How to Create a Video Membership Site in WordPress (Expert Guide)

Hey there!

Have you been thinking about creating a membership site to sell access to your videos? Fantastic idea!

As a webmaster with over 15 years of experience building websites, I can tell you that using WordPress to create a video membership portal is the best and easiest approach.

In this detailed guide, I‘ll walk you step-by-step through how to setup a video membership site in WordPress. I‘ll also share plenty of tips, recommendations, and best practices I‘ve learned from working on dozens of membership sites over the years.

Let‘s get started!

Why Use WordPress for a Video Membership Site?

From my experience, WordPress simply provides the ideal platform for building and running a membership website.

Here are the key reasons why I always recommend using WordPress:

Complete Flexibility & Control

WordPress is an open source platform that gives you 100% flexibility. You can fully customize your membership site‘s design, features, and functionality however you like. This simply isn‘t possible on closed platforms.

Robust User Management

Managing members is easy thanks to WordPress‘ built-in user accounts system. All the user roles, access privileges, profiles, and permissions are handled seamlessly out of the box.

According to BuiltWith, over 43% of membership sites use WordPress, which is testament to how well it handles user management.

Premium Membership Plugins

WordPress has the biggest marketplace of plugins, including amazing membership plugins like MemberPress, WishList Member, PaidMemberships Pro etc. These solutions can turn any WordPress site into a membership platform instantly.

Secure Video Delivery

With WordPress, you can securely deliver your videos only to logged in members in multiple ways:

• Using private Vimeo videos and controlling embed access via MemberPress.
• Hosting videos privately on Amazon S3 and streaming via MemberPress.
• Using plugins like MemberPress + Amazon S3 for full video access control.

We‘ll cover the specifics later in this guide.

Marketing and Promotion

Once your membership site is built, you need members! WordPress has access to all the essential marketing tools you‘ll need – email marketing, social media plugins, SEO optimizations etc.

This allows you to effectively promote your membership and attract members.

Payment Processing

Configuring payments, subscriptions, and handling transactions on WordPress is a breeze thanks to top payment and ecommerce plugins.

Since WordPress powers over 43% of all online stores, you get access to incredibly mature payment solutions.

The bottom line is that WordPress provides all the tools and capabilities needed to create a profitable and scalable video membership website. It‘s the platform trusted by professionals.

Now let‘s dive into the step-by-step process of building your video membership site with WordPress.

Step 1 – Prepare Your WordPress Site

The first step is making sure you have a WordPress site ready to turn into a membership portal. Here‘s what you need to do:

1. Get a Domain and Hosting

Every website needs a domain name and web hosting. The domain is your website‘s address online (example.com). Web hosting provides the server space to store and deliver your site online.

I recommend using Bluehost to get started. It‘s an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider used by over 2 million sites.

The reasons I prefer Bluehost are:

• Low Cost – It‘s very affordable at just $2.75/month to start. This lets you maximize profits as you grow.

• 1-Click WordPress Install – Bluehost makes installing WordPress super easy. It takes just one click to get WordPress setup.

• Free Domain Included – You get a free domain registration with all annual plans. This saves you another $15.

• 30 Day Money Back Guarantee – If you‘re not happy with Bluehost for any reason, you can get a full refund within 30 days.

• Optimized for WordPress – Their servers are tuned to run WordPress sites fast and smoothly. Site uptime is over 99.99% guaranteed.

Overall, Bluehost provides the best value and easiest starting point for your membership site.

🏆 Click Here to Claim Bluehost‘s Exclusive Discounted Price 🏆

2. Install WordPress

Once you have hosting, installing WordPress is a breeze.

Bluehost and most other major hosts offer 1-click WordPress installation. Simply click on the WordPress logo from your hosting cPanel and it‘ll do all the work to install and configure WordPress.

If your host doesn‘t have a 1-click installer, then please check out my WordPress installation tutorial that walks you through the 5 minute process.

3. Pick a Membership Theme

WordPress themes control the design and layout of your site. I recommend choosing an SEO-optimized theme designed for membership sites.

Some top membership themes I recommend are:

Memberlite – Designed for membership sites with beautiful layouts.

AppThemes – Powerful theme framework with many membership site templates.

LearnDash – Specifically built for course and membership sites.

These themes make it easy to create a professional membership site design in minutes.

4. Install Membership Site Plugins

Here are some essential free WordPress plugins I install on all membership sites:

• Security – WordFence or iThemes Security for firewall and malware protection.
• Caching – WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache to speed up and optimize the site.
• Backups – UpdraftPlus or VaultPress for easy backups.
• SEO – Yoast SEO or The SEO Framework for search engine optimization.

These improve performance, security, and search ranking – critical for any membership site.

With the basics covered, your WordPress site is now ready to turn into a fully-featured membership platform.

Step 2 – Install a Membership Plugin

The easiest way to transform your WordPress site into a membership platform is by using a purpose-built membership plugin.

Here are the best WordPress membership plugins I recommend based on testing over a dozen options:

MemberPress is my #1 recommendation. It‘s beginner-friendly and has all the membership features you‘ll need.

Key Features:

✅ Multiple subscription plans and levels

✅ Powerful membership management and protection

✅ Customizable signup forms

✅ Stripe, PayPal, and other payment processor integrations

✅ Drip content scheduling and automation

Over 43,000+ sites trust MemberPress for their membership platform. It ticks all the boxes for an easy all-in-one solution.

WishList Member is a flexible plugin allowing deeply customized membership setups.

Key Features:

✅ Unique access rules and advanced restrictions

✅ Customizable UI and front-end

✅ Robust ecommerce options

✅ Membership modules for add-ons

Ideal for complex access configurations and modular extensibility.

Paid Membership Pro is a lightweight free plugin with all core features.

Key Features:

✅ Multiple subscription levels

✅ Member profiles and page restrictions

✅ Stripe integration

✅ Member emails and reports

Great free option for basic membership sites.

To install your chosen plugin, go to Plugins → Add New in your WordPress dashboard and search for it. Then click Install and Activate.

Now let‘s configure your membership plugin.

Step 3 – Configure Your Membership Plugin

Once installed, you can access your membership plugin‘s settings in your WordPress admin dashboard.

Navigate to the settings page, which is usually under the name of the plugin‘s menu (e.g. MemberPress -> Options).

Here are some key settings you‘ll want to configure:

🌟 Payment Gateway

Connect a payment processor like Stripe or PayPal to collect membership fees and subscriptions.

Most plugins have built-in payment options, while some may require installing an add-on.

🌟 Membership Plans

Create the different tiers and levels of membership that users can subscribe to. Set pricing, benefits, and limits for each plan.

I recommend having 3-4 plans (e.g. Free, Basic, Pro, Premium) as a starting point.

🌟 User Accounts

Determine how members will signup and login to your site. Options include default WordPress users, custom fields, social logins, etc.

🌟 Access Rules

Configure rules to restrict premium content only to members based on their level. This is what hides pages, posts, videos, etc. from non-members.

🌟 Membership Pages

Create any dedicated pages needed for your membership flow like pricing, registration, login, account pages etc. The plugin will guide you.

🌟 Email Notifications

Customize automatic emails sent to members when they signup, cancel, membership expires etc.

Follow your plugin‘s documentation to dive into setting up the different options. Take your time to properly configure your membership plugin.

When done, your WordPress site is now a fully functional membership platform able to handle users!

Step 4 – Upload and Secure Member Videos

Your members have signed up and paid for access to your premium videos.

It‘s absolutely vital you upload and deliver your videos in a secure manner.

Avoid uploading videos directly to your WordPress media library – this makes them easy to steal with simple plugins that rip content.

Instead, use one of these more secure approaches:

Option 1 – Host Videos on Private Vimeo

One of the simplest and most secure ways is to host your videos privately on Vimeo.

With Vimeo Plus ($7/month), you get:

🔒 Password protected videos
🔒 Video playback limited to your domains
🔒 Private storage so videos don‘t appear publicly on Vimeo

This allows you deliver your videos safely only within your membership site.

With their basic plan, you can have up to 5 private videos. Plus allows up to 20 private vids. For more videos, you can upgrade to Vimeo Premium.

Vimeo is used by over 1.3 million sites and businesses to power their videos.

Option 2 – Amazon S3 + MemberPress Video Addon

This setup lets you host your videos on Amazon S3 cloud servers and deliver them via the MemberPress + S3 addon.

Benefits:

📥 Store all your videos securely in the cloud
🔐 Videos only streamed within MemberPress
🛡 Completely prevent unauthorized access

To configure:

1. Create an AWS S3 account and bucket
2. Install MemberPress S3 addon
3. Connect your AWS credentials
4. Configure restricted video embedding in MemberPress

With this rock solid option, your videos remain ultra-secure from potential theft and abuse.

Both Vimeo and S3 integration allow you to privately publish and stream videos for your members. Choose the method that best fits your needs.

Step 5 – Create Subscription Plans Page

To convert visitors into members, you need to clearly explain your membership options and their pricing.

The easiest way is by creating a dedicated "Plans and Pricing" page.

Here‘s what to include on the page:

• Descriptions of each membership level and key benefits
• Pricing details – monthly/annual costs, discounts etc.
• Feature comparison table of what‘s included in each plan
• Calls to action prompting visitors to signup

Keep the page clean and focus on clearly communicating the value of becoming a paid member.

Visitors can review the plans side-by-side and determine which option is right for them before signing up.

Step 6 – Adding Registration and Login Forms

In order for visitors to sign up for a membership, you need membership registration and login forms on your site.

Your membership plugin will include shortcodes that output these essential forms.

For example, MemberPress has shortcodes like:

[mepr-signup-form] – Signup form
[mepr-account-form] – Account login form

Add the shortcode to:

• Your membership landing page
• Header or footer sections
• Anywhere users frequently visit

This ensures users can easily signup or login from any page.

For a personalized form, I recommend using a drag and drop form builder like WPForms. Install their plugin and use one of their templates to create a signup form matching your branding in just minutes.

Step 7 – Set Up Member Notifications

When someone signs up for a membership on your site, WordPress will send them various automatic emails.

Some examples are:

✉️ Initial welcome email upon signup
✉️ Receipts when members purchase access
✉️ Reminders as subscriptions renew
✉️ Expiration warnings when access lapses
✉️ Password reset emails if members forget login details

However, the default emails may look bland and generic.

I highly recommend customizing these emails to match your brand identity and tone.

Most membership plugins allow you to edit the emails via their settings:

MemberPress makes it easy to edit default member emails

Update emails to include:

• Your logo, brand colors, and fonts
• A warm, friendly greeting from you or your team
• Relevant details like their membership plan
• Helpful instructions and reminders
• Links back to your membership website

Properly configured emails are vital for retaining members, avoiding cancellations, and preventing access expirations.

Step 8 – Grow Your Membership Site

You‘ve built an amazing video membership site. Now it‘s time to get the word out and attract members!

Here are my top marketing tips for promoting a WordPress membership site:

🚀 SEO

optimizing your content for search engines is crucial for driving free organic traffic. Install a WordPress SEO plugin like Yoast to maximize your SEO.

📈 Google/Facebook Ads

Paid ads allow you to get your offer in front of targeted audiences. Allocate a budget for Google and Facebook ads to scale growth.

😃 Social Media

Promote your membership on social platforms like Facebook Groups, Twitter, LinkedIn, and relevant online communities. Run contests and offers.

✉️ Email Marketing

Collect emails by offering a free membership level with samples. Send compelling broadcasts to convert subscribers into paid members.

🤝 Partnerships

Partner with brands and influencers in your niche to tap into their audiences. Cross-promote your membership programs.

📊 Analytics

Use WordPress analytics like MonsterInsights to identify what converts best. Double down on content and offers that generate the most profit.

Driving memberships takes consistent marketing effort. With time and persistence, you will attract a thriving member base.

Wrapping Up

I hope you found this guide helpful for understanding how to create a video membership site with WordPress step-by-step.

Here are a few key tips to remember:

✔️ Pick a robust membership plugin like MemberPress for easy setup

✔️ Focus on securely delivering your premium videos

✔️ Create value-driven membership plans and pages

✔️ Use email, SEO, social media, and ads to promote your site

✔️ Analyze metrics to identify what resonates most with members

Thanks for reading! I wish you the greatest success with launching your own profitable video membership portal. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.