You’ve done digital downloads and online courses before, and now it’s time to finally release what you’ve been dreaming of for so long: A membership site.  

The problem?

You don’t have the tech skills to set one up on your own or the time to learn about all of the plugins and coding you’d need to do it.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

All you need is a site that’s safe and intuitive for both you and your members to use.

So, what should you do?

When it comes to creating a membership site without technical skills, your options boil down to hosting the membership either on your website or on a third-party platform.

Today, we’ll explore creating a membership site without technical skills step-by-step, but first, let’s compare hosting a membership site on your own website versus a separate platform.

Where should I host my membership site and why?

Choosing a membership platform -- whether that’s on your existing website or a separate platform -- is rarely a clear-cut decision.

To create an amazing membership site, however, you should make sure that whatever platform you choose:

  • Offers all-in-one features so that you don’t have to worry about coding, plugins, or other technical concerns

  • Aligns with your budget and customer support needs

  • Allows several membership models, like the content library, group coaching, or community model

  • Enables you to host content besides memberships, such as online courses and digital downloads

  • Pays you as soon as a customer makes a purchase and doesn’t take additional transaction fees from your earnings

Now the question remains: Hosting on your website versus a third-party platform? Let’s compare!

Hosting a membership on your own website

On the one hand, membership programs hosted on your own website don’t require you to pay for two separate services or give out two different domain names to your audience.

But on the other hand, membership sites hosted on your own website can require more technical savvy and money than you might think. Consider WordPress, a content management system (CMS), which powers almost 34% of websites and is among the most popular options for membership sites.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Consider WordPress, a content management system (CMS), which powers almost 34% of websites and is among the most popular options for membership sites.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Despite their popularity, WordPress memberships still run into problems like having uncacheable content and high data storage that can affect your site’s performance.

Then there are the plugins.

There are over 50,000 WordPress plugins to customize and optimize your website.

With that many plugins to sort through, you could easily spend weeks curating the perfect assortment of plugins, only to find a game-changing solution at the eleventh hour.

WordPress plugins are far from the only headache on the line, by the way. No matter what CMS you choose for a membership website, you can anticipate needing to build out your site to make it work the way you want.

If you have a Weebly website, for instance, you’ll need to purchase the Paid Members app to build your membership website on top of the monthly or annual fee you’re already paying to Weebly.

Want to sell online courses and memberships on Weebly? That requires another app, too.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

That’s the norm with whatever website builder you use, unfortunately.

So, hosting a membership on your website can give you limitless options for customization and optimization -- but that comes at the expense of dealing heavily with the technical side of things, from picking plugins to finding complementary apps to run your business.

If all of the additional fees and plugins aren’t your cup(s) of tea, a third-party platform may work better for you.

Hosting a membership site on a third-party platform

The most obvious benefit of running your membership site outside of your website is that it takes a lot of the technical concerns off of your shoulders without sacrificing functionality.

Take creator Paul Knight as an example.

Paul transitioned to an all-in-one site model after previously using multiple tools to operate his business.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

According to Paul, he “needed a solution that allowed me more time to concentrate on creating awesome courses, digital downloads and membership platforms for my members, and less time spent on the techie side of trying to put it all together.”

Still, even though creators like Paul have found success using third-party platforms, that doesn’t mean they’re the best fit for everyone.

For example, membership platforms like Memberful charge transaction fees on top of payment processing fees and your monthly subscription fee -- and that’s before you have to pay out money for taxes and expenses.  

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Similarly, some creators may be disappointed to find many third-party platforms don’t allow for as much customization as a WordPress site would.

Unfortunately, even if you find a membership site that charges no or minimal transaction fees and is as customizable as you need, there’s still a good chance you won’t be able to host all of your digital offerings there.

In other words, you’ll have to pay out for yet another site to host your other online content and offerings.

As you can see, choosing between hosting a membership site on your own or using a third-party platform isn’t always straightforward, though when you consider the technical issues -- which we’ll cover in just a second -- it can get notably clearer which will work best for you.

What are some common technical issues for membership sites?

While membership sites are an excellent source of passive recurring income, they still require some ongoing maintenance, so it’s important to pick a membership site that makes things as easy for you as possible.

There are hundreds of minor issues membership sites can run into, but the three major problems we’ll cover today include:

  1. Plugins

  2. Slow site speeds

  3. Downed sites

First up is plugins.  

Plugin issues

Put plainly, a plugin is an additional piece of software you add to your website to customize it.

While plugins can be integral in making your website the best it can be, plugins are not perfect.

Let’s consider WordPress.

WordPress, at the time of this writing, has 55,025 plugins.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

That’s a lot to pick from, especially if you’re a newer creator with a limited budget and little technical background.

And regrettably, once you do find the right plugins for your membership site, you can’t just set-and-forget them.

You have to stay on top of plugins and keep them up-to-date to keep your site secure and ensure all of the moving parts (still) work together.

Only using the most popular or highly-rated plugins won’t spare you from needing to mind this, as 329 of the 1,386 most popular plugins hadn’t been updated in more than one year according to one study.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

In other words, almost 23% of the hottest plugins on the market are out-of-date and could expose your customers -- and yourself -- to risk.

Plugin maintenance isn’t the only concern, either. Legitimacy can be another major issue.

For example, 4,000 WordPress websites were infected with malware -- which is malicious software that can harm your computer -- from a fake plugin.

Malware isn’t just a pain to remove from your computer. It can also potentially disrupt your business by taking your website offline, exposing sensitive information, and opening you up to lawsuits if the damages are severe enough.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Right about now, you might be thinking infected plugins are only serious issues for larger companies, but that’s just not the case. They can be even more detrimental for smaller creators who don’t have the time or money to deal with its many consequences.

Speaking of consequences, not keeping an eye on your membership site speed is another pitfall to avoid.

Slow site speeds

Here’s the thing about site speed -- if it’s not the fastest that it can be, your traffic bleeds out.

In fact, the probability of a visitor bouncing increases by 32% when the page load time goes from one to three seconds, and up to 90% when the load time goes from one to five seconds.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

While site speed can be affected by many things, certain plugins and plugin combinations can slow down your site and, in turn, affect traffic.

So to make sure your traffic sticks around longer, it’s essential your site loads as quickly as possible, which means deleting, reactivating, and replacing the plugins slowing down your site.

Finally, once you have your site speed up and ready, there’s still one more major concern for membership sites, and it’s the widowmaker -- dealing with downtime.

Downed sites

A downed site is simply a website that isn’t accessible to the general public.

And while downed sites are practically unavoidable, they can be a much bigger burden than you think if you’re hosting your own website.

Firstly, downed sites can hurt your revenue -- if your website isn’t available, your customers can’t purchase products or access your membership site.

But, they aren’t only an inconvenience for your customers. They can do a lot of damage to you, as well. One hour of downtime can cost over $100,000 for a company with over 1,000 employees.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

As an example, Amazon’s cloud storage system suffered a glitch in 2017 for several hours and cost companies an estimated $150 million.

Ouch.

Make no mistake: While the costs from a downed site may not be as high for smaller creators, it can still be detrimental, especially if it happens during a peak sales period for your brand.

But perhaps the most frustrating thing about downed websites is that unless you’re using a third-party platform to host your membership site, it’s your responsibility to get it back up and running, come high tech or water.

Basically:

Membership sites can suffer from many of the same problems as a regular website, from issues with plugins to slowed or inaccessible sites. That’s an awful lot to deal with on top of everything else you need to do to run your business.

If, at this point, you’re certain that hosting a membership site on your website isn’t for you, then we have a much simpler alternative to tell you about.

Spoiler: It requires practically no technical background at all.

What’s the easiest way to build and launch my membership site?

One of the easiest ways to set up and run a membership site is by using a platform like Podia that offers everything you need out of the box.  

In fact, you can launch your membership site in five simple steps. Let me show you.

Step #1: Set up your Podia account and activate memberships

After signing up with Podia but before creating your membership, you’ll want to make sure that your website is completely set up beforehand.

To do that, go to the upper-lefthand corner and click “settings.”

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Once you’re on the settings page, some of the fields you may want to fill out include:

  • Name

  • Email

  • Mailing address (so that you can email your subscribers)

  • Website URL or your custom domain

  • Your payment preferences

After that, make sure to connect your Stripe account to Podia so you can accept membership payments.

New to Stripe? Feel free to check out our guide for setting up a Stripe account.

Next, the fun begins -- bringing your membership to life.

Step #2: Name your membership

After you’ve connected Stripe, go back to your dashboard and select “memberships”.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Once you’re on the “memberships” page, click “plans”.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Scroll to the bottom of the page and select the “add new plan” button, give it a name, and you’re done.

Now, you just need to figure out your pricing.

Step #3: Determine your membership prices

If you plan on charging for your membership, click the “require payment for this plan” toggle button so that it turns from gray to purple.

Otherwise, your membership will be set as free at default.

Next, decide how you’ll charge your subscribers -- with a monthly fee, annual fee, or both.

Whatever you choose, click the purple toggle buttons beside each option before entering a number.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Once you’ve figured out your pricing, the next thing to take care of is your content.

Step #4: Select the products to include in your membership

If you’re following along and are still on the “plans” page, scroll down until you see your current product offerings.

To select a product, simply click the checkmark beside each product, and it will turn from white to green.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

There’s no limit to how many products you can add to your membership, and you can include both online courses and digital downloads as part of your membership plan.

Don’t have a product set up yet? Check out our guide to creating your first products.

Otherwise, proceed to the next -- and last major -- step.

Step #5: Publish your plan

Once you’re ready to publish your plan, scroll to the bottom and click the purple “publish your plan” button.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Before publishing, you’ll see this pop-up box notifying you that you can’t change your membership prices once they’ve been published.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

After you’ve clicked “publish plan,” your membership is live!

You can go back to the “memberships” page to edit your plans and products as needed.

(Optional) Step #6: Create membership tiers

Depending on your goals, you may want to offer different membership tiers to your audience.

Creating additional membership tiers in Podia is incredibly easy: You simply repeat the steps you took to create your first membership tier but change the membership name and offerings for the new tier.

When it comes to creating membership tiers, feel free to create as many or as few as you like -- there’s no hard cap.

For example, creator Schelli Whitehouse offers three paid membership tiers, while Robert Joyner offers one free and four paid plans.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Just remember when you’re putting together your membership offerings that it is possible to have too much -- and too little -- of a good thing.

Research has shown that consumers can feel unhappy with their selections when they pick from too many options.

But at the same time, shoppers can suffer from something called single-option aversion, which suggestions that people are less likely to make a decision when they aren’t other options to compare it with.

So when you’re creating your membership plan, it may make sense to give your audience a few options to pick from so it’s easier for them to make a decision.

Just remember that, as with all good things, practice moderation when determining how many tiers to offer your customers.

(Optional) Step #7: Create coupons

Entice interested leads to sign up or encourage existing members to level-up by providing discount coupons.

Contrary to popular belief, you can use discounts to grow your bottom line -- as long as you do it the right way.

To create a coupon for your Podia membership, navigate to the “memberships” page in your dashboard, click “plans,” and then scroll to the bottom of the page until you see the “coupons” box.

Click the “add coupon” button and a popup modal will appear.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Click the “add coupon” bottom and then pick which membership the coupon will apply to, the coupon’s name, and the coupon type.

Create a membership without any coding or setting up hosting

Once you’ve filled out the relevant information for your coupon type, click “create coupon” and you’re set!

Told you it was dead easy.

Use an all-in-one membership platform to eliminate technical headaches

Setting up a membership website can seem intimidating if you don’t have a strong technical background -- but it is entirely possible to do without knowing, reading, or otherwise interacting with a single scrap of code.

To summarize:

  • It can be more affordable to create a membership site on your existing website and easier for your audience to access all of your content that way, too.

  • However, hosting a membership site on your own website can also require lots of technical know-how and maintenance.

  • Conversely, third-party platforms can take away many of the technical headaches that come with maintaining your own membership side.

  • That being said, third-party platforms cost extra money, may charge transaction fees, and ultimately distribute your content across multiple sites, making it harder for you to maintain.

  • Setting up a membership site doesn’t have to come down to deciding between having full customization but needing to hack it all together, or fewer headaches but less creative freedom.

  • You can set up a membership site in just five steps -- and in much less time than you think -- by using Podia.

As an entrepreneur, it’s essential to optimize your time so you can focus on growing your business and delighting your customers.

With multiple built-in features and intuitive design, a Podia website can help you to design and launch a membership site in far less time, and with far fewer migraines, than you think.