Affiliate disclosure: Creator Systems Hub may earn a commission if you buy MemberPress through links in this guide, at no extra cost to you. This guide is based on MemberPress’s published documentation and does not claim hands-on testing where none occurred.
Building a membership website is not simply a matter of installing a plugin. Before you open WordPress, you need to decide what members will receive, how they will pay and which content should remain public.
MemberPress provides access rules, registration pages and subscription tools, while WordPress remains the website underneath. This guide covers a practical setup sequence and the UK-specific costs and decisions worth checking before launch.
What you need before starting
- A working WordPress website with HTTPS enabled
- A recent backup and a reliable backup process
- A MemberPress licence that supports the features and gateways you require
- A Stripe or other supported payment account
- A clear membership name, price and billing interval
- At least one piece of members-only content
- A public sales page and support contact
- Privacy, cookie, terms and refund information appropriate to your business
MemberPress is a WordPress plugin, so hosting, security, updates and performance remain your responsibility. If you do not want to maintain WordPress, a hosted membership platform may be a better fit.
Step 1: Define the membership before choosing settings
Write down four decisions first:
- What result or ongoing benefit will members receive?
- Will the membership be free, a one-off payment or recurring?
- Which content will members be able to access?
- What happens when a payment fails or a member cancels?
Start with one clear membership level if possible. Several overlapping tiers make access rules, customer support and pricing pages harder to manage.
Step 2: Install MemberPress and activate the licence
After purchasing MemberPress, download the plugin ZIP from your account. In WordPress, go to Plugins > Add New, upload the ZIP, install it and activate the plugin.
Open MemberPress in the dashboard and activate your licence. A new installation should offer an onboarding wizard covering the initial feature, content, membership, protection and payment choices.
Update WordPress and existing plugins first, confirm that backups work and use a staging site when changing an established website.
Step 3: Configure the core settings
Open MemberPress > Settings and check:
- Currency and regional settings
- Account, login and thank-you pages
- Email sender details and member notifications
- Fields collected during registration
- Tax settings
- Payment settings
- Permissions and access behaviour
MemberPress creates default pages for key parts of the member journey. Visit those pages while logged out so you can see what a prospective member will experience.
Step 4: Connect a payment gateway
MemberPress currently documents support for Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net and offline payments, with availability varying by plan and checkout route. Stripe is the gateway offered during onboarding.
Go to MemberPress > Settings > Payments, add your chosen gateway and use its test or sandbox mode before accepting a real payment.
- Check the business name shown on the customer’s bank statement
- Confirm supported currencies and recurring-payment methods
- Compare payment processor and MemberPress transaction fees
- Review refund and failed-payment handling
- Check whether automated tax calculation adds a separate cost
At the time of checking, MemberPress lists a 4.9% transaction fee on successful payments for its Launch plan, on top of normal processor charges. Pricing can change, so check the current plan page using the button near the end of this guide.
Our MemberPress pricing guide includes worked fee examples and an illustrative Launch-versus-Growth break-even calculation.
Step 5: Create the membership product
Go to MemberPress > Products and add a product. Set a clear public name, price, billing type, interval, any trial period and a concise description of what is included.
Avoid vague names such as “Gold” unless the difference from other levels is immediately obvious. “Monthly Resource Library” or “Annual Training Membership” is easier for a buyer to understand.
Each membership product receives its own registration page and URL, which you can link from sales pages, navigation and emails.
Step 6: Protect content with rules
Creating a product does not protect content by itself. MemberPress uses rules to decide what a person must have purchased before they can view selected content.
Go to MemberPress > Rules and create a rule for the relevant page, post, category, tag, child pages or custom post type. Assign the membership product that grants access.
Test three states: a logged-out visitor, a registered user without the membership and a member with access.
Step 7: Build the public sales journey
A technically working registration page is not the same as a persuasive sales page. Your public page should explain who the membership is for, its result, what is included, how often new material appears, the price, cancellation and refund terms, frequently asked questions and the next step.
Link the main call to action to the membership registration page. If you offer several products, MemberPress Groups can present those memberships together on a pricing page.
Step 8: Add courses only when the offer needs them
MemberPress says its Courses add-on is included with all plans. Install it from MemberPress > Add-ons, then use MP Courses to create structured learning content.
A membership does not automatically need a formal course. A resource library, private newsletter or workshop programme may be easier to navigate without an LMS. Use courses when learners benefit from a sequence.
Step 9: Configure email and support
Review every automated email sent during registration, payment, cancellation and password recovery. Use an address on your own domain and test whether messages arrive in major inbox providers.
Add a visible support address and short answers for common issues such as forgotten passwords, failed payments and cancellations.
Step 10: Check UK tax and consumer information
Software cannot decide your legal obligations. UK VAT treatment can depend on what you sell, where customers are located, your turnover and whether the supply is treated as a digital service.
- Decide whether prices are shown inclusive or exclusive of tax
- Confirm what evidence is collected about customer location
- Check invoice and receipt requirements
- Publish clear cancellation and refund terms
- Explain immediate access to digital content appropriately
- Ask a qualified accountant or adviser about your circumstances
Do not copy another membership site’s legal pages and assume they apply to your business.
Step 11: Run a complete test purchase
Use a staging site or test mode and complete the whole journey as a customer:
- Visit the sales page while logged out
- Choose the membership and register with a new email address
- Complete a test payment
- Confirm the welcome email arrives
- Log in and access protected content
- Update account details
- Cancel or simulate a failed renewal
- Confirm access changes as expected
Repeat the test on a phone. A membership that works only on the administrator’s desktop is not ready to launch.
Step 12: Launch small and monitor the first members
Invite a small group first. Watch for unclear instructions, payment friction, missing emails and access-rule mistakes, then fix those before promoting the membership widely.
Monitor registration conversion, failed payments, support questions, member usage, refunds, cancellations and the reasons members give for leaving.
A sensible starter structure
- One recurring membership product
- One protected content category
- One public sales page
- One registration page
- One member welcome page
- One support page
- A monthly publishing schedule
Add tiers, community features, automation and advanced reporting only when a genuine need appears.
Final checklist
- WordPress, hosting and backups are ready
- MemberPress licence is active
- Currency and core settings are correct
- Payment gateway works in test mode
- Membership product and billing terms are clear
- Access rules have been tested in three user states
- Sales and registration pages work on mobile
- Emails arrive and identify the business clearly
- Tax, privacy and refund information has been reviewed
- A complete test purchase has succeeded
- Support and cancellation routes are visible
Is MemberPress the right choice?
MemberPress is most attractive when you already use WordPress and value control over your website, member experience and content structure. It is less attractive if you want a completely hosted system with minimal technical maintenance.
For pricing, plan differences and the main advantages and drawbacks, read our MemberPress Review UK before choosing a licence.
Check the latest MemberPress plans and introductory pricing →
Sources checked September 2026: Getting Started with MemberPress, MemberPress Payments, Creating Memberships and MemberPress Courses. Features, restrictions and pricing may change.