Are you looking for a membership plugin for your website? If so, you may have come across SureMembers, one of the top contenders in the market.
But is it worth investing in this plugin?
The subscription economy as a whole has grown substantially over the past year and is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2025.
It offers a great way to build revenue for your business or to diversify your income.
In this article, we will provide an in-depth review of SureMembers and compare it to some of its top rivals.
We’ll look at its features as well as its ease-of-use, pricing plans, customer support, and more.
All to help you decide if this membership plugin has what it takes to beat the competition.
So let’s dive right into our SureMembers review!
What should we expect from a membership plugin?
There are a few key features and capabilities that we need from a membership plugin.
These include:
- Content protection: The primary purpose of a membership plugin is to protect content, so this is one of the most important features to consider. This can include restricting access to posts, pages, and other types of content based on membership levels or individual user permissions.
- Payment processing: If you’re offering a paid membership, it’s important to have a payment processing system in place. Most membership plugins will include integration with a payment gateway, such as PayPal or Stripe, to handle transactions and recurring payments.
- User management: Managing users is another key aspect of a membership plugin. This can include creating and managing user accounts, assigning membership levels, and tracking user activity.
- Customizable checkout process: A customizable checkout process is important for creating a seamless and professional user experience. This can include customizing the checkout page with branding, adding custom fields, and setting up automated emails and notifications.
- Integrations: Many membership plugins offer integrations with other tools and services, such as email marketing platforms, learning management systems, and analytics tools.
These are just a few of the key features that we typically expect from a membership plugin.
In general, it’s important to consider your specific needs and requirements and to look for a plugin that offers the features that are most important to you.
What are the primary types of membership plugins available?
There are three main types of membership plugins available for WordPress: content restriction plugins, membership plugins and learning management systems.
Content restriction plugins
Content restriction plugins are designed to protect and restrict access to specific content on your website.
They are often used to create membership-based sites or to sell access to premium content.
This type of plugin typically includes features such as content protection and other integrations.
Membership plugins
Membership plugins are a more comprehensive solution that typically offer a range of features. That can include payment processing, user management, and integrations with other tools and services.
They are often used by businesses to create membership sites and to manage recurring payments.
Learning management systems (LMS)
There are also learning management systems (LMS). These are a type of membership plugin specifically designed for online learning and education.
They offer a range of features for creating and managing online courses, including course creation tools, quizzes and exams, and progress tracking for students.
SureMembers falls into the category of membership plugins. It offers a range of advanced features and capabilities, including robust integrations and flexible content protection options.
Some of the main competitors of SureMembers include MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, and Restrict Content Pro.
Overall, the type of membership plugin you choose will depend on your specific needs and requirements.
Whether you need a simple content restriction plugin, a comprehensive membership plugin, or an LMS for online learning, there are several options available to meet your needs.
Also, if you want to build a membership site, it’s important to have a solid website template as your foundation.
If you use WordPress, that obviously means using Astra as your theme. It offers a wide range of Starter Templates you can use for launching your membership site.
With a solid theme and starter template selected, you’re ready to get started with your membership plugin.
Today, our focus is on SureMembers and what it can specifically bring to your site.
About SureMembers
SureMembers is a premium membership plugin for WordPress. It was created with the aim of offering membership solutions at an affordable price with a clean interface and a robust payments system.
It was officially launched in September 2022. Since then has become a popular choice for website owners and businesses looking for a powerful and versatile membership plugin.
The impetus for creating SureMembers came from a desire to create a plugin that takes a payments first approach by offering full payment processing directly within the plugin.
Other goals were to offer checkout form customization options, a modern user experience, and thorough support options — all for an affordable price.
SureMembers is designed to be flexible and versatile.
It includes features such as robust integrations, flexible content protection options, and a whole lot more. But more on those in a moment.
SureMembers quick review
SureMembers is a comprehensive and easy-to-use membership plugin for WordPress that offers a range of advanced features and capabilities.
Pros:
- Robust integrations and flexible content protection options
- Drip content feature
- Customizable checkout process (when used with SureCart)
- Modern interface and user-friendly design
- Can be used on unlimited sites
Cons:
- A newer plugin, so not as well-established
- No free version available
- Integrations are facilitated by the SureTriggers plugin.
SureMembers features
SureMembers offers an impressive selection of sophisticated functionality to make managing your membership site easy and efficient.
This section of the review will explore each of these features in more detail, including an explanation of what they do, an evaluation of their effectiveness, and an assessment of their ease of use.
Here’s an overview of what you can expect:
| Feature | Description |
| Restricting downloads | Ability to control and restrict access to downloads and files |
| Drip content | Option to release content at predetermined intervals to maintain user engagement |
| Payment processing | Integration with SureCart to handle payments and subscriptions |
| Robust integrations | Integrations with SureTriggers and other platforms to extend functionality |
| Post and page locks | Ability to restrict access to specific pages and posts |
| Partial post and page locks | Option to display partial content and prompt users to upgrade for full access |
| Visible excerpts | Displaying a visible excerpt for each post to improve conversions |
| Lock file downloads | Option to restrict access to downloads |
| Customizable login forms | Customization options for member login and signup forms |
| Security and privacy | High-level security and privacy measures to protect sensitive data |
| Modern interface | Sleek, modern user interface that is easy to navigate |
| Customizable checkout process | Ability to customize the checkout process to align with branding |
| Comprehensive reporting and analytics | Access to comprehensive reporting and analytics to track user behavior and plugin performance |
1. Restricting downloads and content
SureMembers’ chief strength is its capacity to limit downloads and to restrict access to specific content.
This feature allows you to govern access to data, materials, and other content depending on membership status.
For instance, you can make premium eBooks, audio files, or any other digital material accessible solely for members while keeping all remaining resources available for everyone.
The restricting content tool is straightforward and simple to utilize, allowing you the ability to either lock files behind a login form.
This process begins by creating an Access Group:
Once you give the Access Group a name, you can select what content you’d like to protect as well as select actions that occur when a non-member attempts to access it.
You can set varying levels of access for different user membership profiles – giving you complete command over who has what level of access.
With this feature, you can safeguard your resources and guarantee that only members have access to premium content.
What’s more, its ease of use makes it convenient even for those with minimal technical expertise – no need to stress over the implementation process!
And as you can see below, when a user doesn’t have access to restricted content, they’re met with a stylish message and a signup button to gain access:
2. Drip content
SureMembers’ drip content feature is second to none. It enables you to strategically roll out your material over a predetermined time frame.
This grants members the ability to methodically keep track of what they have and haven’t consumed by providing access to new information in an orderly fashion.
The flexibility of the drip content feature allows you to fully customize your content release schedule.
You can choose when each piece of material is released, such as setting a specific date or number of days after sign-up, and even controlling its availability based on prior content completion.
Additionally, different membership levels may have their own respective schedules. This gives you unparalleled control over what members gain access to.
3. Payment processing through SureCart
SureCart is a powerful payment processing plugin that is integrated into SureMembers. It allows you to easily accept payments from your members.
You can use this feature to create and manage multiple checkout pages, offering pricing plans for one-time payment or recurring subscription models.
The payment processing feature is easy to set up and use and integrates seamlessly with the rest of SureMembers.
It also provides advanced features such as fraud protection, customizable checkout pages, and the ability to accept multiple payment methods.
In terms of effectiveness, SureCart is a powerful and reliable payment processing solution. It makes it easy for website owners to process payments with a need for third-party plugins.
Plus, the overall look of SureCart is appealing and well-designed, making it a pleasant experience for members to make payments.
4. Robust integrations
SureMembers also comes with robust integrations by way of SureTriggers. This feature allows you to use a variety of triggers such as subscriber signups and purchases to trigger automated actions in other applications.
For example, you can automatically add new customers to an email list or create a task for your sales team when someone signs up for your membership.
SureTriggers is easy to use and provides a wide range of triggers and actions, making it highly flexible and powerful.
In terms of effectiveness, SureTriggers is a great way to automate tedious manual tasks and save time while also increasing efficiency.
5. Post and page locks
The post and page lock feature in SureMembers allows you to restrict access to specific posts or pages on your website, so only members can view them.
This is a great way to protect valuable content and make sure that it is only being accessed by those who have paid for a membership.
Using the post and page locks feature is easy, and you can set different levels of access for different membership plans.
You can also set up redirects so that non-members are sent to a specific page instead of the post or page they were trying to access.
This is super easy to set up in SureMembers:
6. Partial post and page locks
Partial post and page locks are a great way to protect premium content while also allowing non-members access to some of it.
This feature allows you to lock only specific parts of your posts or pages, meaning that the rest is viewable by everyone.
It’s a great way to tease the content to help entice signups and can be very effective.
You can do this by creating content as usual in the Block Editor, selecting the block(s) you’d like to restrict access to, then assigning the Access Group to it that is permitted access:
This can be useful for giving members a taste of your content before they decide to sign up for a membership, as well as to provide more value for existing members by offering exclusive content.
Using the partial post and page locks is easy and you can set different levels of access for different membership plans.
This feature is the perfect solution for safeguarding precious data, yet still allow non-members to have access to certain details.
7. Visible excerpts (for better conversions)
SureMembers also allows you to set visible excerpts for your posts and pages, allowing non-members to see snippets of the content before they decide to sign up.
This is a great way to give potential members an idea of what they will be getting if they decide to join and can help increase conversions.
It is easy to set visible excerpts, and you can also adjust the length of them.
This helps to ensure that potential members are able to get a good idea of what they will be getting before deciding whether or not to sign up.
Overall, visible excerpts are an effective way to give potential members a preview of your content, helping to increase conversions and boost membership numbers.
8. Lock file downloads
With SureMembers, you can also lock file downloads so that only members have access to them.
This is a great way to protect content such as eBooks and audio files, and also give more value to your members by offering exclusive downloads.
With effortless setup of file downloads, you can customize the levels of access for various membership plans.
This feature is a fantastic way to shield valuable material and give added worth to your members.
9. Customizable login forms
This plugin also includes customizable login forms so that you can easily create and display them to prospective members.
You can personalize the forms and style them to suit the branding of your site.
This feature is very easy to use!
Just select primary and secondary colors, text and link colors, and any other style preferences you have.
Save your changes and anyone who comes across restricted content will be prompted to sign up via this custom form you’ve created.
10. Security and privacy
SureMembers also offers comprehensive security and privacy features that ensure your members’ data is safe and secure.
You can adjust the levels of access for different membership plans, as well as set up login restrictions if needed.
The platform supports SSL encryption, which helps to ensure that all data transmitted is secure and encrypted.
Overall, the security and privacy features in SureMembers are comprehensive and help to ensure that your members’ data is safe and secure.
11. Modern interface
Another standout feature is the modern and sleek interface SureMembers comes equipped with.
The platform includes an intuitive dashboard where you can manage all aspects of your membership site, from setting up plans to adding members.
The interface is also fully responsive, meaning that it looks great on any device or screen size.
This makes it easy for members to access your content from anywhere and ensures they have a positive experience.
This modern interface helps to create an enjoyable user experience and makes it easy for you to manage the platform and for your members to navigate with ease.
12. Customizable checkout process
SureMembers also offers a customizable checkout process that allows you to set up your payment system and manage subscriptions.
This feature works through a combination of SureCart and SureTriggers and is great for streamlining the checkout experience and making it easier to sign up.
You can customize the checkout process in a variety of ways. The biggest benefit here is the ability to add users to an Access Group after they purchase a membership plan.
This helps to make the checkout process more efficient and does a lot of heavy-lifting in terms of automating the signup process.
You can also adjust how the checkout process looks to be more in line with your site’s branding and overall look and feel via SureCart.
13. Comprehensive reporting and analytics
Finally, SureMembers comes with comprehensive reporting and analytics tools that make it easy to gain insights into your membership business.
You can access detailed data about the signup process, including total users as well as the specific users signed up to each membership plan (or who are a part of each specific Access Group).
This information can help you understand how customers are interacting with your content and make better informed decisions about your membership plans.
Now that you know the features of SureMembers, it’s time to assess the plugin’s overall ease of use.
SureMembers ease of use
SureMembers has been designed with ease of use in mind, making it simple to manage your membership site and control access to your content.
The user interface is modern and intuitive, with a clean and straightforward design that makes it easy to navigate.
The plugin integrates seamlessly with WordPress. Setup is straightforward, with clear instructions and helpful tips to guide you through the process.
Once installed, the plugin is easy to configure and customize, with a range of options and settings to help you get the most out of your membership website.
SureMembers also includes extensive documentation and tutorials, providing you with everything you need to know to get started and make the most of the features.
The developers are also highly responsive. There’s a dedicated support team available to help you with any questions or issues you may encounter.
In terms of ease of use, SureMembers is one of the best membership plugins available. It provides a straightforward and user-friendly solution for managing their membership site.
Whether you are an experienced website builder or just getting started, you will find SureMembers easy to use and intuitive.
SureMembers support
SureMembers is backed by an experienced and knowledgeable support team, ready to answer any questions or queries you may have.
They provide a range of resources, including detailed documentation and video training to help you get up and running quickly.
The plugin also includes a helpful community on Facebook called SureCrafted (which covers SureMembers, SureCart, and SureTriggers).
Users can ask questions, share tips and tricks, and discuss their experiences with these plugins.
This makes it easy to find answers to common questions and get help from experienced users.
With its extensive resources and knowledgeable support team, SureMembers is sure to provide you with everything you need to get your membership business up and running.
SureMembers pricing
SureMembers is a highly affordable membership plugin, with the Pro plan starting at just $69 per year.
This makes it one of the most cost-effective solutions on the market and is ideal if you’re looking to get started quickly.
This plan includes a license to use it on one site, plus a year of updates and priority support.
There’s also the Business plan, which provides everything in the Pro plan plus a license to use it on up to 5 sites.
Lastly, there’s the Agency plan, which includes everything in the Business plan, plus a license to use it on up to 10 sites.
With SureMembers, you now have access to an incredibly cost-effective solution for building your very own successful membership site.
Boasting a wide range of features and extremely competitive pricing plans, this platform gives you all the tools needed to build your dream and keep costs low.
Conclusion: Is SureMembers the right membership plugin for you?
SureMembers is an excellent choice for website owners looking to build a successful membership website.
With its modern user interface, intuitive setup process, powerful features and comprehensive support, SureMembers makes it easy to get up and running quickly.
The plugin’s pricing also makes it one of the most cost-effective solutions available, ideal if you’re on a budget.
So, if you are looking for an intuitive and easy-to-use membership plugin, then SureMembers is sure to be the right solution for you.
