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10 Easy Steps to Creating a Membership Site with SureMembers and Brizy

on 8 Nov 2023, by Sujay Pawar, in Blog, WordPress, Guides

by Sujay Pawar

A membership website is a powerful way to create predictable, recurring revenue for your online business.

You can monetize your knowledge, content, and community by offering paid access to premium experiences.

The membership economy is booming—YouTube alone has 80 million people paying for a premium subscription. So whether you want to sell online courses, premium content, coaching, or community access, a membership site is a step in the right direction.

In this guide, we'll walk through the step-by-step process of creating a membership site using two powerful WordPress plugins:

Brizy - For building beautiful pages and designs
SureMembers - For handling subscriptions, payments, and access control

Using SureMembers and Brizy together, you can create a customized WordPress membership site without hiring a developer or learning to code.

Who can use this?

Why SureMembers and Brizy are a great combination
Step-by-step instructions from initial setup to launch
How to configure payments, membership levels, automation, and more
Design tips to make your site shine with Brizy
Answers to frequently asked questions

By the end of this guide, you'll have a complete game plan to launch your membership site on WordPress with confidence.

Let's get started!

Why Use SureMembers and Brizy?

Before we dive into the step-by-step instructions, let's look at what makes SureMembers and Brizy such a powerful combination.

What is SureMembers?

SureMembers is one of the most robust membership plugins available for WordPress. It handles everything related to subscriptions and controlling access to content.

Key features include:

Membership management - Create unlimited subscription packages with different access levels and pricing. Offer monthly, yearly, and lifetime plans.
Payment gateways - Integrate Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Razorpay, and Paystack to collect fees (with SureCart).
Access control - Restrict page and post access to members only. Protect files, forums, courses, etc.
Automation - Set up emails like welcome sequences, expiration reminders, win-back campaigns, and more.
Integrations - Connect to services for email marketing, webinars, and learning management systems.
Member profiles - Frontend member dashboards, activity tracking, status levels.

SureMembers provides everything you need to manage a thriving membership program on WordPress.

What is Brizy?

Brizy is a visual drag-and-drop page builder for WordPress. It makes it easy for anyone to create beautiful, custom designs.

With Brizy, you can:

Build pages using pre-made templates and blocks
Easily customize fonts, colors, layouts, and more
Add elements like text, images, and buttons with drag-and-drop
Create global site styles for visual consistency.

The intuitive editor and powerful features make it possible to build a great-looking site without knowing code.

Brizy handles the design side, while SureMembers handles the subscriptions and business logic. Together, they provide a complete membership site solution.

Why choose this combination?

SureMembers and Brizy make an ideal combination for a few key reasons:

No coding required - You can use them to create a membership site without writing code.
Visually optimized - Well-designed websites convert better. Brizy makes it easy for anyone to build high-converting pages.
Full-featured - Get all the membership features you need from SureMembers, paired with beautiful design.
Easy customization - Easily tailor your site to your brand, update layouts, add new content, and more.
Cost-effective - These tools are very reasonably priced for their powerful functionality.

Let's dive into how to build your membership site!

Prerequisites for Creating a Membership Site

A WordPress website

Since we'll be installing plugins, you need a self-hosted WordPress site rather than a free WordPress.com site.

Here are a few good options for hosting providers:

Hostinger - If you want to start on a lower budget, pick Hostinger. It offers the perfect balance of a low monthly price and excellent performance to help you get started on your website.
SiteGround - A fast, high-performance hosting provider that offers shared and managed WordPress hosting for optimum website hosting experience.
Kinsta - Once you’ve gone beyond the traffic and performance limitations of Hostinger and SiteGround, you may want to migrate to Kinsta or a similarly high-powered hosting provider.

A basic shared hosting plan is enough to start. You can always scale up to a VPS or dedicated server as your membership grows.

Once you sign up for web hosting, install the latest WordPress with a few clicks to set up your site. Most hosts have a simple auto-installer.

SureMembers and Brizy Plugins

You'll need to have SureMembers and Brizy installed and activated on your WordPress site.

The installation process for both is relatively easy. We'll cover how to install them shortly.

Payment Gateway

You'll need a payment gateway like Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Razorpay, or Paystack integrated into your WordPress site to collect payments.

Most gateways have WordPress plugins that make integration easy. But in this tutorial, we’ll use SureCart, a free ecommerce plugin for WordPress that handles all payment gateway integration for us.

Database Solutions

You want to make sure that you’ll be keeping the user data you collect organized and easily accesible so you can nuture leads and reach out to them for repeat purchases.

Choose a database platform where you can easily sync data in real time whether from MySQL to ElasticSearch or PostgresSQL to BigQuery so that when you need to migrate data in the future, syncing will be seamless.

To better nurture your leads or get new prospects efficiently once all your data is in one place, build a newsletter referral program on Partnero. This reminds your leads who you are and makes it easy for them to refer you to new prospects. This will help you increase your membership base quickly.

Let's dive into building your membership site!

Step-By-Step Guide to Setting Up a Membership Site

Now we're ready for the fun part—setting up your membership site from start to finish!

We'll go through the process, starting with initial site setup, installing plugins, setting up memberships and payments, testing the website, and preparing for the launch.

Let's get started.

Step 1: Setting Up WordPress Hosting

If you don't have WordPress hosting, now is the time to set it up.

Here's an overview of what's involved:

Choose a Reliable Web Host

Look for hosts specializing in WordPress, like SiteGround, Hostinger, or Dreamhost.

Some key factors to consider:

Speed and uptime
Technical support responsiveness
Ease of use for WordPress
Scalability options

You can expect to pay between $2 to $25 per month, depending on the additional features you choose. If you’re unsure which hosting to choose, you can find one from this list of the fastest managed WordPress hosts.

Sign Up and Create a Domain

Suppose you’ve selected Hostinger for its low cost, decent speeds, and excellent support. You also get a free domain and any managed hosting plan from Hostinger.

Sign up for an account, choose a domain name, and set up your account info. Many hosting companies will give you the domain free for the first year. But even if they don’t, you can always purchase the domain separately.

Install WordPress

Next, we’ll be setting up WordPress! The process is straightforward:
Log into your hosting account dashboard.
Look for a one-click install option for WordPress and click it to proceed with the installation.

4. Enter your domain name. Set up the admin username and password and hit install.

5. The host will automatically install WordPress and set everything up for you.

You may also want to set up a good WordPress theme before you start configuring membership settings.

Set Up Security Measures

Before we continue, it's essential to add extra security in a few areas:

SSL Certificate - Add an SSL certificate to enable HTTPS access and increase site security. Many hosts include a free certificate. For instance, if you’ve picked Hostinger, simply go to the SSL tab and enable free SSL.
Backup plugin - Install a backup plugin like VaultPress or UpdraftPlus and set up offsite backups if anything happens to your site.
Disable XML-RPC - Disable XML-RPC in WordPress to prevent brute force attacks. Some plugins make this easy.
Strong passwords - Always use long, complex passwords. Consider a password manager and enable two-factor authentication if available.

With those basics covered, your hosting environment is set up! Let's move on to installing the plugins.

Step 2: Installing SureMembers & Brizy

Since SureMembers is a paid plugin, you need to install it from the SureMembers website.

Here’s what you need to do:

Go to suremembers.com and click Get Started.
Choose a subscription plan and enter your payment details.
Visit your SureMembers account dashboard.
Find and download the latest version of the SureMembers WordPress plugin.
Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
Go to Plugins > Add New and click Upload Plugin.
Upload the downloaded zip file and click Install Now.
After installation completes, click Activate.

That's all there is to it. SureMembers will now be activated and ready to use.

Installing and Activating Brizy

Similarly, here is how to install Brizy:

In your WP admin, go to Plugins > Add New.
Search for "Brizy". Click Install when it appears.

3. Press Activate

Brizy is now activated. With our two core plugins installed, we're ready to start using them.

Step 3: Configuring SureMembers

Once SureMembers is activated, we need to configure some core settings before creating membership levels and content.

Go to Settings to access the configuration options under the Memberships menu in your WP dashboard.

Some of the key things to set up include:

General Settings

Pages for registration, login, account, etc.
Email sender name and address
Terms and conditions

Registration Settings

New user roles
Profile fields to capture
Automated welcome emails

Payment Settings

Currencies accepted
Taxes and billing settings
Trial periods

Access Settings

Default access rules for content types like posts, pages, media, etc.

Take the time to thoroughly configure SureMembers before moving forward. This will provide the supporting framework as you build your membership site.

Registration forms, login pages, automated emails, and taxes can all be tweaked later. It's good to set them up now as you think about your broader strategy.

We can start building the site using Brizy and creating membership plans in SureMembers with the basics configured.

Use this guide to understand the different configuration options available in SureMembers.

Step 4: Designing Your Membership Site with Brizy

Let's look at how you can use Brizy's powerful drag-and-drop editor to design the front end of your membership site.

Get Started with Pre-Made Templates

Brizy has a templates section that allows you to instantly create new pages using pre-made layouts for different niches.

Browse the Brizy templates to find ones that match your industry or layout needs.

Some good starting points:

Landing pages
Service pages
Pricing and comparing pages
Contact and support pages
Blog layouts

Once you’ve found the best template that suits your needs, it’s time to start customizing it.

Customize and Tweak the Designs

One of Brizy's most significant advantages is easy customization without coding. Let's explore ways to adapt the templates to your brand quickly.

You can easily change:

Colors
Fonts
Images
Icons
Content blocks
Layout and spacing

Brizy enables you to update styles globally so your site is visually consistent. Make use of all the customization options to match your branding.

Don't worry about perfection yet—just get the main pages in place. You can always come back later and and update the design.

Add Membership Content

Now your core pages are set up, you can add membership-specific content. Create new Brizy pages and posts for:

Sales page explaining the benefits of the membership
Individual membership plan pages
Customized checkout and payment pages
Account login and dashboard
Restricted content for members

Drag and drop content blocks, modify the text, and incorporate colors and images to match your brand.

Brizy makes the process fast and intuitive. Having attractive pages will make members more likely to sign up and engage.

Step 5: Creating an Access Group in SureMembers

SureMembers makes creating memberships for your website easy. The process begins with creating an access group of logged-in users who have been given access to specific resources on your website.

This lets you control which group of users have access to specific pieces of content and is especially useful when there are multiple payment tiers you’re working with.

Navigate to Access Groups

Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
Go to the SureMembers plugin and find the "Access Groups" tab.

Create a New Access Group

Click on "Add New" to create a new access group.
Name the group according to the level of access it represents, such as "Basic Members," "Premium Members," or "Admins."

Define Access Rules

You'll see options to set rules for this group. These could be based on user roles, specific users, or membership levels.
Choose the content types (posts, pages, categories, etc.) this group can access.
Optionally, set date ranges for access, valid for time-limited courses or seasonal content when selling digital content and physical products.

Expert Advice:

You can also set an exclusive access to related communities you’re also a member of like a paid Discord group, Telegram community, or Facebook page to add more value to specific membership access levels.

Save and Test

Once you've set up the rules, click "Save" or "Publish."
Test the access group by logging in with a test account matching your criteria. Verify that the content is accessible or restricted as intended.

Step 6: Creating Membership Plans in SureMembers

Here’s where the power of the free ecommerce plugin, SureCart, comes into play. It seamlessly integrates with SureMembers to help you create the perfect membership plan for your website.

Here are the steps you need to follow to create a yearly plan.

You can modify the subscription based on your requirements:

Navigate to the SureCart plugin and click "Products" in the menu. Then click "Add New" to start creating a new product.
On the Add New Product page, enter a descriptive name for your product in the text field. For example, "Premium Membership" or "Annual Subscription." Then click "Create".
You will be taken to the Edit Product page. Here, click "Add a Price" to open the pricing options.

4. Select "Subscription" from the Payment Type drop-down menu in the pop-up. This will allow customers to purchase recurring access.

5. Enter the amount to charge per subscription in the Price field—for example, $99.99 for a yearly membership.

6. For the Repeat Payment field, choose "Yearly" so the subscription recurs yearly. You can change this to suit your needs.

7. Optionally, you can add a discounted Compare At price to show the original non-sale price.

8. Leave the Allow Custom Prices option disabled since we want to charge a fixed price.

9. Click "Create Price" once you've filled out the pricing details.

10. Click "Add New Integration" on the Edit Product page to connect this to SureMembers.

11. In the pop-up, select "SureMembers" from the drop-down list of integrations.

12. Next, choose the specific Access Group you want to give access to with this subscription purchase.

13. Click "Add Integration" to connect the product and access group.

14. Finally, set the purchase limit per customer if needed, and click "Save Product" in the top right.

The product now has a yearly recurring subscription price and is integrated with SureMember access. Customers who purchase it will automatically gain access to the membership group.

Step 7: Setting Up Automation Workflows

One of the most powerful features of SureMembers is automation to drive engagement.

It has default automation and deep integration with SureTriggers, allowing you to connect multiple apps and tools to create powerful automation for your membership site.

With SureMembers, you can:

Drip-feed content to ensure freshness and engage your community members with exclusive content and deals. For example, if you have a pet insurance website, you can drip content on exclusive pet care content that you can use to generate buzz for special insurance deals. This tactically veils a sales pitch into a valuable offer in the readers’ eyes.
Schedule direct messages to welcome members when they join, or create multi-day courses automatically delivered to your member’s inbox.
Integrate SureMembers with a CRM using SureTriggers to add members as leads to your funnel automatically.
Launch email sequences to leads based on their lead stage — you can use SureTriggers to automatically send data points that help you categorize a lead into stages. For instance, if someone signs up as a free member, you can organize them as a warm lead, but someone who pays for your membership is highly likely to be interested in purchasing with you.

With a combination of these tools, you have endless automation opportunities to get the ball rolling for your membership website.

Step 8: Testing Your Membership Website

The final step before launch is thoroughly testing your membership site.

You should consider verifying some critical steps before promoting and launching your website:

Signup, login, and onboarding process. Check to make sure that the welcome and verification emails arrive promptly and land in the customer’s inbox (not spam)
Verify that all the pages you want to protect for your members are hidden away and not visible to non-members.
The payments go through on the first attempt and pose no obstacles for customers on the checkout page.
All pages, login forms, checkout forms, payment pages, and others are perfectly responsive on different screen sizes, especially mobile.

Spend time testing across all devices, payment scenarios, restricted content, and new member onboarding. Identify any issues and fix them.

Wait to launch until you've confirmed everything is working correctly. Slowly roll out to a small group first before opening access to everyone.

Go From Idea to Execution And Build a Thriving Membership Site

Imagine logging in a few months from now to see your community thriving. New members are signing up daily, premium content is consumed, and revenue is growing predictably.

With WordPress, SureMembers, and Brizy, you now have the tools to make this a reality. No fancy coding is required—just the simple steps outlined here to get your membership site up and running.

So take that first step and get your hosting set up. Install the plugins. Design those first pages.

The only thing standing between you and your membership site is getting started. So claim your spot and start cultivating your niche. We can’t wait to see the community you build!

Creating a Membership Site - FAQs

Let's explore some common questions about building membership sites:

How do I create a membership website?

The ideal way to create a membership website is to use a WordPress plugin like SureMembers. It provides all the core functionality to handle subscriptions, access control, payments, and automation, so you do not have to worry about the technicalities. Then, you can design an attractive front end with a visual page builder like Brizy. This combination gives you everything you need, no coding required.

How do I create a free tier for my membership website?

With SureMembers, you can create unlimited levels, including free and paid ones. To create a free tier:

Set the tier price to $0.
Lock access to premium content.
Set access permissions to the content you’d like to give away for free.

This creates a free sign-up option that helps you acquire new users before you pitch them a paid tier.

Can I create a membership site with WordPress?

Yes, WordPress is a fantastic platform for creating membership sites. The open-source CMS has a vast ecosystem of plugins like SureMembers for functionality and design tools like Brizy for the front end.

Article by Sujay Pawar

Sujay is the CEO and Co-Founder of Brainstorm Force, the company behind Astra. He's passionate about the online space and writes articles to help entrepreneurs and freelancers succeed online. A father, a YouTube addict, and the brain behind numerous world-class products, you can connect with him on X (Twitter): @sujaypawar