Did you know that WordPress powers a staggering 43% of all websites on the internet? That’s right, according to a report by Colorlib, there are over 800 million WordPress sites across the web. The number continues to grow at an impressive rate of 500+ new sites being built daily. In the top 10 million websites on the web. Check this beginners guide and start building and creating a no-code membership site in WordPress fast and easily.
While these numbers are impressive, what’s more. Interesting is that a significant portion of these WordPress sites are likely run by small teams or hobbyists using user-friendly themes like Divi or Elementor to create and maintain their websites.
With WordPress being open-source, these individuals have full control over their websites, unlike blogging platforms like Medium or Wix that limit what you can do with your website and may not allow you to own the content you create.
Largest Community of Open-source Plugins
Another benefit of building on WordPress is the world’s largest community of open-source plugins and themes from a vast network of developers. So, if you’re looking to create a website that’s easy to maintain and offers limitless possibilities, WordPress may be the way to go!
One problem, however with no-code WordPress sites is over time you might want to add functionality like a paywall service or e-commerce checkout. This is usually done via the many third-party plugins people have created, and often many of them are custom-built solutions that were developed to solve a specific problem and require some customization or custom coding.
Novice or Hobby WordPress website owners may find it challenging to monetize their content or switch to a premium membership model for three main reasons:
- Technical skills: They may not have the technical skills required to set up a membership site or integrate third-party products into their website.
- Audience size: They may not have a large enough audience to justify the cost of implementing a premium membership model.
- Content quality: They may not have the time or resources to create high-quality content that is valuable enough to attract paying members.
These factors can make it difficult for novice WordPress website owners to monetize their content effectively. However, several solutions can help overcome these challenges and make it easier for novice WordPress website owners to monetize their content.
No-Code Monetization Options
While there is no shortage of learning management systems, membership plugins, and payment plugins out there if you are working with WordPress, it is probably best to choose one with a dedicated WordPress plugin as then you can be sure it’s at least optimized to work with WordPress core and likelihood of a conflict is less.
A quick search of paywalls on the WordPress plugin library will show you many paywalls. We checked out the top results and unfortunately, most still require customization and follow-up support and probably way too many features for someone who wants to test out monetization on a few pages of an article on their site. Check this beginners guide and start building and creating a no-code membership site in WordPress fast and easily.
No-code Philosophy
There were, however, two options that we can say are compatible with the no-code philosophy, and those would be Zlick and Memberful.
Both these paywalls have a very similar marketing pitch ‘simple integration into your WordPress site with some extra marketing features.’ However, we were very impressed with the 10-minute install Zlick promises. So we decided to install this and get up.
It was very simple to paywall our site with Zlick: install the plugin. Set up a Stripe account via their payment gateway. Select which pages you want to be behind the paywall in their page settings. The most technical part was probably copying and pasting the API keys. Which goes to show how easy the process is.
Zlick claim their fastest-ever setup was 6 minutes and 35 seconds. We came in at 11 minutes, but maybe because we were taking notes too
Pricing Building Membership WordPress Site
Zlick is free to install, but they take a 5% fee from your sales. For example, if you sell $1000 worth of content per month, it would cost around $50. This is a good deal up to other WordPress paywall options that can cost over $300 just to install.
Additionally, those options often require hiring a developer to configure them. So, help with updates and changes in the future. You must also worry about what happens if something goes wrong and you can’t reach your developer for help.
If you are starting, I would very much recommend you start with a free plugin. Like this as not only is it free to install but because you don’t need to hire a developer. You are free to test out monetization without committing to it.
If it turns out your audience isn’t willing to pay for content. You want to revert to free or ad-supported content. You can simply remove Zlick by yourself in a few clicks.
Building Membership WordPress Site Conclusion
In conclusion, monetizing your WordPress is super easy. There are loads of plugins and platforms to help you with it.
But choosing the right one for your needs can be a challenge. Especially if you’re new to the platform or don’t have a lot of technical expertise. One thing to also consider is to not just believe what works for you. But how they will scale into the future vs the recurring costs today?
By using simple-to-use and cost-effective third-party products like Zlick. You can create a membership site that generates recurring revenue while growing your audience. So, it won’t break the bank in terms of monthly fees or initial tech spend.
Overall, building a no-code membership site in WordPress is possible. So, an excellent way to monetize your content and grow your audience over time.
By following the tips outlined in this article, you can create a site that’s easy to use. Cost-effective and will last the test of time, thanks to the vast e-community supporting WordPress and its continued development. I hope this beginners guide and start building and creating a no-code membership site in WordPress fast and easily.
