Getting started with memberships

BySupport Admin

Memberships allow you to restrict access to specific products, content, or discounts to a select group of customers. Whether you are selling a monthly subscription box, a private video library, or wholesale pricing, memberships help you manage how customers interact with your shop and build a recurring revenue stream.

1. Create your membership product

Before you can have members, you need something for them to buy.

  1. Go to Products > Add New.

  2. Give your membership a name (e.g., "Gold Member Access").

  3. In the Product Data box, check the Virtual box. This ensures no shipping is calculated at checkout.

  4. Set your price.

  5. Click Publish.

Note: If you want to charge a recurring fee (monthly or yearly), make sure you have the Subscriptions extension active and select "Simple Subscription" as the product type.

2. Set up the Membership Plan

The plan defines what the customer actually gets when they buy the product.

  1. Navigate to WooCommerce > Memberships > Membership Plans.

  2. Click Add Membership Plan.

  3. Name the plan.

  4. Under the General tab, look for Grant Access Upon. Select Product purchase.

  5. In the Products field, type the name of the product you created in Step 1.

  6. Set the Membership Length. You can make it "Unlimited" or set a specific number of days or months.

3. Restrict content or products

Now that the plan exists, you need to decide what is hidden from regular visitors.

  • To restrict a Page or Post: Open that page in the editor. Scroll down to the Memberships box and select the plan that should have access.

  • To restrict a Product: Go to the product page. In the Memberships tab, you can choose to hide the product entirely from non-members or just hide the price and "Add to Cart" button.

  • To offer a Discount: Inside your Membership Plan settings, go to the Purchasing Discounts tab. Here, you can select specific products or entire categories that members get at a lower price.

4. Test the member experience

It is always best to see what your customers see. Open your site in an Incognito/Private browser window. Try to access a restricted page; you should see a message saying the content is for members only. Then, log in with a test account that has the membership to ensure the content appears correctly.

Practical scenarios

  • The Content Library: You host private training videos on your site. You create a "Video Vault" membership. You then go to your Video Category and restrict the entire category to that membership plan.

  • Wholesale Pricing: You sell to both the public and retailers. You create a "Wholesale" membership. In the plan settings, you add a 30% discount for the "All Products" category so that logged-in wholesalers see the lower price automatically.

  • Early Access: You launch new products every Friday. You can restrict new items so that only members can buy them for the first 48 hours before they become available to everyone else.

Troubleshooting

Members can’t see their content
Check the Membership Plan settings under the Grant Access tab. Ensure the product purchase is correctly linked and that the membership status for that user is "Active" rather than "Pending" or "Expired."

The price isn’t changing for members
If you are using a caching plugin, it might be showing the "logged out" version of the page. Clear your site cache. Also, ensure the member is logged into the exact account they used to purchase the membership.

Too much is hidden
If your entire shop disappears, you may have accidentally restricted a high-level product category. Go back to WooCommerce > Memberships > Membership Plans and check your Product Restrictions tab to ensure only specific items are listed.

Next steps:

  • Setting up recurring payments with Subscriptions

  • Customizing the Member Area dashboard

  • Sending automated emails to new members

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