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Build Guide

Build a Membership Site Without WordPress

WordPress membership plugins cost $200+/year and slow your site to a crawl. Build a faster, cheaper membership site with purpose-built tools.

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The Old Way

The WordPress Approach

Required Plugins

1MemberPress ($359/year) — gated content and access rules
2Restrict Content Pro ($99/year) — content restriction
3WooCommerce Memberships ($199/year) — ties memberships to WooCommerce
4LearnDash ($199/year) — if combining courses with memberships
5Paid Memberships Pro (free/$297/year) — tiered membership levels

Limitations

Stacking 3-4 plugins adds 200-400ms to every page load
Membership plugins conflict with caching, breaking gated content
No native Stripe integration — requires additional gateway plugins
Plugin updates frequently break membership rules and access control
Member data locked in WordPress database with no API access

Typical Cost

$400-800/year in plugins + $30-50/month managed WordPress hosting

The Modern Way

The Modern Approach

Next.js + Stripe + NextAuth.js (or Clerk)

Use Stripe for subscription billing and customer management, NextAuth.js or Clerk for authentication, and a headless CMS for gated content. Stripe handles the entire billing lifecycle while your frontend controls the member experience.

Sub-second page loads — no plugin overhead
Stripe handles billing, invoices, dunning, and tax automatically
Full control over the member dashboard and experience
Content delivered via CDN, access checked at the edge
Member data accessible via API for custom integrations

WordPress vs. Modern Stack

WordPress

  • Stacking 3-4 plugins adds 200-400ms to every page load
  • Membership plugins conflict with caching, breaking gated content
  • No native Stripe integration — requires additional gateway plugins
  • Plugin updates frequently break membership rules and access control
  • $400-800/year in plugins + $30-50/month managed WordPress hosting

Modern Stack

  • Sub-second page loads — no plugin overhead
  • Stripe handles billing, invoices, dunning, and tax automatically
  • Full control over the member dashboard and experience
  • Content delivered via CDN, access checked at the edge
  • Member data accessible via API for custom integrations

Recommended Tools

Stripe

Subscription billing, invoices, and customer portal

2.9% + 30¢ per transaction — no monthly fee

Clerk

Authentication, user management, and member profiles

Free up to 10,000 MAU, then $0.02/MAU

Payload CMS

Content management with access control for gated content

Free (self-hosted) or $50/month cloud

Vercel

Hosting with edge middleware for access checks

Free hobby tier, $20/month pro

Resend

Transactional emails for welcome, billing, and drip sequences

Free up to 3,000 emails/month

Step-by-Step Build Guide

1

Set up a Next.js project with Clerk for authentication and user sign-up/sign-in flows

2

Create Stripe products and pricing for your membership tiers (monthly/annual)

3

Build a checkout flow using Stripe Checkout and webhook handlers for subscription events

4

Configure Payload CMS with content collections and access control rules tied to membership tiers

5

Create the member dashboard with account management, billing portal link, and content library

6

Add Stripe Customer Portal so members can update payment methods and cancel subscriptions

7

Set up Resend for welcome emails, billing notifications, and content drip sequences

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does this cost compared to WordPress?
A modern membership site costs $0-20/month for hosting plus Stripe's per-transaction fee. WordPress membership setups typically run $60-100/month when you add plugins and managed hosting.
Can I migrate members from a WordPress membership site?
Yes. Export your member list from MemberPress or Paid Memberships Pro, create corresponding Stripe customers via the API, and import content into your new CMS. Member passwords need to be reset since WordPress hashes aren't portable.
How do I handle content dripping?
Use your CMS to schedule content visibility based on membership start date. Payload CMS access control can check the member's join date against content release rules.
What about free trials?
Stripe natively supports free trials on subscriptions. Configure trial periods in your Stripe product settings and your checkout flow handles the rest automatically.

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