Create a Robust Directory and Individual Profiles for Your WordPress Membership Site

by Kimberly Coleman | Add Ons, Newsletter

An important feature for many membership sites is the ability to display a dynamic directory of members and profile pages. Here is some information on how to add and customize these features using the Member Directory and Profile Pages Add On for Paid Memberships Pro.

Before you get started, consider this.

While a directory may be a desirable feature of membership, it is important to make it clear to your members what information will be made public or displayed privately. You can communicate what information will be shown, and what other members are allowed to do with that information via a Terms of Service agreement or elsewhere on your site.

Some points to include in this message would be:

Can members directly contact another member via email?
Can members copy the list of all members and send them mass email?
Can a member opt to exclude themselves from the directory or just hide specific information?
What are the consequences for abusing your policy?

Creating the Directory and Profiles

The Add On page covers primary documentation for the Member Directory and Profile Pages plugin. This includes the basic steps of generating the pages under Memberships > Page Settings and customizing the shortcode to display your unique fields.

Below are a few recipes, tips and tricks to make your directory even more robust.

Capturing Additional Member Fields

Our Register Helper Add On allows you to add new profile fields at membership checkout. This is a key plugin used by most membership sites that have unique fields based on the topic of their membership site. Some examples may include a file upload, such as a restaurant menu or resume, or business categories, such as “Small Business” or “Non-Profit”.
Hide or Show Fields on Member Profiles based on Membership Level

For many membership sites, a feature of higher-tier membership is the additional of more profile fields on the member directory, perhaps three videos or audio embeds, additional logos or photographs of a business location, or expanded contact information (website, phone, email). This can be achieved via the code recipe outlined in the link above.
Allow Members to Upload an Avatar or “Logo”

If you are planning to include images in your directory, this post outlines some recommended plugins for user avatar management on your WordPress site.
Capturing Default WordPress Profiles Fields for your Directory

The WordPress User profile already includes some key fields you may want to leverage for your membership site, such as “Site URL”, and “Description” (or biographical info). This post covers how to capture those fields for display on user profiles.
Frontend Profile Field Management

While we may eventually role this into the Add On, we recommend using the “Themes Profiles” module of the Theme My Login plugin to allow members to edit their profile fields in the frontend theme of your WordPress membership site. View the plugin in the WordPress.org repository »

Who can see the member directory and profiles?

There are a few methods to control the directory and profile visibility. It may take a little creative thinking to wrap your brain around the examples below, so please open a topic on the members forum and we will be happy to help you achieve your goals.

Using the Page’s “Require Membership” Settings

If your directory is visible to members only, you can control the content access to the page you place the directory shortcode on just like you do any other piece of member content. Simply edit the directory or profile page and check the appropriate level(s) in the “Require Membership” meta box.
Using the [membership] Shortcode

You can duplicate the directory or profile page shortcode and wrap it within the [membership] shortcode to show a unique member directory by level, this can take many shapes, such as Level 1 Members only being able to see other Level 1 Members, or Level 2 Members not being able to see full member email addresses, while Level 1 members cannot view this information.

Here is an example of this method:
[membership level="1"] [pmpro_member_directory levels="1"] [/membership] [membership level="2"] [pmpro_member_directory levels="2"] [/membership]
[membership level="1"] [pmpro_member_directory levels="1"] [/membership] [membership level="2"] [pmpro_member_directory levels="2"] [/membership]

Want a better search, category filters or sorting?

We’re always working to example the features of this and all of our Add Ons. So if the unique directory options you need aren’t covered by the tips above, please post a comment below or open a topic on the member’s forum.

How to add a conditional login or logout link to your WordPress Menu

by Kimberly Coleman | Newsletter, Recipes

Today’s web user has certain expectations about your site’s “Log In” links. This post covers a few methods to add these links to the expected location on your website. Use one of the options below to add a conditional “log in” link to a Menu in the WordPress Appearance > Menus admin page.

Use the plugin BAW Login/Logout Menu

This plugin (available in the WordPress plugins repo) is the most simple option. After activating, you will see a new section titled “Login/Logout links v1.3.2” in the Appearance > Menus area of your admin. Simply click to add the Log In|Log Out link to a menu, save the menu and you’re done.

Download at WordPress.org

or search for “BAW Login/Logout” from your Plugins > Add New WordPress admin. (Note that the plugin hasn’t been updated in awhile but does work with the newest version of WordPress).
Use the plugin Theme My Login

In addition to a conditional menu link, we recommend this plugin (also available in the WordPress plugin repo) for many other reasons, including a themed (frontend) login, password recovery, and user profile section.

After activating the plugin, navigate to the Appearance > Menus area of your admin. Under the “Pages” section in the left column, you’ll see a page titled “Log In”. Add this page to your menu. The link will automatically swap between “Log In” and “Log Out” based on the session.

Theme My Login also has advanced logic for blocking the WordPress backend by “role”, as well as redirection on login based on “role”. If you need to redirect members on login based on membership level, see this blog post by Jason.

Download at WordPress.org

or search for “Theme My Login” from your Plugins > Add New WordPress admin.
Use the Memberlite Theme

The Memberlite Theme has a built in log in / log out menu area in the upper right area of your WordPress site. You can enable this feature on the Appearance > Customize > Memberlite Options screen in the WordPress admin. Check the option to “Show Login/Member Info in Header”.

If the user is logged in and Paid Memberships Pro is active, the member will see their display name linked to the ‘Membership Account’ page, alternately they will see their display name linked to the ‘Edit Profile’ page.

You can add a members menu to this area under ‘Appearance’ > ‘Menus’ screen in the WordPress Admin. Read more about Memberlite menu options here.
Custom Code the Menu In Your Theme or via a Custom Filter

If you’re comfortable with editing your theme, you can add the login/logout link anywhere you would like via this function:

<?php wp_loginout(); ?>

The function has two parameters:

<?php wp_loginout( $redirect, $echo ); ?>

$redirect:

(optional) URL to redirect to on login/logout.

$echo:

(optional) If true, echos the link, if false, returns the link as a string. (default: true)

Read more about this function at the WordPress codex, including how to filter a wp_nav_menu to add the conditional link via a function in your theme’s functions.php file or a helper PMPro Customizations plugin.

If you’re on a multisite network, note that these methods may not work 100% as intended. Using the WordPress function in a theme file is the best method for your network/multisite.

Methods to Block Users from Logging In, Selecting or Changing Membership

by Kimberly Coleman | Add Ons, Newsletter

If you come across any “problem” members in your business, these methods will allow you to limit or completely disable their access on your site. We’ll also cover how to lock a member’s level indefinitely or for a specific required term.

Methods covered in this post include: Disabling User Login | One-Time Use Memberships/Trials | NEW Lock Membership Level Add On

Disabling User Login

These methods are based on the locking the user’s existing membership as tied to their account email address. It won’t prevent a problem customer from creating a new account with a different email address.

Disable Users by Jared Atchison

This plugin allows you to mark a user’s account as “disabled”. To disable a user, navigate to their profile under Users > Edit Profile. There you will see a setting labeled “Disable User Account”.

When the member attempts to login, they will see a notice that reads “Account Disabled”. Simple!

User Blocker by Solwin Infotech

Similar to Disable Users, this plugin allows you to block users with a variety of settings, including time frame. You can view a list of all blocked users, as well as write custom messages to your blocked users. If you need more advanced (complicated) options, this plugin may be the correct fit. I found the interface a bit difficult to navigate and prefer how Disable Users allows the setting directly in the “Edit Profile” page.

To block a user, navigate to the User Block admin area. Select the type of block you would like (by time, date or permanent), then locate the user account(s) you wish to block.

When the member attempts to login, they will see the default notice or your custom message as entered in the dashboard.

One-Time Use Memberships/Trials

We covered how to limit a membership level to “one-time use” only in a previous post. Note that this won’t prevent the same customer from creating a “new account” with a different email address.

When a member attempts to check out for the same “one-time” use level, they will see your custom message or the default message:

View the Tutorial

Lock Membership Level Add On

There are a few cases where you may want to restrict a member from changing their level. One method we help members with via the forums is to not allow a “paying” member to check out for a free level.

Our Lock Membership Level Add On has the capability to lock a user’s membership level or lock all members of a level for a specified term (for required installments).

Members who have a locked level will be redirected to a new page that displays a custom notice or the default message “An administrator has locked changes to your membership account”.

Lock a user from changing their Membership Level from the Edit User page.

Lock a Membership Level forever or for a specific term from the Membership Levels > Edit Level page.

View the Lock Membership Level Add On

Best Practices for Member Log In and Log Out

by Kimberly Coleman | Add Ons, Memberlite, Newsletter, Recipes

Easily add a front-end log in, log out, and password reset experience to your membership site by following the steps covered in this post. We’ll outline our recommended third party plugin for front-end login, as well as some “best practice” guidelines for placing these links on your site using your theme or Memberlite.

Topics include: Recommended Plugin | Configuring TML | Link Placement Best Practices | Styling the Login Page | A Conditional Login/Logout Link

Wait, doesn’t Paid Memberships Pro do this?

Our plugin allows the member account to be created in one step as part of checkout. But, returning members need to be able to easily access your login and password reset pages.

PMPro does not alter the main WordPress login functionality, so users will see the same WordPress-themed “Log In” page that you are probably familiar with. Use our recommendation below to add frontend login.

Note: Some themes include pages for a front-end log in experience. If this is the case, we recommend keeping that experience in place as it may be more trouble to unravel and put another method in place.

We recommend Theme My Login

Theme My Login by Jeff Farthing creates a themed (frontend) login, password recovery, and user profile section. In addition, we recommend the plugin for login redirection settings and blocked “admin” access.

Your Login Page with the default WordPress appearance.

Your Login Page with Theme My Login and the Memberlite Theme

Download Theme My Login via the WordPress.org Plugin Repository

…or search for “Theme My Login” from the Plugins > Add New page in the WordPress admin.

Configuring Theme My Login

When you activate TML, the plugin will generate five pages: Login, Log Out, Lost Password, Reset Password, and Register. All of these pages except the “Register” page will be used in your membership site (we redirect all User Registration to the Membership Levels page for level selection and, hopefully, membership checkout).

There are no additional steps required at this point to make TML functional. You can certainly edit the generated pages to add additional styles, widgets, wording, etc. Just be sure you do not remove the [theme-my-login] shortcode from the page content.

Where to add your “Log In” links

Today’s web user has certain expectations about your site’s “Log In” links. Here are some best practices to consider:

The link is expected to be placed in the upper right corner of the page.
Consider placing a “Sign Up” (Join or Register) link in this same space as well.
The link should be present across all pages on your site.
Swap to a “Log Out” link once the member has logged in.
The “Log Out” link is often accompanied by a reminder of the logged in member’s display name that links to their membership account details or profile.
If your site is responsive, make sure that your “Log In” links are present in the smaller device views, either at the very top of the screen or in your mobile/responsive menu.

Memberlite does all of the above by default, excluding the “Mobile” view of your log in link. If you’re running Memberlite, I recommend using the TML plugin and adding the “Theme My Login” widget to the “Mobile Menu” widget area. The screenshot to the right shows how I have it configured for the Paid Memberships Pro website.

If your theme does not have a widget, menu area, or hook in place to add a log in feature in the upper right, open a topic on our members forum and we will help you find the best way to add this to your site.

We also include a “Log In” link in the default message that a visitor sees when trying to access members only content. Confirm that you have not removed this link by visiting the Memberships > Advanced Settings page in the WordPress admin.

Styling the Log In Page

TML is very lightly styled – the shortcode output on your generated Login and Password Reset pages will inherit your theme styling.

If you’re running Memberlite , here’s a little code to enhance the appearance of your Login/Lost Password/Reset Password pages. Set the “Page Template” to “Full Width” and replace the page content with the following:

[row]
[col medium="4" medium_offset="4"]
<div class="pmpro_message pmpro_default">[theme-my-login]</div>
[/col]
[/row]

I also checked the boxes to “Hide Page Title” and “Hide Breadcrumbs” in the Memberlite Settings box, then set the “Banner Description” to the following:

<h1 class="text-center">Log In</h1>

The Conditional “Log In” link

After activating TML, navigate to the Appearance > Menus area of your admin. Under the “Pages” section in the left column, you’ll see pages titled “Log In” and “Log Out”. Add these two pages to your menu. TML has background logic in place to only show the appropriate menu link based on the user.

Take this one step further and use the Nav Menus Add On for Paid Memberships Pro. This will allow you to use the same theme location to show a different menu of links based on the visitor/user/member status. We use TML in combination with the Nav Menus Add On on this site to link to our member support forums for PMPro Plus or PMPro Unlimited members using the “Member Menu” theme location of Memberlite.

Do More with Theme My Login

Theme My Login also has advanced logic for blocking the WordPress backend by “role”, as well as redirection on login based on “role”. You can read more about all the features of TML on their WordPress.org plugin repository listing.

If you’re looking to redirect members on login based on membership level, see this blog post on membership level redirection.

Membership Logic to Enable or Disable Popups for Popular WordPress Popup Plugins

by Kimberly Coleman | Newsletter, Recipes

Using popups to generate more membership signups or show exclusive offers to members only can be a great addition to your membership site. But, how do you filter popups to target the RIGHT audience?

Enter the filters…

The code recipes below demonstrate how to filter popups based on the user or site visitor’s membership level. We like using this method in combination with the new Signup Shortcode Add On for a streamlined “Unlock this post now” experience.

This post covers the filter methods for Popup Maker, Popups – WordPress Popup, Popup Builder, and Optin Monster.

If you are using a different popup plugin, post a topic on our support forum (members-only) and we will help you with the filter for your setup.

Popup Maker — WordPress Repo | Plugin Homepage

When I began this post, I was looking in the WordPress plugin repository for a basic, open source popup plugin with simple styling options: enter Popup Maker.

This code recipe will filter the display of a popup using Popup Maker’s pum_popup_is_loadable filter. The recipe hides the popup if there is a logged in user with membership level ID 1. You can modify the recipe for your level IDs, or change the conditional to require level ID 1 or an array of level IDs.

This code recipe requires a PMPro Plus Account or higher.

View Membership Options

Popups – WordPress Popup — WordPress Repo | Plugin Homepage

This open source option is loaded with integrations for popular third-party form plugins and engagement tools. There are some built-in filters for the popup display cases, just not for membership level…

This code recipe will filter the display of a popup using the Popups plugin’s custom rules filter. The recipe enables the popup ONLY for a logged in user with membership level ID 1. You can modify the recipe for your level IDs, or change the conditional to hide for level ID 1 or an array of level IDs.

This code recipe requires a PMPro Plus Account or higher.

View Membership Options

Popup Builder — WordPress Repo | Plugin Homepage

This is a more bare-bones popup option, but for my testing did just what I needed it to do without hassle.

This code recipe will insert the selected popup shortcode via wp_footer throughout your site to any non-member. You can modify the recipe for your level IDs, or change the conditional to hide for level ID 1 or an array of level IDs.

This code recipe requires a PMPro Plus Account or higher.

View Membership Options

OptinMonster — Plugin Homepage

OptinMonster is more than just a popups plugin, with premium features for inserting optin forms in posts, in a floating bar, based on exit-intent and more. A paid account (starting at $49/yr) is required to use the plugin.

This code recipe will remove the optin using a script placed via the wp_footer action. The recipe hides to popup for all logged in users with any membership level. You can modify the recipe for your level IDs, or change the conditional to enable the popup for members only.

This code recipe requires a PMPro Plus Account or higher.

View Membership Options

If you are using a different popup plugin, post a topic on our support forum (members-only) and we will help you with the filter for your setup.

Easily Install and Update Paid Memberships Pro Add Ons In Your WordPress Admin

by Jason Coleman | Add Ons, Newsletter, Plus and Unlimited Member Content

The Memberships → Add Ons page in Paid Memberships Pro looks and functions just like the standard plugins page in WordPress.

If you have a PMPro Plus membership license validated in your WordPress admin under Settings → PMPro License, you can install and update any PMPro add on in one step (non-licensed sites can only install free add ons).

This page requires a Plus Account or higher.

Already have an account?

New to this site?

New Report Add On – Better Login, View and Visit Stats

by Kimberly Coleman | Add Ons

This new plugin adds a new report to your Memberships > Reports screen. The report displays login, view, and visit stats for “This Week” and “This Year”.

View the Add On

Before

After

Installation

Upload the ‘pmpro-better-logins-report’ directory to the ‘/wp-content/plugins/’ directory of your site.
Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress.
Visit the Memberships > Reports page in your dashboard.

Special thanks to PMPro Member PixelHappy who sponsored the development of this plugin and allowed us to share it here.

Using AffiliateWP with Paid Memberships Pro

by Kimberly Coleman | Add Ons

We recently helped a client set up AffiliateWP – a fully featured Affiliate Marketing Plugin for WordPress that tracks sales and offers ways to automatically send payments. This plugin has built-in Paid Memberships Pro integration. If you’re looking to offer an affiliate program for your membership sales, this plugin should be at the top of your list.

Learn more about AffiliateWP

Integration Guide for Paid Memberships Pro

Paid Memberships Pro is natively supported by AffiliateWP. To activate the Paid Memberships Pro integration, in the WordPress admin go to Affiliates > Settings > Integrations and check the box that says Paid Memberships Pro

Once enabled, AffiliateWP will automatically generate referral records when a member successfully registers for your site after clicking on a referral link.

Viewing Membership Checkout Referrals

In the WordPress admin go to Affiliates > Referrals. The Reference column refers to the Order ID in Paid Memberships Pro.

Clicking on the Reference column will take you directly to the order record in Paid memberships Pro.

Referrals will only be credited on the membership initial payment, and will not be created when subscription payments are recorded. If you’d like referrals to be created on subscription payments, you will need the Recurring Referrals add-on.

Add Ons Now in the WP Repo: MailChimp, Constant Contact, AWeber, bbPress, WooCommerce, Infusionsoft…

by Kimberly Coleman | Add Ons

Adding and updating Paid Memberships Pro add ons just got easier. You can now install our most popular add ons (mostly the third party integration options) directly via your site’s WordPress admin.

Take advantage of new features as these add ons grow and expand – and maybe more importantly to our customers – easily update when integration hiccups arise.

Checkout out these add ons at WordPress.org’s Plugin Repository:

PMPro WooCommerce

Sell a Membership product via WooCommerce, offer % discount by membership level, and offer member-specific pricing per-product.
MailChimp Add On for Paid Memberships Pro

Integrate members with your MailChimp lists (works without PMPro as well).
PMPro Constant Contact

Integrate members with your Constant Contact lists (works without PMPro as well).
PMPro AWeber

Integrate members with your AWeber lists (works without PMPro as well).
bbPress Add On for Paid Memberships Pro

Easily lock forum access by membership level.
PMPro Infusionsoft

Integrate memberships with your Infusionsoft management platform.

Here are some other popular plugins by the Paid Memberships Pro team

These plugins do not rely on PMPro, but can be a useful addition to your membership site.

Force First and Last Name as Display Name

Even if you are collecting the First and Last name at registration, WordPress defaults display name to the user’s username. This plugin will force display name to be first_name last_name – particularly useful for directory-type sites.
WP Bouncer

Discourage account sharing by only allowing one logged in session per user account. This plugin will “bounce” the user’s session when a new session is created for the same credentials.
Hide Admin Bar from Non-Admins

A simple plugin that will hide the WordPress admin bar (black bar at the top of your browser window) from logged in users that are not the Administrator role.

Paid Memberships Pro

Posts Tagged: plugins