Creating a Free Membership Plan

Would you like to create a membership website where users can register for free and access exclusive content? User Registration & Membership allows you to create free membership plans with content restrictions, so you can build a community site without charging for access. This tutorial will show you how to set up a free membership website from start to finish.

Creating Free Membership in WordPress

Before getting started, make sure you've installed and activated the User Registration & Membership plugin on your WordPress site.

Step 1: Create New Membership

Log in to your WordPress dashboard

Navigate to User Registration & Membership → Memberships

Click the Add New button (or Create new Membership button)

Step 2: Configure Basic Settings

On the Basics tab, configure the following:

Membership Name: Enter a clear name for your plan (e.g., "Free Member", "Basic Access")

Description: Add details about what this membership includes

Membership Type: Select Free from the option.

Step 3: Configure Access Settings

Switch to the Access tab to control what content members can view:

Click the Content.

Select the type of content to restrict:

After selecting content type, choose the specific items like pages, posts, media.

Configure the Restriction Message that non-members will see when trying to access protected content.

Step 4: Configure Advanced Settings (Optional)

Cn the Advanced tab, you can optionally configure:

Trial Period: Not applicable for free memberships

Upgrade Action: Enable if you want members to upgrade to paid plans later. Select which plan to go after the free plan.

Email Marketing Override: Override form-level email marketing settings if needed

Step 5: Save Your Membership Plan

Click Publish (or Save Changes if editing) to publish your free membership plan.

Add the Membership to a Registration Form

After creating your membership plan, add it to a registration form:

Go to User Registration & Membership → Registration Forms

Select an existing form, but if you have no forms created, the default form will open.

In the form builder, search for Membership Field in the left panel

Drag the Membership Field into your form

Click on the field to configure options: Choose Show all active memberships or Select a group

Click Update Form to save the changes.

Testing Your Free Membership Site

Before launching your membership site, test the complete user experience. Open your site in an incognito or private browser window to simulate a new visitor.

Navigate to your registration page and fill out the form with test information. Use a real email address you can access so you can verify any confirmation emails.

After submitting the registration form, check that you're redirected to the appropriate page. By default, users are redirected to the My Account page after registration.

Try accessing a restricted page while logged in as your test user. Verify that you can view the protected content. Then, log out and try accessing the same page again—you should see the restriction message instead of the content.

Test the login process by visiting your login page and signing in with your test account credentials. Verify that you're redirected to the correct page after login.