How to Create a Membership Website in 5 Simple Steps (with No-code)

Learn how to create a membership website in 5 simple steps. This step-by-step guide will provide everything you need to know about building a membership website.

by Zaki Rezwana Chowdhury • 21 February 2023

Do you want to build a membership website but feel intimidated by the technical requirements?

Do not fret! Developing a membership website has never been simpler thanks to the emergence of no-code platforms.

In this blog, we'll walk you through a step-by-step process for creating a membership website with no-code in 5 easy steps — allowing you to build a thriving online community without any coding knowledge. 

So let's get started. 

How to create a membership website in 5 steps

Membership sites are best for getting a recurring and reliable revenue stream for your business. Below we will discuss steps you can follow to make your first foray into membership site building a successful one.

1. Plan out your membership website model

If you are building a membership website, you must plan your membership website model. This includes considering things like :

  • Target group of people - you should find out who your target audience is. What do they value? What are their pain points and goals?
  • Content type - plan your content type with the focus group of people. What type of content will you offer? Will people sign-up for this content?
  • Membership service structure - will your membership service will have different levels? What will these levels offer?
  • Platform - which platform would be great for you to build your membership website? Should you build the site from scratch or with a ready template? What will the cost be?
  • Pricing - how will the pricing be for different packages on your membership website? Is there any free package you are offering? 
  • Payment Method - how your payment method will be? Are you offering an international payment solution? Is the payment gateway easy to use?

Every decision you make throughout the journey, remember the heart of your decision is - your users. Also, do not forget about the fresher and entry-level users. 

Other than that, you have to decide on the budget and create a concise timeline for your project

2. Build your membership site with a No-code website builder

Building a membership website can be an unnerving task. Not if you choose a builder for it. 

Research your options before choosing a membership site builder. Then create a shortlist of your chosen builders and review them. Compare them and make a decision on which platform matches your interest. 

When choosing a builder, ensure they have professional templates you can choose from. It will save a lot of groundwork, time, and money.

Consider things like - 

  • Ease-of-use
  • Drag and drop
  • Customizable templates 
  • Email marketing
  • Blogging Platform
  • Communication tools
  • Automation tools
  • Events and members registration
  • Payment 
  • Customer support

A no-code builder (Dorik) makes creating your membership site simple and easy-to-use. You get options to choose from with a significant number of customizable templates. 

Dorik free templates

With tools and integrations to help you automate, market, and communicate with members and all. 

Read our popular website builders list to help you get your head around to which one to choose. 

3. Create pages to attract and retain

Your website should represent the visitor's interest and expectations. Otherwise, visitors will be frustrated and leave.

When creating pages focus on things like –

  • Organization’s values and purpose - visitors want to ensure that your service aligns with their interests and purpose. Homepage and about us is the page where you have to put thought and the main call-to-action.
  • Access to specialized resources and content - this is where you are showing visitors that you are creating value in their life. You can share some samples of your great resources in your membership facility. It will entice people to check out more and become members or subscribers. Backlinko creates top-notch blog content on SEO and link building where people subscribe to unlock exclusive content. 
  • Engaging community - the main reason people sign-up for membership is to be a part of a like-minded group of people. Members-only areas and events are the places where you can host exclusive events and resources. People should feel benefited from your community.
  • Easy joining and payment - the joining and payment should be simple and easy to do. Complexing join us and payment option will drastically change into a low conversion rate. So, make sure the process of call-to-action is easy for the user.

4. Building a membership website with a no-code website builder 

No-code website builder enables you to build a membership site without much of a hassle. Simple drag and drop or a few clicks are enough to launch your site to the world. 

The processes are as follows:

  • Choose a template: The first step to building your membership site is to choose a template from the Dorik templates gallery. Then customize it as you need. Fill the places with your site and topic information. 
  • Content and pages:  Create content or add pages as your site requires. 
  • Gate content:  There is an advanced setting where you get - public, members-only, and paid members-only options. You can set these gates/restrictions on your page or blog. 

And all this cool stuffs you can do without any coding or technical knowledge. Amazing, right?  

5. Market your membership website

Now that your site is all set. Start advertising your website and attract new members. Let them know about the exciting community you have. 

Reach out to people, send emails, and let them know. Offer a special discount on launching. Post organic and paid content. 

Also, giveaway free resources that people will be interested in. Monitor your site performances. What are the conversion rate, sign-up ratio, and content they love? Then act accordingly. 

Membership Site Examples

Membership sites give you tons of different things to do and explore. You get a community to offer the things you both value. 

Some examples of membership sites are -

  • Medium is a blogging platform with membership features. They provide exclusive blog and content accessibility with a monthly subscription. 
Medium
  • ZenBusiness is a paid membership site for an individual or small business owner who wants to build an online business. They provide educational resources like - premium course content, webinars, sessions, group coaching, community, and forum/chat where members can interact.
ZenBusiness
  • DigitalMarketer is a great membership website for marketing enthusiasts. They offer training on marketing, advertising, PPC, copywriting, business and etc. Anyone can purchase the course, workshop, or book and start learning what they want.
DigitalMarketer
  • Quotes Cover is a website where they offer quotes. you can generate quotes too. They have both free and premium membership plans. 
Quotes Cover

Which platform should you choose for your membership website?

The Internet is flooded with site builders and their membership features. Do they come with all the things one needs? Well, unfortunately, No.

Finding the right platform for your membership site itself is a mammoth task. All the websites are not user, feature, and budget-friendly. 

Here Dorik excels in all these things in the budget. You can try their CMS plan for free. Then according to your need, you can upgrade to premium plans where you get impressive features. 

You can just purchase CMS personal plan for $7 per month. And there you go with a content membership site, all set to launch. 

If you are an agency or a small business owner, you can purchase an agency or business plan that is super affordable. And start scaling your business.

Features that make it the best platform for the membership site is –

  • Easy drag and drop 
  • Huge professional templates
  • Members Management
  • Unlimited blog posts
  • Unlimited Storage
  • Global CDN and AWS hosting
  • In-built SEO
  • Popular Marketing Tools integrations
  • Payment integrations

Dorik's easy drag-and-drop feature with no code makes it the best membership website builder. 

Its large number of beautiful templates, in-built SEO, integrations, and device friendliness make it literally a free membership site builder in this $7. 

For organizations or small businesses, they have business and agency plan which is super scalable and affordable for any business or organization.

FAQs on how to create a membership website, Answered

What is a membership website?

A membership site is a gated content site where only the members can get access to the content. It can be without a fee (for user engagement) or subscription-based. 

Many small businesses and organizations have membership sites for getting loyal and engaged audiences. This kind of membership site is free to subscribe to.

A subscription-based membership site charges your audience a monthly or annual fee in exchange for access to premium content, service, community, or benefits. 

People sign up for these websites to get premium content. 

Once one sign-up for a membership, they can access and benefit from the educational resource, newsletters, webinars, online courses, special invitations to events and conferences, and videos.

How does a membership site work?

A membership site is a gated site. The purpose of creating a membership site is to build a community or business. Membership site makes content or pages gated and restricts public access. Visitors subscribe or become members of the site to access it with the free or paid plan. 

Members get access to the site’s exclusive content, courses, webinars, forum/chats, and community where they share or interact and get valuable content. 

Why do you need a membership site?

A membership site is benefiting for both organization and its members. It helps you get more engaged users. 

The key benefits of a membership site are –

  • Engaged users
  • High retention rates
  • Recurring revenue
  • A supportive community

People are more likely to get engaged and active if they can access premium content from anywhere and at any time. 

Member retention rate also increases with membership-based content. With more engaged members, organizations get retention resulting in recurring revenue. Also, the users get a supportive community where they can network and get help. 

What features a membership site should have?

Setting up your membership site, you do not want any wrinkles that will make your website a bad experience. You must ensure your membership site features work best for you and the users. 

The features you should look out for are –

  • Members only pages
  • Different membership levels
  • Membership directories
  • Online event registration
  • Event Calendar
  • Device friendliness 
  • Social media integration
  • Online payment options
  • Automation 

Members-only contents or pages give members special access to content, directories, and event registrations through a login. Different membership levels allow you to provide a custom package to different audiences. 

It is prominent that your packages offer options because not everyone will just jump into your biggest package. Your site should be well-designed when it comes to login and content pages. 

Your membership website should have social media and app integrations. The site should be device friendly. Event registration and payment systems must be user-friendly. 

What is membership website software?

Membership website software is a membership management tool that small businesses and organizations use to manage all membership functionality online. 

It allows you to:

  • Fees, donations, and online payment processing
  • Member and event registration pages
  • Emails and newsletter  
  • Automation 

If you are running an organization or business, membership site software offers different management tools to manage and arrange everything your business or organization needs. 

With membership website software, you get payment and fee processing with registration pages and automation services. 

In short, membership website software/ platforms save you tons of work every week, including administrative work. It runs in the background, processing and updating information while you can focus on other tasks.

How much does it cost to create a membership site? 

The cost of creating a membership website depends on the solution you choose. A simple membership website building can cause around $15-25 per month. 

But the drawback is not every website comes with all the features you need to run a membership site. And it can be you have to purchase them separately. 

All-in-one membership website builder provides a complete package of features you need to build and run your membership site. 

The no-code membership site builder offers all the necessary tools from marketing to management. Also, there is no need to worry about purchasing a domain, hosting, or plugin. 

Dorik offers membership features starting from $7 per month with 3,000 members capacity. They also provide integrations and tools for marketing and automation.

Are membership websites profitable?

A dedicated membership website is profitable if you have a robust model, a well-planned budget, and a detailed business plan. When your membership website serves the need of your community and has a strong value proposition, you can make money from it.

You must know your ideal members and how to engage and reach them. You have to provide them with value and exceptional member experience. 

Ways to generate revenue from a membership website –

  • Membership fee
  • Special event registration
  • Online store
  • Sponsorship
  • Donations 

The profit comes from charging members for membership access, registration pages, online store, sponsorship, and donations.

What is the difference between membership and subscription websites?

On a subscription website, you get access to a product or service for a period of time. Where in the membership website, you get access to a group or platform.

They both provide gated content. People are known as subscribers on the subscription website and members on the membership website. 

Subscribers pay a fee in exchange for content on the subscription-based website. They do not interact with each other.

On the other hand, the membership website is focused on building a community. Members get access to content, engage with each other, attend events, and participate in discussions. 

Is the membership website and members-only website are same?

Maximum membership websites are two sites in one website: public membership and members-only websites.

Public membership content is accessible to everybody, and the members-only website provides content that is password protected, which only the members can get access to. 

Membership websites and members-only websites are two separate elements with different purpose serving. 

Anyone can access public membership, where you can attract visitors, share joining benefits, sign-up forms, and free resources to attract the crowd. 

When someone joins your membership, they get access to members-only pages. You can get exclusive content, an online community, and other membership benefits.

Good read:

Closing thoughts

We go through almost every aspect of creating a membership website with the no-code in this blog so that you can create your own.

And setting up a membership site with Dorik is a simple way to start your membership business. It helps you to manage your gated content and your members, so you can focus on generating profits. 

All the best in creating your membership website. If you have any queries, please get in touch with us; we will be happy to assist. 

Zaki Rezwana Chowdhury
AUTHOR
Zaki Rezwana Chowdhury

Zaki Rezwana Chowdhury is a content writer at Dorik. She writes about technical and non-technical things. She has a degree in computer science and enjoys exploring new technologies. Zaki is an avid reader of fiction and non-fiction books. She enjoys rhetoric content, nomadic life, and lollygagging. Outside work, Zaki spends as much time as possible away from blue screens with her family and friends.

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