Building a membership website in WordPress used to mean stitching together half a dozen plugins – one for registration, one for payments, one for content restriction, one for user profiles.
It was messy, expensive, and broke every time any of them updated.
User Registration & Membership changes that. It handles membership plans, payments, registration forms, content restriction, and user accounts in a single plugin – and the core setup runs entirely on the free version.
This guide walks you on how to create a membership website, from first install to a live, fully gated membership site.
Want to compare it against other options first? See our roundup of the best free membership plugins.
Subscription vs. membership: this guide covers free and one-time-payment membership plans. If you need automatic, recurring billing instead, see our subscription website guide.
What Is a Membership Website?
A membership website restricts some or all of its content to registered users – either free members who just need an account, or paying members on a subscription or one-time plan. The exact model depends on what you’re selling.
The three most common types:
Content-gated sites – blog posts, guides, videos, or downloads locked behind a membership tier. Visitors see a preview (or nothing at all) until they sign up. Common for newsletters, research publications, and premium content libraries.
Course and learning platforms – lessons, modules, and resources released to enrolled students based on their plan. Often paired with a drip schedule that releases new content over time.
Community and private networks – forums, directories, member profiles, and group spaces only accessible to registered members. Common for professional networks, coaching communities, and brand communities.
User Registration & Membership handles all three models – sometimes simultaneously. A coaching site might offer free community access, a mid-tier content library, and a premium 1:1 coaching plan – each with different access rules – all from a single plugin.
What You’ll Need
- A WordPress site (any theme, any hosting)
- User Registration & Membership – free version
- About 45–60 minutes for initial setup
- A PayPal/Stripe business account (if collecting payments from day one)
That’s it. No page builder, no additional plugins, no coding.
What You Can Build Free vs Pro
Before diving into setup, here’s a clear picture of what the User Registration & Membership free version covers versus what requires a Pro license.
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Unlimited membership plans | ✅ | ✅ |
| Free membership plans | ✅ | ✅ |
| One-time paid plans | ✅ | ✅ |
| PayPal/Stripe payment gateway | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bank transfer / offline payment | ✅ | ✅ |
| Drag-and-drop registration form builder | ✅ | ✅ |
| Content restriction (page and site-wide) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Partial content restriction block | ✅ | ✅ |
| Login form and My Account page | ✅ | ✅ |
| Email notifications | ✅ | ✅ |
| Membership Pricing Block | ✅ | ✅ |
| Recurring / subscription billing | ❌ | ✅ |
| Free trial periods | ❌ | ✅ |
| Authorize.net / Mollie | ❌ | ✅ |
| Content drip (scheduled content release) | ❌ | ✅ |
| File downloads with access control | ❌ | ✅ |
| Team memberships (group billing) | ❌ | ✅ |
| Membership groups | ❌ | ✅ |
| Coupon codes | ❌ | ✅ |
| Taxes and VAT | ❌ | ✅ |
| PDF invoices | ❌ | ✅ |
| Menu item restriction | ❌ | ✅ |
| Custom URL protection | ❌ | ✅ |
| Membership upgrade paths | ❌ | ✅ |
| Multiple memberships per user | ❌ | ✅ |
| Local currency pricing | ❌ | ✅ |
| Member directory | ❌ | ✅ |
The free version is a complete product for one-time paid or free membership plans with content restriction. Upgrade to Pro when you need recurring billing, Stripe, or any of the advanced features above.
Download User Registration & Membership free or see Pro plans if you need recurring billing or Stripe.
Step 1: Install User Registration & Membership
From your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins → Add New and search for User Registration & Membership.
Click Install Now then Activate. The setup wizard launches automatically after activation.
Step 2: Run the Setup Wizard
The setup wizard configures the most important plugin defaults so you don’t have to hunt through settings pages later.
When prompted, select Membership Registration (Paid Membership or Free Membership) as your setup type. This tells the wizard to create a membership-focused configuration – it will:
- Create a custom registration form with a membership field built in
- Disable the default WordPress registration (which bypasses your forms)
- Generate key pages automatically: My Account, Login, Pricing, and Thank You
- Enable guest sign-ups for new members
You can create a membership right from the setup. Select Paid Membership >Next, on the Membership page input your membership details and then our payment details and finish the setup.
Or skip them and create a detailed membership manually. (Step 3)
Click Finish to complete the wizard.
Pro Tip: The pages the wizard creates (My Account, Pricing, Login) are already configured with the right shortcodes. Check them under Pages → All Pages to confirm they were created, then move on to Step 3.
Step 3: Create Your Membership Plans
We’ll continue creating membership here if you skipped it in setup wizard.
Membership plans define what members get access to and what they pay. You can create as many plans as your site needs – free tiers, one-time paid tiers, or (with Pro) recurring subscriptions.
Go to User Registration & Membership → Memberships → Add New.
Fill in the plan details:
- Membership Name – what members see (e.g., “Gold Plan”, “Premium Access”, “Monthly Subscriber”)
- Description – what the plan includes. Be specific – this text appears on your pricing page
- Type – select Free for a no-cost plan or Paid for a plan that collects payment
For a paid plan, you’ll then set the price and payment type:
One-time Payment: member pays once for permanent or fixed-duration access. Available in the free version.
Recurring Subscription: member is billed automatically on a weekly, monthly, or annual cycle. Requires Pro.
Pro Tip: Start with a free tier alongside your paid plan. A free membership that grants access to a small sample of your content is the most effective way to convert visitors into paying members – they experience your content before committing.
Adding a Free Trial (Pro)
With URM Pro, you can attach a free trial period to any paid plan – for example, 7 days free before the first billing charge. Go to the Trial tab within the membership editor and set the trial duration and price (usually $0).
Click Publish to save the plan. Repeat for each tier you want to offer.
Step 4: Configure Payment Gateways
Go to User Registration & Membership → Settings → Payment to configure how you collect money.
PayPal (free version) – the most commonly used gateway. You’ll need a PayPal Business account. Enter your PayPal email and, for full API access, your Client ID and Secret Key from the PayPal Developer Dashboard. Toggle between Sandbox mode (for testing) and Production mode (for live payments).
Stripe (free) – for credit and debit card payments processed directly on your site. Requires a Stripe account and API keys. Supports recurring billing for subscription plans.
Bank Transfer (free version) — for offline or manual payments. Enter your bank name, account number, and any instructions for members. Members who choose this option see your banking details after checkout and complete payment manually. Their access is held pending until you approve the transaction from Payment History.
Authorize.net / Mollie (Pro) — additional gateway options for specific markets and payment preferences.
Note: Once configured, people will be able to choose from the configured payment gateways when they purchase your membership plan.
Step 5: Restrict Your Content for Membership
Content restriction is what turns a regular WordPress site into a membership site. URM gives you three levels of control.
Go to Memberships > Edit > Access.
Click on Content and select the content you want to grant access to for users with this membership plan. Users without access to this membership will not be able to view these pages.
You’ll need to choose specific pages/posts if you do not select the Whole Site option. Click on Save afterwards.
Step 6: Display Membership Plans
Your plans are created – now members need to see them. The Membership Pricing Block lets you embed a clean pricing block on any page or post without code.
So, create a new page (Pages → All Pages → Add New). (If you created the membership plan from the setup wizard, the membership pricing page will be automatically created at Pages > All Pages)
In the Gutenberg editor, click + to add a block and search for Membership Pricing.
Add the block. In the block settings sidebar you can:
- Filter which plans to display (show all, or a specific membership group)
- Choose a layout style (cards, table, or list)
- Enable a Quick Checkout button so visitors can start the signup flow directly from the pricing page
Publish or update the page. This is the page you’ll link to from your navigation menu and CTAs throughout the site.
Note: You can also place a Buy Now Button Block anywhere on your site — a post, a landing page, a sidebar — to let visitors start checkout for a specific plan without visiting the pricing page first. Add it the same way: search for “Buy Now Button” in the block inserter and select the target membership plan.
Step 7: Build Your Registration Form
The registration form is what new members fill out to create an account and join a plan. The setup wizard created a default form with the Membership field already included — go to User Registration & Membership → Registration.
Note: If you created the membership through the Setup wizard, a registration page will also be created for you.
The default form includes Username, Email, and Password. So, drag the membership block from the left to your registration form:
Configuring the Membership field — click the Membership field to choose which plans appear in the selector. You can show all plans or limit the form to specific tiers.
Go to Form Settings → General to configure:
- User Approval — override the global setting for this specific form if needed
- Default User Role — the role assigned to users from this form
- Enable Strong Password — enforce password requirements at form level
Click Update Form when done.
To place the form on a page, copy the Registration Form shordcode and paste it into any page on your site.
Step 8: Set Up the Login and Account Page
The My Account page serves double duty — it shows the login form to logged-out visitors and the member dashboard to logged-in members. The setup wizard created it automatically.
Go to Pages → All Pages and open the My Account page to confirm the shortcode is in place.
The member dashboard that logged-in users see includes their active membership plan, renewal date, access status, payment history, and profile settings — all from a single page.
To customize the login form’s appearance and labels, go to User Registration & Membership → Login Form.
You can edit placeholder text, change field labels, enable CAPTCHA, and choose whether login accepts username, email, or both. These settings apply globally to every login form on the site.
Step 9: Test the Full Member Journey
Before going live, walk through the complete signup flow as a new member using an incognito browser window.
Work through this checklist:
Pricing page:
- [ ] Do all plans display correctly with accurate pricing?
- [ ] Does the Sign Up / Buy Now button work?
Registration and checkout:
- [ ] Does the registration form load and submit correctly?
- [ ] Does the membership plan pre-select based on which plan you clicked?
- [ ] For PayPal — does the PayPal redirect work and return to your Thank You page?
- [ ] For Bank Transfer — do your banking instructions display after checkout?
Member access:
- [ ] Is the newly registered user listed in User Registration & Membership → Members?
- [ ] Does the My Account page show the correct active plan?
- [ ] Does restricted content display correctly for this membership level?
- [ ] Is restricted content properly hidden for a logged-out visitor?
Login flow:
- [ ] Does the My Account page show the login form when logged out?
- [ ] Does logging in redirect to the correct page?
Track all payments and pending approvals under User Registration & Membership → Payments. Bank transfer payments stay pending until you manually approve them from this screen.
Beyond the Basics: More Features to Explore (PRO)
Once your core membership setup is live, URM Pro unlocks a range of features for scaling and refining your site.
Content Drip: release content on a schedule based on fixed dates or days after a member joined. Ideal for course-style sites where you want members to progress through material at a controlled pace rather than accessing everything at once. Configure per post under the Content Restriction panel.
File Downloads: grant members access to downloadable files (PDFs, templates, resources) with per-plan access control and download limits. Members see only the files their plan includes.
Coupon Codes: create discount codes for promotional campaigns, beta access pricing, or affiliate partners. Set percentage or flat discounts, usage limits, and expiry dates from User Registration & Membership → Coupons.
Team Memberships: sell group memberships to organizations. One billing contact pays for a team of users, each with their own account and access. Ideal for B2B products, agency client portals, and corporate training platforms.
Membership Upgrade Paths: define which plans a member can upgrade to, and control what happens to their existing access when they upgrade. Members see an upgrade prompt directly in their account dashboard.
Member Directory: a browsable, searchable directory of your site’s members. Useful for community and networking sites where members benefit from discovering each other.
Taxes and VAT + PDF Invoices: collect applicable taxes at checkout and automatically generate downloadable PDF invoices for every transaction. Essential for business-to-business memberships and EU VAT compliance.
Local Currency: display membership prices in a member’s local currency based on their geographic location, with automatic or manual exchange rate conversion.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I create a membership website in WordPress for free?
Yes. The free version of User Registration & Membership covers the complete core setup: membership plans (free and one-time paid), PayPal and bank transfer payments, registration forms, content restriction, and member account pages. The features you’ll need Pro for are recurring/subscription billing, Stripe, content drip, coupons, and the more advanced access control tools.
Do I need WooCommerce to sell memberships?
No. User Registration & Membership handles payment processing natively — PayPal and bank transfer in the free version, Stripe, Authorize.net, and Mollie in Pro. You can sell memberships without WooCommerce installed. If you already use WooCommerce, URM integrates with it so members can also access products through their plans.
Can members access multiple plans at the same time?
With URM Pro, yes. Multiple memberships per user allows someone to hold, say, a content library plan and a coaching add-on simultaneously. Access rules resolve automatically based on all active plans. In the free version, users hold a single active membership at a time.
How do I handle membership renewals and cancellations?
For recurring plans (Pro), renewals are handled automatically by the payment gateway. Members can manage their subscription from the My Account page — upgrading, downgrading, or cancelling without contacting you. For one-time plans, you can set an expiry date on the membership and configure what happens when it expires (restrict access, send a renewal reminder email, or both).
Can I offer a free trial before charging members?
Yes, with URM Pro. The free trial feature lets you attach a trial period to any paid plan. Members sign up, complete the checkout with a $0 trial charge, and get full plan access for the trial duration. When the trial ends, billing starts automatically for recurring plans.
Can I restrict individual pages to different membership tiers?
Yes. Each post, page, or custom post type can have its own restriction rule — independently of global or site-wide restriction settings. A Gold plan member can access Gold, Silver, and Bronze pages, while a Bronze member only sees Bronze content. The Content Restriction panel in the WordPress editor handles this per-item.
Wrapping Up
You now have everything you need to launch a fully functioning membership website in WordPress — membership plans, payment processing, a custom registration form, content restriction at every level, and a member-facing account dashboard.
The free version handles the complete setup; Pro adds recurring billing, Stripe, content drip, and the advanced tools you’ll want as your site scales.
The most important thing to do now is go live with something simple. One paid plan, one free plan as a lead magnet, and one piece of restricted content is enough to start. You can add tiers, upgrade paths, coupon campaigns, and team plans as your membership grows.
You might also like:
- Best WordPress Membership Plugins for 2026
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- How to Sell Courses with Membership in WordPress
- How to Sell Membership in Local Currency