If you’re planning on building a membership website, there are many membership website builders that are easy to use and have lots of features to suit your organization.
To help you choose the right one, I spoke to a number of organizations who gave me recommendations and common criteria to consider beforehand, such as:
- ease of use
- cost
- how many administrator accounts are allowed
- number of subscription levels available
- which payment providers each integrates with
- whether content can be restricted to members
- and more
From what I gathered, here are the ten best membership website builders in alphabetical order.
Or, you can watch this video for our review of the top 5:
Read More: The Ultimate Guide to Creating A Membership Site
When it comes to membership website builders, WildApricot is at the top of its league. Their platform was built specifically for membership organizations and includes many additional features like registration forms, event calendars, forums, and membership databases. Their editor is also flexible for all kinds of users; the interface is extremely easy to use for beginners, but you can also tweak CSS settings or modify an existing site if you already have one. What's more is your website comes ready with a robust membership database and emailing system so you can analyze your members and communicate with them at ease. Moreover, they have six plans to choose from that can fit your needs and budget — whether your group is just growing, or if you already have an established member count running in thousands.
Pricing:
- Free, limited version with ads
- Basic Plan starts at $48 per month
- Free version available (see here for details)
Account Details:
- Admin Accounts Allowed: one to unlimited
- Creating Membership Forms: automated and customizable application form
- Subscription-level Options: Multiple membership levels with subscription fees and periods, and benefits.
- Other Membership Features: Membership management and directories, members-only content, event registration, online payments, member database, mobile apps
If you're interested in learning more, you can read this article on setting up an easy members-only website using WildApricot.
Payment Processors:
- WildApricot Payments (powered by AffiniPay)
- Authorize.net
- PayPal Checkout
- Stripe Connect
This website builder is best for —
Nonprofits of all shapes and sizes! WildApricot is an all-in-one solution for membership organizations. All of their features are centered on building a community, so it's no wonder why they have a whole variety of clients like associations, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, health and sports clubs, societies, fraternities and sororities, and many, many others. You can try out their free trial, which runs for 30 days to see what they have in store.
Read More: How to Develop a Successful Subscription Business Model for Your Organization
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MemberClicks proudly displays it’s all-in-one solution. From membership management to learning management to event management, this website builder seems to do it all. MemberClicks also aims to help associations and nonprofits of various sizes and boasts of a pretty extensive library to users can learn on their own in addition to working with support.
Pricing:
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A couple of different pricing models for the use of different features
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Annual subscriptions are popular
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Revenue share opportunities for the job board feature
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Payment terms include options like year-long terms to no terms at all
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Pricing discounts available
Account Details:
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Admin Accounts Allowed: multiple
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Creating Membership Forms: built-in form builder
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Other Membership Features: Virtual event management, website builder & CMS, online community features, and bundle-and-save discounts
Payment Processors:
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Payroc
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Moolah
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Authorize.net
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E-check
MemberClicks is a good platform if you’re ready to invest in a builder that can take your organization to the next level. It’s typically great for associations or chambers that like to keep all of their data, their communication, their marketing, etc. in one central location.
This website builder is best for —
Nonprofits – such as associations and chambers — who want to be able to do more than just build a website and manage their members. Contact them today to learn more!
IM Creator was founded by members of Wix’s developer team (Wix is also a website builder covered in this list) with the goal to provide an easier website builder that offers a higher level of design. And while they have yet to offer features that will put them on the top spot, their tools are good enough to create a stunning website with little effort.
Pricing:
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Free trial available
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Free for students, artists, and registered nonprofits
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Premium Plan starts at $8 per month
Account Details:
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Admin Accounts Allowed: multiple
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Creating Membership Forms: add a form block element into the editor
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Other Membership Features: Free trial available, built-in SEO, free and fast support
Payment Processors:
This website builder is best for —
Small to mid-sized businesses, freelancers, and nonprofits who don’t need additional features to manage their donors or volunteers.
For membership-centered features, you can add a plug-in to their editor, although this may cost a little more. But since you have a wide range of elements to choose from like form builders, social feed, event board and gallery, and poll and survey forms, the extra charge may be worth it.
Squarespace offers a complete website builder package, but you will have to install plug-ins to turn it into a membership site. Some features include: attractive templates, web hosting, SEO tools, and eCommerce options, among other essential features. They are straightforward with the difference between their two plans, so you won’t be confused about which one to choose. All users also start by registering for their free trial, so you can see what they have to offer before making a commitment.
Pricing:
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Free trial available
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Basic Plan starts at $12 per month
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Monthly and yearly payment terms
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Can switch plans at any time
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Discounts available
Account Details:
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Admin Accounts Allowed: multiple
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Creating Membership Forms: add a form block element into the editor
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Other Membership Features: member-only content and protected pages, all via a third-party plug-in
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Choose which pages are to be protected
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Add in content
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Set up payment type and other details
Payment Processors:
This website builder is best for —
Small businesses who don’t need a lot of customization and freelancers.
Similar to other website builders, you can also add plug-ins to your website for more functionality. These plug-ins can apply protected pages and content for members-only access, log-in forms, and user profiles. Unfortunately, Squarespace has not yet opened an in-house membership solution, so you have to shell out extra to apply these plug-ins to your account. We also wouldn’t necessarily recommend it as a membership solution since it doesn’t have the more robust features that many on this list do, but since it’s a well-known website builder, we wanted to highlight it regardless.
Sub Hub has been providing a membership builder for more than a decade now. Focused on creating a community, they have membership-centered features that can make start-up and management easy for admins and a handful of other tools to make the website stand out from the rest. Their prices are a bit steep, though, so their service may be for organizations with more resources, financially speaking. Moreover, while their features are perfectly good for smaller organizations, communities with a larger base will have a greater benefit from them.
Pricing:
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Free trial available
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Basic Plan starts at $47 per month
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Monthly and yearly payment terms
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Can switch plans at any time
Account Details:
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Admin Accounts Allowed: one
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Creating Membership Forms: via third-party plug-in
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Other Membership Features: Membership management, members-only content, pay-per-view content, recurring subscriptions, events board, and community forum
Payment Processors:
This website builder is best for —
For-profit membership organizations that already have an established user base.
Sub Hub may be expensive, but it is well worth the cost for what you are getting. Everything that you need is within their builder — there is no need to install third-party plugins that need extra steps for configuration and may occasionally break and cause issues for the members. They also have payment processors from a handful of countries for international organizations.
Morweb is made with nonprofits of all sizes in mind, and smaller nonprofits will especially love the ease-of-use of the website builder and easy event management options. Plus, Morweb offers security and accessibility features you normally see with the bigger website builders.
Pricing:
Account Details:
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Admin Accounts Allowed: multiple
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Creating Membership Forms: via plugin
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Other Membership Features: Support is included at no cost, tier 1 web hosting and daily backups, web accessibility audit available for some subscription types.
Payment Processors:
This website builder is best for —
Nonprofits and associations.
Between easy design and editing of your websites and support included at no extra cost, Morweb serves nonprofits and associations that may only have a couple of staff members, but they also have features robust enough for enterprise-level organizations.
Weebly is another general membership website builder that has gained popularity, thanks in part to its ease of use and modern designs. Although their most marketed features are more fit for blogs and online stores, they added membership features a few years ago for those who want to build one using Weebly’s tools. They also improved some features so users can accommodate more members and make management a flawless experience for the admins.
Pricing:
Account Details:
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Admin Accounts Allowed: multiple
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Creating Membership Forms: drag and drop form builder
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Other Membership Features: member registration, group and page management, customized invite emails, CSV file import, member search, and password reset
Payment Processors:
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Credit card payments
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Apple Pay
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Google Pay
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Paypal
This website builder is best for —
Small-to-mid-sized for-profit membership organizations. Their solution doesn’t include features that nonprofits may find useful, such as donation forms, built in.
Read More: 5 Steps to Build a Membership Site (No Tech Experience Required)
Wix is one of the crowd favorites when it comes to website builders, and for good reason. They have over 90 million users from 190 countries, and enjoys an average of 45,000 new sign-ups daily. The main reason for this popularity is that their builder caters to a wide range of categories. You can create just about any website for personal, professional, or business use. This includes restaurant and hotel websites, portfolios, blogs, and of course, membership organizations.
Pricing:
Account Details:
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Admin Accounts Allowed: one
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Creating Membership Forms: via installing an app from their App Market
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Other Membership Features: Member directory, event calendars, chat rooms, community forums, social stream
Payment Processors:
This website builder is best for —
For-profit membership organizations who want a high degree of customization.
One of Wix’s strengths is that they have an App Market where you can find free and paid apps and services to add to your website. Some of the community-centered apps include forums, log-in pages, form builders, event calendars, subscriber boosters, schedulers, and live chat add-ons.
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WordPress is a powerhouse when it comes to website building, with 27% of all sites across the Internet using it. Given the flexibility of their platform and the vast selection of themes available, it’s no wonder why they are dominating the market. Building a membership does not have to be technical as well, since there are a number of plug-ins available to make the process easier.
Pricing:
Account Details:
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Admin Accounts Allowed: multiple
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Creating Membership Forms: via plug-in
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Other Membership Features: depends on the plug-ins used
Payment Processors:
This website builder is best for —
Any kind of membership organization!
Given the wide variety of plugins available on Wordpress, you’ll be able to create the site you want by combining them. Because it’s such a well-known website builder, there are also a lot of designers and developers who specialize in helping organizations create the site of their dreams.
WordPress plug-ins that are designed for membership include DigitalAccessPass, MemberPress, and even WildApricot! They each have a subscription fee which can be a bit expensive, but given that using WordPress itself is free, it’s the only thing you have to worry about.
Read More: Top 10 Most Downloaded WordPress Membership Plugins (of all time)
However, the disadvantage of Wordpress is that having to manage all of these plugins can get a bit complicated compared to using an all-in-one solution that has all of the features you want included.
GoDaddy is one of the oldest website builder and hosting services, and its reputation as a hassle-free website builder with thousands of design templates proceeds it. In addition to being easy-to-use and beautiful to look at, it offers hosting options for ecommerce sites, personal websites, sites for small business, and sites for large companies. Between its pricing and domain options, GoDaddy has a little something for everyone.
Pricing:
Account Details:
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Admin Accounts Allowed: multiple
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Other Membership Features: malware scanning & removal, discount, promotion & coupon code management, drag-and-drop page editor
Payment Processors:
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Major credit cards
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PayPal
This website builder is best for —
For-profit membership sites, since it’s highly customizable but less likely to have donation options for nonprofits.
While GoDaddy started out catering mainly to small businesses and ecommerce sites, their builder is simple enough for anyone to use. They also offer shared SSL certificates so all of the data entered into your website is absolutely secured.
There you have it, the ten best membership website builders available to date!
And once you've decided on a platform, don't forget to check out these 25 examples of great membership websites for some inspiration before building your own.
Additional Resources: