How to Manage WordPress Paid Memberships Pro Levels

Crafting a tiered membership structure with Paid Memberships Pro unlocks powerful monetization for your WordPress site. However, managing those levels, including settings, pricing, and assigning members individually to pages, can quickly become overwhelming. This guide simplifies the process, showing you how to efficiently manage WordPress Paid Memberships Pro Levels.

In this article, we will discuss:

• Paid Memberships Pro
• Types of Membership Levels
• Membership Level Setup
• Set Up Level Assignments Per Page
• Review

An in-depth walkthrough of the Paid Memberships Pro plugin member levels in WordPress. This video reviews the level settings, membership price, and level assignment per page.

Paid Memberships Pro

Paid Memberships Pro allows you to hold multiple membership levels simultaneously. This documentation will guide you on how to set up Level Groups and individual membership levels. You will learn how to create a membership level and modify a user's membership. This includes canceling, changing, editing, upgrading, or downgrading a member's subscription.

You can now hold multiple levels with Paid Memberships Pro by setting up Level Groups to define how different levels relate to each other.

Types of Membership Levels

Paid Memberships Pro is a popular WordPress plugin that helps you manage membership sites. This plugin lets you manage WordPress Paid Memberships Pro Levels that can be customized to fit the needs of your website. Here are some common types of membership levels based on functionality and access privileges:

• Free: This is a free membership level that never expires.
• Monthly: This membership level charges a recurring monthly subscription that never ends
• Annual: This membership level charges a recurring annual subscription that never ends.
• One Time: This membership level charges a one-time payment for a fixed period.
• Lifetime: This membership level charges a one-time payment for a never-expired level.
• Trial: This trial membership captures recurring payment information at checkout.
• Advance: This membership level shows all settings for creating an advanced membership level.

Membership Level Setup

Step 1: Install Paid Memberships Pro Plugin

Make sure the Paid Memberships Pro plugin is installed and activated on your WordPress site. You can do this by going to your WordPress dashboard:

1. Navigate to Plugins > Add New Plugin, and search for Paid Memberships Pro. Click Install.
   
    

2. After installing the plugins, click Activate.
   
    

Step 2: Access Membership Levels

Once the plugin is activated, go to the WordPress dashboard, find the Memberships menu, and click Settings.

Step 3: Add New Membership Level

To add a new level:

1. Click the Create a Membership Level.
   
    
2. In the What type of membership level do you want to create? pop-up, select the member level.
   
    
3. This will take you to the Add New Membership Level page, where you can configure the details of your new membership level.

Step 4: Configure Membership Level Setting

Here, you'll need to fill out several fields to define your membership level:

General Information

• Name: Give your membership level a clear and descriptive name.
• Group
• Description: Write a detailed description of this level's offerings. This is important to let potential members know what they're getting.
• Confirmation Message: Customize the message new members will see upon joining this level.

Billing Details: Set the price, billing cycle, and any trial periods for this membership level. You can also set it as a free membership if needed.

• Initial Payment: This refers to the first payment collected during registration.
• Recurring Subscription: You can check whether this level has a recurring subscription payment or not. 
• Billing Amount: This is the amount that will be billed one cycle after the initial payment. 
• Billing Cycle Limit: This indicates the total number of recurring billing cycles for this level, which includes the trial period (if applicable) but not the initial payment. If the membership is indefinite, it should be set to zero. 
• Custom Trial: If you want to add a custom trial period, you can check this option.

Expiration Settings: Check this to set when membership access expires.

Content Settings: Restrict access to specific content based on this membership level. Use these settings to control what members can see or do on your site.

Other Settings: Check to hide this level from the membership levels page and disable registration.

Step 5: Save Your Membership Level

Once you've configured all settings, click the Save Level button at the bottom of the page. Your new membership level has been created and is now active.

Step 6: Repeat as Needed

If you must create multiple membership levels, repeat the steps above for each new level.

Step 7: Configure Membership Pages

Paid Memberships Pro may prompt you to generate default pages needed for membership management (like account, billing, and registration pages). Follow the prompts to create these pages, or set them up manually automatically.

Step 8: Test Your Membership Levels

It's important to thoroughly test each membership level to ensure access restrictions and billing settings work as intended. Consider creating test accounts with different membership levels to experience and verify the member's journey.

Step 9: Launch

After testing, your membership levels are ready to go live. Start promoting your membership program to attract subscribers.

Remember, managing a successful membership site requires ongoing effort, including promoting it, engaging with members, and continually evaluating and improving membership levels and content.

Set Up Level Assignments Per Page

To set up level assignments per page in Paid Memberships Pro, you'll want to follow these steps:

Step 1. Assign Membership Levels to Page

1. After creating membership levels, go to the page or post to which you want to restrict access.
2. In the post or page editor, look for the Require Membership meta box. Depending on your WordPress version and the editor you are using, this box might appear on the right-hand side or at the bottom of the editor.
3. Within the Require Membership box, you'll see a list of the membership levels you've created. Check the box next to the membership level(s) you want to have access to this content. If the content should be accessible to more than one membership level, you can select multiple levels.
   
    
4. Update or publish your page or post. Now, only members of the selected levels (and administrators) can access this content.

Step 2: Test Access Restriction

Testing the access restrictions after setting them up is crucial. Log out of your admin account or use a different browser where you are not logged in. Try to access the restricted page. Depending on your Paid Memberships Pro settings, you should be redirected to a membership signup or login page.

Step 3: Adjust Visibility and Access Further

Paid Memberships Pro also offers shortcodes and other methods to further customize content visibility within pages or posts. This can be useful for displaying messages to non-members or offering teasers of your content.

Step 4: Advanced Configuration

For more complex setups, like creating a member directory or customizing the restriction messages, explore the Paid Memberships Pro add-ons or the extensive documentation on their website. Some functionalities require additional coding or the use of specific add-ons.

Remember, when working with plugins that handle user data, especially paid memberships, it's important to consider privacy and data protection laws. Ensure your site is compliant with regulations such as GDPR, if applicable.

This setup allows you to create a dynamic and member-focused website where content can be tailored and restricted based on membership levels, enhancing the value of your memberships.

Review

Paid Memberships Pro empowers you to design a tiered membership structure, unlocking a new revenue stream for your WordPress site. This guide has equipped you with the knowledge to effortlessly manage WordPress Paid Memberships Pro Levels, including settings, pricing, and individual member assignment to specific pages. With Paid Memberships Pro, you can create a captivating member-centric website, offering exclusive content and experiences based on membership levels.