How to Create a Membership Website with Strikingly in 8 Steps

Are you looking to create a membership website but unsure where to start? Building a successful membership site involves careful planning and the right tools. In this guide, we'll walk you through how to create a membership website using Strikingly, a user-friendly platform that offers all the features you need to get started.

To create a membership website can be a daunting task, but with the right platform and guidance, it can be a rewarding experience. Strikingly offers customizable templates and intuitive tools to help you design a website that fits your needs and brand. With their built-in membership features, you can easily manage subscriptions, create a membership website, and engage with your community in one convenient place.

Understanding the Importance of How to Start a Membership Site

A membership website provides exclusive content and benefits to subscribers in exchange for regular payments. It's a great way to build a community around your brand and generate recurring revenue. You can create a loyal customer base by offering valuable content behind a paywall and establishing a steady income stream.

Choosing the Right Platform: Why Use Strikingly

Strikingly is an ideal platform for beginners who want to start their subscription website without coding knowledge. With its intuitive interface and customizable templates, you can easily design an attractive and functional membership site that suits your brand. Plus, Strikingly offers seamless integration with payment gateways, making it easier for you to manage subscriptions.

Planning Your Membership Subscription Strategy

Before you create a membership website, it's crucial to have a clear subscription strategy. You'll need to decide on pricing tiers, payment frequency, and the type of content or benefits each tier will offer. By carefully planning your subscription model, you can attract more members and keep them engaged in the long run.

Researching Membership Website Models

Simple Cover Template from Strikingly

When you create a membership website, it's essential to understand the different types of membership sites. There are content-based membership sites where users pay for access to exclusive content such as articles, videos, or tutorials. Then, there are community-based membership sites, which focus on creating a space for like-minded individuals to connect and engage with each other. Finally, there are product-based membership sites where members receive special discounts or perks related to specific products or services.

Understanding Different Membership Site Types

Content-based membership sites typically offer valuable information that users can't find elsewhere. This could include in-depth tutorials, expert interviews, or exclusive industry insights. Community-based membership sites often provide forums or discussion boards where members can share ideas and seek advice from one another. Product-based membership sites might offer early access to new products, special discounts on purchases, or even exclusive merchandise.

Analyzing Successful Membership Sites

Before you start your subscription website, you must analyze successful membership sites in your niche. Look at what they're doing right—how they structure their content, engage their members, and retain them over time. Take note of their subscription tiers and pricing strategies, as well as the unique benefits they offer to their members.

Identifying Your Niche Audience

Identifying your niche audience is essential when you create a membership website. Consider who would benefit most from the type of content or community you plan to offer and tailor your site accordingly. Conduct market research to understand your audience's pain points and preferences so that you can create a compelling value proposition for them.

Setting Up Your Strikingly Account

Strikingly Landing Page

Creating an Account on Strikingly

When you create a membership website you need to sign up for a Strikingly account. Visit the Strikingly website and click on the Get Started button. You will be prompted to enter your email address and create a password. Once you've completed these steps, you can access Strikingly's features, including membership subscription templates.

Choosing a Membership Subscription Template

Once you've created your account, it's time to choose a membership subscription template that suits your needs. Strikingly offers a variety of professionally designed templates tailored explicitly for subscription websites. These templates are fully customizable, allowing you to add your branding and personalize the design according to your preferences.

Customizing Your Website Design

After selecting a template, you can customize your website design to create a unique and engaging user experience for your members. Use Strikingly's intuitive drag-and-drop editor to add sections, change colors, upload images, and tweak fonts. Ensure to incorporate elements that reflect the value of your membership offering and entice visitors to subscribe.

Adding Membership Features

RemoteJoy Template from Strikingly

When you create a membership website, it is crucial to set up payment gateways that offer secure and convenient transactions for your subscribers. Strikingly makes this process seamless by integrating with popular payment providers like PayPal and Stripe, allowing you to manage your subscription revenue easily.

Setting up secure payment gateways is essential for ensuring a smooth and trustworthy experience for your members. With Strikingly's integration with PayPal and Stripe, you can rest assured that your subscribers' transactions are safe and convenient. This means you can focus on delivering valuable content to your members without worrying about the technicalities of managing subscription revenue.

Setting Up Payment Gateways

Navigate to your Strikingly dashboard and access the Simple Store feature. From there, you can select the payment gateway of your choice and follow the prompts to link your account. By offering various payment options, you can cater to a broader audience and increase the likelihood of sign-ups for your membership website.

Creating Member-Only Content

In today's digital landscape, creating a membership website is a powerful way to connect with your audience, build a loyal community, and generate recurring revenue. Strikingly, a user-friendly website builder provides the tools and flexibility to create a membership website and deliver exclusive content to your members.

1. Choose a Strikingly Template

The first step is to select a Strikingly template that suits your membership website's purpose and brand aesthetic. Strikingly offers a wide range of professionally designed templates, including options specifically tailored for membership websites.

2. Create a Membership Area

Once you've chosen a template, create a dedicated membership area on your website. This area will be private, and only members can access your exclusive content.

3. Set Up Membership Levels

Depending on your membership model, you may offer different membership levels with varying access levels. Strikingly allows you to create multiple membership levels and assign different privileges to each.

4. Create Exclusive Content

Develop valuable, engaging content that your members will find exclusive and worth paying for. This could include articles, tutorials, webinars, ebooks, or access to a private forum.

5. Use Strikingly's Member Management Features

Strikingly provides robust member management features to streamline your membership website. Easily manage member profiles, subscriptions, and access levels.

6. Integrate Payment Processing

To accept payments from your members, integrate a payment gateway like Stripe or PayPal into your Strikingly website. This will allow members to subscribe to your membership plans seamlessly.

7. Deliver Content Securely

Ensure that your exclusive content is accessible only to paying members. Strikingly offers features to protect your content and prevent unauthorized access.

8. Promote Your Membership Website

Market your membership website to attract potential members. Utilize social media, email marketing, and other channels to reach your target audience and highlight the benefits of joining your community.

9. Engage with Your Members

Foster a strong sense of community by actively engaging with your members. Respond to their questions, provide support, and create opportunities for members to interact with each other.

10. Track and Analyze Performance

Monitor the performance of your membership website to measure its success. Strikingly provides analytics tools to track membership sign-ups, content consumption, and member engagement.

By following these steps and leveraging Strikingly's powerful features, you can create a thriving membership website that delivers value to your members and generates recurring revenue. Strikingly's user-friendly interface and comprehensive tools make it an ideal platform for building a membership website that will help you achieve your goals.

Implementing Subscription Tiers

Diversifying subscription tiers effectively caters to different audience segments and maximizes revenue for your membership site. With Strikingly's flexible pricing options, you can create multiple subscription levels with varying benefits and features.

By offering tiered memberships at different prices, you provide potential subscribers with options that suit their needs and budgets. This expands your target market and encourages existing members to upgrade for enhanced perks.

By utilizing these features on Strikingly's platform, you can create a membership website that offers a seamless user experience while maximizing subscriber engagement and retention.

Designing a User-Friendly Membership Experience

30-Minute Webinar Template from Strikingly

Optimizing Website Navigation

When you create a membership website, optimizing your website navigation is essential to ensure visitors can easily find the information they need. Use clear and concise menu labels and organize your content logically to guide users through the site. By making it easy for users to navigate, you can improve user experience and encourage them to explore your membership offerings.

Creating a Seamless Sign-Up Process

To start a membership site, you must create a seamless sign-up process for potential members. Keep the sign-up form simple and easy to fill out, asking for only essential information. Consider implementing social media login options or offering a guest checkout option to reduce friction in the sign-up process and increase conversion rates.

Personalizing Member Dashboards

Personalizing member dashboards is crucial in providing a tailored experience for your members. Utilize Strikingly's customization tools to allow members to customize their dashboards with their preferred content or features. By offering personalized dashboards, you can enhance member engagement and retention on your subscription website.

Marketing Your Membership Website

Snap Template from Strikingly

Optimizing your membership website for search engines is essential to attract more visitors and potential members. When you create a membership website, SEO strategies such as keyword research, on-page optimization, and link building can help improve your site's visibility and drive organic traffic. By incorporating relevant keywords like creating a membership website into your content and metadata, you can increase the chances of your site ranking higher on search engine results pages.

Utilizing SEO for Membership Sites

When starting a membership site, SEO is crucial in driving organic traffic to your website. You can improve your site's visibility on search engine results pages by conducting keyword research and incorporating relevant keywords such as subscription website and membership subscription into your content. Optimizing meta titles, descriptions, and alt tags with targeted keywords can help boost your site's search engine rankings.

Leveraging Social Media for Membership Growth

Social media platforms provide an excellent opportunity to promote and grow your membership website. Creating engaging posts highlighting the benefits of joining your community or showcasing exclusive member content can attract new members and encourage existing ones to stay active. Utilize social media channels such as Facebook groups, Twitter chats, or LinkedIn communities to connect with potential members interested in joining a subscription-based website.

Setting Up Email Marketing Campaigns

Email marketing is an effective way to nurture leads and retain existing members for your subscription website. When launching a membership site, setting up automated email campaigns that offer valuable content or special promotions can encourage visitors to sign up for memberships or upgrade their subscriptions. Personalize email communications based on member interests and behaviors to increase engagement and retention rates.

Engaging and Retaining Members

Strikingly Kickstart Program

Providing Valuable Content Regularly

One fundamental way to keep your members engaged is by consistently providing valuable content. This could include articles, videos, webinars, or any other type of content relevant to your niche audience. By keeping the content fresh and informative, you can ensure that your members see the value in their subscriptions and are likelier to stick around.

Offering Exclusive Member Benefits

Offering exclusive benefits members can't get anywhere else is essential to entice them to stay active on your membership website. These could include access to premium content, discounts on products or services, or even special events or meetups. By making your members feel valued and appreciated, you can increase their loyalty and encourage them to renew their subscriptions.

Implementing Community Building Tools

Creating a sense of community among your members is crucial for retaining them long-term. Implementing community building tools such as forums, chat rooms, or social media groups can help facilitate interactions between members and foster a sense of belonging. Encouraging discussions and connections within your membership website can make it a valuable part of your members' lives.

Analyzing and Optimizing Membership Performance

Strikingly Analytics Dashboard

Tracking Member Engagement and Retention

Tracking member engagement and retention is crucial to ensuring the success of your membership website. Use analytics tools to monitor how often members log in, which content they engage with the most, and how long they stay subscribed. By understanding these metrics, you can tailor your content and offerings to meet your members' needs better.

Using Data to Improve User Experience

Data-driven decision-making is critical to improving user experience on your membership site. Analyze user behavior data to identify pain points in the navigation or sign-up process. Use this information to make necessary adjustments to enhance the overall user experience and keep members engaged with your subscription website.

Launching Your Membership Website

Art Player Template from Strikingly

Now that you've created a membership website and added all the necessary features, it's time to prepare for the big launch day. This involves ensuring that all your website elements function properly and that your subscription tiers are set up correctly. It's also essential to have a marketing plan to promote your membership site effectively.

Preparing for the Big Launch Day

On the day of your membership website launch, ensure that all payment gateways work seamlessly and that new members can sign up without technical issues. Double-check your member-only content to ensure it's accessible only to subscribed members. Additionally, create engaging social media posts and email campaigns to generate excitement and drive traffic to your site on launch day.

Onboarding Your First Members

As you start getting sign-ups, it's crucial to focus on effectively onboarding your first members. Send them personalized welcome emails with instructions on navigating the site and accessing exclusive content. Consider offering special perks or discounts for early adopters to show appreciation for their support.

Celebrating Milestones and Successes

Once your membership website is up and running, take the time to celebrate milestones and successes with your community. Share achievements such as reaching a certain number of subscribers or receiving positive feedback from members. This creates a sense of accomplishment and encourages existing members to stay engaged while attracting new ones.

By following these steps, you can ensure a successful launch for your membership website and set yourself up for long-term growth and success in the subscription website space.

Embrace the Potential of a Subscription Website

When you create a membership website, it can be rewarding for anyone looking to build a community and generate recurring revenue. By choosing Strikingly as your platform, you can use its user-friendly features to set up and manage your subscription website quickly. Embracing the potential of a subscription website allows you to offer valuable content to your niche audience while building a sustainable business model.

Ensuring Long-Term Success for Your Membership Website

To ensure the long-term success of your membership website, consistently provide high-quality content and engage with your members. Regularly analyzing data and optimizing user experience will help you retain and attract new members. You can establish a thriving online community by staying committed to delivering value to your audience.

Taking Advantage of Strikingly's Membership Features

Strikingly offers a range of membership features that make creating and managing subscription tiers, member-only content, and payment gateways easy. With customizable templates and seamless integration options, you can tailor your website to meet the needs of your audience while enjoying the benefits of an intuitive platform.

A subscription website offers various opportunities for generating passive income and building a loyal following. By providing exclusive content and member benefits, you can create a sense of belonging within your community while offering value that keeps members engaged. You can turn your passion into a sustainable online business with the right strategy.