How to Build a Membership Website in Under a Day

If you already have a huge following or readership that’s waiting for you to provide more content, whether it’s already produced or in the works, you need to start thinking about launching your membership site as soon as you can. With people already interested in your content and brand, building a membership website seems like the best next step for your brand.

With this in mind, in this article, we’ll explain how you can build a membership website in under a day. Let’s put everything into context before we begin.

What is a membership site?

In simple words, a membership site is the part of your website that’s restricted to members only. In other words, people who aren’t members can’t access the gated part of your website that contains exclusive content. People who want to become members will have to subscribe to a membership plan or signup to get access to exclusive, members-only content.

For example, if you run a fitness membership site, you might grant all visitors access to your homepage, about page, blog, and contact page. However, only members will have access to the 3-week weight loss program or the 30-day treadmill challenge where you share your best tips, videos, and printables.

It’s important to keep in mind that membership websites aren’t about written content (like blog posts and articles) only. In fact, you can have all sorts of content on your membership site such as video tutorials, podcasts, downloadables, forums, webinars, guides, and e-books. In addition to this, you can even organize live streams or offer one-on-one sessions.

So, if you’re looking for a way to build a community of like-minded people, a membership site is perfect for getting lots of people on a single platform.

Building a Membership Website in Under a Day

Here are some useful tips that can help you narrow down and speed up the process of building a membership site in under a day:

Step #1: Use an intuitive, easy-to-use membership plugin

One thing you should focus on when building your membership website is using intuitive technology. Generally speaking, it is easier to work with when you’re in a rush. You don’t want to slow down the development process by using advanced membership technology that has a steep learning curve.

Think of it this way: you can’t go through a 5-day course to learn how to use a particular plugin that will help you build your membership site. Instead, you’d want to just use membership technology that can let you build a membership site within a few simple clicks. By keeping things simple, you ensure that you won’t run into complex problems when building your membership website. The last thing you need to do is worry about third-party integrations with other plugins or services to get your membership website up and running.

With WordPress as your choice of CMS and website builder, you also have the option to use customizable themes that already look the best with default configurations. With these default WordPress themes, you save a lot of time in designing the overall look and feel of your site. This also makes the whole process much simpler and quicker. You don’t need to add any additional functionality. In fact, all you need is a place where your members can register, log in securely, and access the content they’ve subscribed to easily. By removing extra features and functionality that you don’t need for a membership site, you speed up the process even more. All of this can help let you create your membership site in under a day.

Step #2: Redefine membership community goals

Think about it? Can you build your membership site and create enough content for it in under a day? You cannot. You can’t think about creating content if the main goal is building a membership site in under 24 hours.

The solution to that is creating content in real-time. This means that you do not create any content upfront when you launch your membership site. Instead, you can provide your members with live calendars that will date your next live event. For instance, you can display a countdown timer of when your next event starts, and your audience members can expect content to be released that day. This is a great way to build hype and encourage members to visit your membership site at a later date for fresh, new content.

Similarly, you can also host Q&A sessions as content when you first launch your membership site. These sessions can help your community get a little closer to you and your brand, while also solving any problems or concerns your members may have. Additionally, you can use the content you might have created in the past on your membership site, especially if it’s informative and long-form. This can help you make good use of your existing content and you don’t have to worry about spending more time creating the content.

Step #3: Get the word out ahead of time

When you’re done building your membership site, you’ll need an audience that can register and access your content. A great way of attracting an audience for your membership site is by letting new people and existing followers know before you launch your membership site. This will make sure that people will already be interested and ready for your big launch day. You can also set up a waiting list or enable early-bird registrations as a way of letting people know what’s coming next before it’s time to launch your membership site.

Informing people beforehand is important as you don’t want to do all the work in under a day just to find out your audience isn’t interested or didn’t see the message. Additionally, you can let people you’re already working with joining your membership site. Clients will be eager to try out your new project for themselves. This will create a snowball effect and help you build momentum for growing your membership site quickly.

Step #4: Have a developer or expert on hand

Dealing with technical bugs on the day of your big launch is the last thing you’d want, especially if you’ve just built the site in under a day. You don’t want to be dealing with little issues on your membership site if you’re looking to create and launch one in under 24 hours.

The solution to this is pre-booking a developer or a service provider for when problems arise. This ensures that you won’t have to worry about any bugs and fixes, the expert will take care of everything for you. You can also double-check the launch date with your expert so that everyone is available at the correct time to do their job. You can’t risk not letting the developer know beforehand. Your goal is to ensure the availability of the expert when you need them the most.

Step #5: Launch your membership site

When you’re first launching your membership site, you don’t have time to set up content marketing or build complex funnels. But you still need to launch it with a big bang.

A great way of doing that, especially if you’re doing all of this within a day, is by using live video. For instance, you can host a live video stream and broadcast a countdown to your website’s launch. This will build hype and motivate your existing audience while also attracting new people to join the membership program. This can also help you better understand how many people are interested in your membership site and the content you’ll be providing.

Additionally, if you have the budget, you can set up a Facebook ads campaign on your launch day. This will bring all the people who might be interested in your content directly to your newly launched membership site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the topic of this FAQ?

A: The topic of this FAQ is how to build a membership website in under a day.

Q: How can I build a membership website in under a day?

A: To build a membership website in under a day, you can use website builders like WordPress, Squarespace, or template websites.

Q: What is WordPress?

A: WordPress is a popular content management system that allows you to build websites with customizable templates and plugins.

Q: Can I use a template for my membership website?

A: Yes, you can use templates provided by platforms like WordPress or Squarespace to quickly and easily create your membership website.

Q: Is Squarespace a good platform for building a membership website?

A: Yes, Squarespace is a user-friendly platform that offers templates and integrations for building a membership website.

Q: Do I need a domain name for my membership website?

A: Yes & no; having a domain name is essential for your membership website as it gives your site a unique online address.

Q: Do I need coding knowledge to build a membership website?

A: You don’t need coding knowledge to build a membership website using platforms like WordPress or Squarespace. They provide user-friendly interfaces that don’t require coding.

Q: Can I add plugins to my membership website?

A: Yes, both WordPress and Squarespace offer a variety of plugins that can enhance the functionality of your membership website.

Q: Can I integrate an e-commerce system into my membership website?

A: Yes, platforms like WordPress and Squarespace provide integrations with popular e-commerce systems, allowing you to sell products or services on your membership website.

Q: How can I create content for my membership website?

A: You can create content for your membership website by using the built-in content management system provided by platforms like WordPress or Squarespace. You can easily add text, images, videos, and more.

Conclusion

Building and launching a membership site in under a day can seem challenging if you’re in a time crunch. With the right tools and steps in mind, you can easily create a membership site where your audience can engage and enjoy your content.

Let’s quickly recap the main points we covered in this article:

• Your main focus should be on keeping things simple. The simpler they are, the faster you’ll be able to go through the process of building your membership site.
• Letting your existing following know you’re about to launch is great for motivating people to join and attracting new visitors.
• Make sure you have a backup plan in place. This means that if some bugs or issues related to your membership site come up, you need to have a developer hired, ready to tackle them instantly.

Check out WP-Tonic’s Quick Set-Up Service to see how we can help you get your membership site up and running as quickly as possible.

Between all the different tips to help you build a membership site in under a day, which one helped you the most? Let us know by commenting below.