Membership sites use software to automate the basic tasks of running a membership site. This includes directing the customer to a payment gateway, keeping a record of payment and using that to integrate with the signup process, and the monitoring of whether a subscription remains current - and therefore, whether a members retains access to your site.
Membership managers also do a lot more - like issue passwords, resend lost passwords, and determine which parts of your site a person has access to, depending on their level of membership.
Depending on your membership site manager, they can also do a lot more. This varies depending on the solution you employ, but could cover forum access, allowing your members to communicate with each other, an easy way to provide video and audio to your membership, content management, file download management, and multiple levels of membership.
Membership site managers can be either hosted on your server, or on the server of the providing company. The latter are usually offered at a monthly fee, much like regular hosting but a lot more expensive, as you're paying for both hosting and the script's use.
So, how do the two compare?
Hosted membership managers are usually very easy to use and install.
This is one big advantage with a hosted membership solution. In fact, because it resides on their servers, you don't usually need to install anything. And if you have no idea about setting up a website, or installing a script - and you don't want to learn, this can be a big plus. It does leave you free to devote your time solely to building and promoting your membership site.
Also, like the many What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) HTML editors, putting together your membership content is usually very simple - just point-and-click. Whilst this makes them very appealing for those with very little time, or experience in a website environment, this does have its' drawbacks, as we look at below.
Hosted membership managers usually have a membership limit per price tier. Some have a content limit as well.
Whilst a hosted membership solution has ton factor in their average server costs for each of your members, the actual cost to you of these limitations is usually more a function of how much money the hosted provider believes you can make, per member. Membership sites are very lucrative, and these companies know it. Thus, the cost to you per block of members is usually much higher than if you were to have the membership manager on your own server.
Additionally, some membership site solutions only allow you to have a certain amount of content, in terms of actual pages, before you are forced to choose a higher fee option, irrespective of how many members you actually have.
Generally, even with a large content site, this won't present too much of a problem in terms of your bottom line - at least at first. But it is still usually a lot cheaper to use a membership script hosted on your own site.
Hosted membership managers usually use proprietary software that cannot be modified for your individual site.
This may or may not be a problem for you. Many hosted membership solutions have a large range of features, and all cover the basics, like file management, the ability to add content, the use of a newsletter option. But if you have a slightly different idea in mind for your site, this could be a problem.
Open source software is a lot easier to hire someone to make changes to. With some platforms, there are so many add-on components and plugins, that it may not even be necessary to hire a programmer to create the feature you need.
Hosted membership managers are usually feature rich.
As well as covering the basic options that most membership sites use, many hosted solutions provide a lot of other features. This can include an easy way for members to contribute reviews, a video or MP3 gallery, teleconferencing, and similar.
With membership managers that you host on your site, some provide these services, others don't. But because you have complete control on what you install on your server, you really don't need an all-in-one. There are programs out there that do all that. It's usually a matter of adding that functionality when you need it.
Of course, to really integrate it well into your membership, you may need to hire a programmer - it just depends on the script you chose in the first place, and your skill level.
You don't usually have any input into the choice of web host with your hosted membership manager, because the hosting comes with the use of the script.
This may not seem like a big issue, certainly when you're just getting started. But there is a big difference in the quality of a web host, and membership sites are usually quite intensive with server resources, at least when you have a lot of members. You may be sacrificing a fast and reliable server connection when your site grows, by choosing a hosted membership solution.
As you can see, there are both advantages and disadvantages to using a hosted membership solution. It's often a trade-off between ease of use, convenience, and increased costs. To someone who is time poor, and doesn't have the money or inclination to pay for a programmer, the hosted membership manager may be an ideal solution.
Additionally, someone who has very little experience in setting up a website, and no desire to learn, but has some ability in marketing a website, would get a good return on investment. Because if you're paying a monthly fee, you want members to cover your costs quickly!
On the other hand, if you have even basic experience in running a website, there is no real reason to use a hosted membership site manager. There are a lot of different solution available that you can use on your own domain, at your own host. These have various price points depending on the features you want, and the degree to which the solution is 'point-and-click'.
In the long run, however, the latter will give you both flexibility and value, and allow you to maximize your profits per member. And if you want a fairly simple membership site, there are a lot of scripts available that will do the job, so you don't pay for features you don't need.
Get your free report and e-course on how membership sites can help you create a lucrative online business - that allows you to spend less time in front of the computer, and more living your life. Download your report here: www.membership.pickthebusiness.com/free-report.html You can find more information on creating a membership site here.
Please Rate this Article
Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Internet Business Articles Via RSS!
