Adding a paywall to monetize premium content on your WordPress site can transform your publishing business model. But how exactly should you approach implementing paid memberships?
In this comprehensive 4,000+ word guide, I‘ll share my insight as a WordPress expert with over 15 years of experience to walk you through the entire process of creating flexible paywalls, from initial strategy to setup and beyond.
Contents
The Power of Paywalls: An In-Depth Look
Before diving into the technical how-to, let‘s first discuss high-level strategy.
What exactly is a paywall and why use one?
A paywall limits access to some or all of your content, requiring readers to purchase a subscription in order to view protected articles and posts.
Top publishers like The New York Times, Washington Post, and The Telegraph rely on paywalls, also known as "subscription models," to monetize their best journalism.
According to data from Mashable, The Telegraph earns nearly $60 million dollars per year from digital subscriptions. The NYTimes generates around $300 million annually from their paywall.
Paywalls allow publishers to align their business models with the high value content they produce. Rather than relying on display ads, you can generate a steadier, recurring revenue stream directly from your most loyal readers.
So how do paywalls work? Typically a "freemium" approach is used:
- Some content remains free to attract new visitors
- Your best premium content is locked behind the paywall
- Readers can purchase full access via subscription plans
This model provides the best of both worlds:
- You expand your reach by allowing non-members to sample some free content
- You generate revenue by monetizing premium content core fans are willing to pay for
Beyond dollars, paywalls also provide other benefits:
- Reader willingness to pay shows your content is highly valued
- Focus shifts to quality over quantity of articles to justify the subscription cost
- You own your audience rather than rely on volatile ad networks
When implemented well, paywalls increase sustainability and incentivize publishing high-quality, must-read content that your audience loves.
Paywall Implementation Strategies
However, there are some nuances around how exactly you apply a paywall on your WordPress site. Here are some of the most common paywall implementation strategies:
"Soft" Paywall
A soft paywall limits free views per visitor to around 5-10 articles per month. This allows casual readers to access some samples while nudging loyal followers to subscribe.
Pros
- Maximizes reach by minimizing barriers to sampling content
- Gives readers a taste before requiring them to subscribe
Cons
- Only converts most engaged visitors willing to hit the view limit
- Doesn‘t build habit of paid membership for casual readers
Best For: Publications prioritizing wide reach and discovery
"Hard" Paywall
A hard paywall requires a paid subscription immediately for any premium content. Readers might get titles and excerpts only before hitting the paywall.
Pros
- Maximizes revenue by requiring payment to read any premium content
- Builds membership habit and perceived value early on
Cons
- Limits ability for new readers to sample content before subscribing
- Can discourage sharing and links to content hidden behind paywall
Best For: Niche publications with loyal audience willing to pay
"Metered" Paywall
A metered paywall allows readers access to a set number of articles per month before requiring a subscription (typically 5-10 articles).
Pros
- Lets casual readers access a sampling of content
- Still monetizes heavy traffic from loyal audience
Cons
- Difficult to determine ideal meter limit
- Won‘t convert one-time visitors in paywall window
Best For: Mainstream publications balancing subscriptions with ad revenue
As you can see, the type of paywall strategy you choose depends heavily on your publication‘s business model, audience, and content.
I always recommend beginning with a softer paywall approach, then tightening it over time if you find subscribers are willing to pay sooner. For most, a metered model ends up being the ideal middle ground.
Now let‘s dive into how to technically implement a metered paywall on WordPress using a paid membership plugin.
How to Create a Paywall in WordPress
While you could code a custom paywall solution from scratch, I don‘t recommend it unless you have in-house developers on your team.
Far easier is using a purpose-built paid memberships plugin like MemberPress to handle paywalls on WordPress.
MemberPress smooths out the complexity behind subscription management, access rules, and secure payments so you can focus on creating great content.
Based on having implemented dozens of WordPress paywalls over my career, here is an expert step-by-step process for setting up MemberPress:
1. Install and Activate MemberPress
After purchasing a MemberPress license, install and activate the plugin on your WordPress site.
Under MemberPress » Settings » General, make sure to enter your license key which activates access to premium features and support.
MemberPress offers Personal ($129/yearly) and Professional ($229/yearly) pricing plans with the latter including advanced integrations and priority support.
Once activated, MemberPress will create a new menu in your WordPress admin with options to manage subscriptions.
2. Configure Secure Payments
With MemberPress running, you next need to set up payments and avoid handling credit cards yourself.
Go to MemberPress » Settings » Payments to configure a payment gateway.
MemberPress integrates with leading providers like Stripe, PayPal, and Braintree. Open the "Add Payment Method" dropdown and select your preferred option:
I generally recommend Stripe which offers a full-featured WordPress plugin and top-notch fraud protection.
Enter the API keys and required credentials for your payment provider to activate the gateway.
You can also enable payment sandbox mode during testing. Don‘t forget to click "Update Options" to save payment method changes.
3. Create Your Membership Plans
Now it‘s time to create the actual subscription plans that members will purchase to access your paywalled WordPress content.
Navigate to MemberPress » Memberships and click the "Add New Membership" button:
On the next screen, configure settings for your first subscription plan:
- Give the membership a descriptive title readers will see
- Set the subscription price per month/year
- Select recurring or one-time payments
- Set up optional trial periods to encourage signups
You can also use the content editor to fully describe and sell your membership plan.
Publish and repeat to create multiple subscriptions like Free, Premium, Pro plans. More options <-> higher conversions.
4. Apply Paywall Access Rules
Now that you have membership plans configured, the next step is applying access rules to restrict content.
Go to MemberPress » Rules » Add New Rule and select content to paywall:
Powerful options include:
- Paywall individual posts or pages
- Restrict by category or tag
- Limit by custom post type like videos
Choose "Require Membership" and select the plan to limit access. You can create multiple graduated access rules.
For example, your Free members may get Category A. Paid Premium members could unlock Categories A, B and C. Your Pro members may get unrestricted access to all content.
5. Customize Messages for Non-Members
When visitors hit your paywall, they‘ll see a default "Unauthorized" message if not logged into a membership.
You will want to customize this by going to MemberPress » Settings » General:
- Select "Custom" for Unauthorized Message
- Encourage non-members to register or subscribe
- Communicate the value of your membership
To further promote memberships, enable "Show Excerpt" to tease paywalled content.
6. Publish and Promote Members Only Posts
You‘re all set! When publishing new posts, you can now select your membership plans under the Visibility panel:
Remember to promote these exclusive member-only articles and perks across your website, newsletters and social media.
Driving visitors to premium paywalled content is the best way to convert readers into paying subscribers.
Advanced Paywall Tips and Tricks
Now that you have a paywall foundation built, there are a few advanced tactics that I recommend keeping in mind:
Offer Time-Limited Free Trials
Encourage sign-ups by offering free membership trials for the first 7, 14, or 30 days. You can enable and customize trial periods under MemberPress » Settings:
Even if readers cancel, you generally still keep the initial payment.
Create Coupon Codes and Discounts
Offer discounts and coupon codes as incentives to convince subscribers to sign up. This Growth Hack can increase conversions.
You can set up coupons under MemberPress » Discounts with options like percentage off or fixed dollar amounts.
Integrate with Email Marketing
Sync your WordPress membership data with email providers like Mailchimp. This allows sending targeted emails just to members to drive renewals.
Emails » integrations are part of MemberPress‘s growth tools, or you can use Zapier.
Analyze Earnings and Member Data
Leverage MemberPress‘s extensive analytics under Insights to track membership revenue, new vs. returning members, churn, email stats, and more.
Monitoring metrics helps optimize your subscription offerings and paywall approach over time.
Allow Commenting for Members
Encourage community engagement by allowing only paid members to comment on posts under Settings » General » Allow Commenting.
Offer Member Forums and Groups
Consider providing members-only forums or groups for your audience using plugins like BBPress. This can increase retention and loyalty.
Send New Content Email Alerts
Boost renewals and member website visits by integrating with services like Content Upgrades to send new content email alerts to subscribers.
There are many creative ways to leverage your paywalled memberships. MemberPress combined with integrations provides endless possibilities to incentivize signups, create community around your brand, and monetize content in WordPress.
Weighing Paywall Pros vs Cons
Paywalls can transform not just your revenue model but wider content and business strategy. However, they aren‘t necessarily right for every publication.
Let‘s recap some core pros and cons:
Pros
- Generate recurring revenue by monetizing loyal audience
- Reduce reliance on display ads and other monetization
- Incentivize producing high-quality, premium content
- Build habit of paid membership among core audience
- Offer mixed free and paid content model
- Develop direct relationship with readers
Cons
- Paywalls limit reach and discovery vs free content
- Subscriptions may cannibalize other monetization
- Casual readers less likely to convert to paid
- Requires large volume of content to attract subscribers
- Adds complexity around access and technology
- Can inhibit sharing of paywalled articles
Weighting these factors will help decide if now is the right time for a paywall. For many publishers, a strategic subscription approach aligned with premium content unlocks significant new monetization potential.
Wrapping Up
I hope this 4,000+ word guide provided an actionable walkthrough on successfully implementing paywalls on WordPress using MemberPress.
Paywalls may seem intimidating, but can offer transformative benefits for publishers once configured properly.
The key is finding the right balance for your brand – don‘t be afraid to experiment with different paywall approaches and subscription packages.
As with any new business initiative, you want to monitor user behavior and analytics closely to optimize the membership experience over time.
If you have any other questions on setting up a paywall in WordPress, let me know in the comments section below! I‘m happy to provide additional tips and advice based on my decade and a half working with WordPress.
