as a pricing table.
In addition, the plugin supports multilingual websites too. This means it’s a full package that can help you build out your membership website idea into reality.
The free version of the plugin is great for basic requirements. It lets you offer free and paid subscription plans with content restriction, display pricing tables, embed registration and login forms, and more. The premium version gives you access to functionality such as pre-designed form templates, pro-ration, group memberships, invoices, content dripping, and much more.
1. Install and Configure the Plugin
The installation process is straightforward and typical, but you’ll need to download both the free and premium versions (if you’re a paying user) from the Account page on the plugin’s website.
When the plugin is activated for the first time, it will show the Setup Wizard page. The helps you configure the plugin, creates the membership pages you need, and lets you set up payment details. You can also customize other settings here:
If you install and activate the premium plugin, navigate to the Paid Member Subscriptions section within WordPress and go to the Settings screen:
Here, enter your license key, click Activate License, then Save Settings. After all of this is done, your plugin is ready.
2. Create a Subscription Plan
Now, you’ll want to create a new subscription plan for your members. To do this, navigate to Paid Member Subscriptions > Subscription Plans within WordPress and click Add New.
This will redirect you to the dedicated plan’s editor page. In this section, you’ll configure all the details for your membership plan. This includes the plan name, description, price, and duration. Additionally, you can set an upfront sign-up charge upon subscribing. You also have the option to adjust the plan’s status, such as making it available for a limited time only or to offer membership discounts.
The premium version of the plugin lets you create upgrade or downgrade versions for each individual plan too:
Once you make the changes you wish, click Save Subscription. From here, you can repeat the process to add more plans. After you build those tiers, you’ll need to display them to your potential members.
3. Create the Pricing Page
Creating a pricing page for your membership tiers is straightforward. You access the settings from the Subscription Plans section, under the Create Pricing Page section. Here, select a display order for your subscription plans and click Submit.
This will redirect you to the Page Editor, where you can customize the pricing page as you see fit.
Designing this page is as typical as building any other page within the WordPress Block Editor. In the end, you should have a personalized membership page design which you can bolster with more functionality.
4. Set Up Content Restriction
The Paid Member Subscriptions plugin lets you restrict content based on which subscription plan the user signs up for.
To enable this, navigate to the page or post you want to restrict and scroll down to the Content Restriction metabox. Here, you can select the type of restriction you want to apply and specify which subscription plan it corresponds to.
After you configure the restriction settings, your registration page should be ready to go live.
Congratulations! You’ve successfully brought one of your membership website ideas to life. Now, with a fully functional subscription system in place, you’re ready to run your business like a pro. 😎
Paid Member Subscriptions Can Bring Your Membership Website Ideas to Life
No matter which one of the membership website ideas you want to pursue, the key to success lies in understanding your audience and delivering exceptional value. Whether you’re focusing on language classes, business coaching, or any other niche, creating a membership website lets you build a dedicated community around your expertise or passion.
With the right tools, the task isn’t even that hard. Paid Member Subscriptions is an intuitive plugin that delivers quality functionality. What’s more, its free version includes the core functionality you need to set your ideas in motion.
Which one of these membership website ideas sparked your interest the most? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!
