Topic: WordPress Membership Plugins

Speaker: Chris Lema

Probably the most entertaining speaker at Wordcamp Sacramento, in my humble opinion, was Chris Lema. He has a larger than life personality and is clearly an expert in his field.

His presentation was funny at times, while also being jam-packed with amazing content. The audience roared at some of his humorous stories and took furious notes as he was sharing valuable insights.

Over the summer, Chris reviewed 30 different membership plugins designed for WordPress. Who would even undertake such a task? Chris did, and we can all benefit from that.

"When WordPress plugin developers are writing code, they’re mostly focused on solving technical challenges." https://t.co/QaZ3Pgojjs

— Chris Lema (@chrislema) November 10, 2015

Think about the User Experience

Whether you are a plugin developer or a user, you should consider what the experience of using the plugin is like.

Many membership plugins are difficult to use, have too many options and often puzzle the user with convoluted logic.

Here are 3 criteria Chris Lema used to evaluate membership plugins:

1. Ease of Use

Chris looked at how easy the membership plugins were to use. The more features, the more complex the plugins tended to be.

2. Ecommerce functionality

Not all membership plugins offer the ability to sell products, services and programs. Consider whether you need this feature before selecting a plugin.

3. Upgrades/Downgrades

Many membership sites offer the capability to upgrade or downgrade members over time. Not all membership plugins provide this capability.

Chris shares all of the criteria on his blog.

Chris also shared a tip for writing software reviews. He said score characteristics of the product. He actually received feedback from one plugin developer that thanked him for providing insights and objective criteria/scores. He said, “You have given us a benchmark to work towards and we are making changes to meet your criteria.”

Now, that’s a win-win-win!

About the Trainer: Chris Lema

Chris Lema is the CTO and Chief Strategist at Crowd Favorite. He’s also a daily blogger, a public speaker, and product strategist. He helps companies leverage WordPress, and helps WordPress companies find leverage. For twenty years Chris has developed and managed high performing engineers to build software products — particularly SaaS products in a variety of B2B vertical markets. He’s also spent the last ten years coaching startups on product development & marketing strategies.

Twitter: @ChrisLema

Topic Description: Lessons Learned From Reviewing 30 Membership Plugins

What happens when you review 30 membership plugins? You learn a lot about writing reviews. You learn a lot about products and product marketing. You learn a lot about membership plugins.Come hear the stories of these lessons if you’re either a product developer, in marketing, or a membership plugin user.

Presentation Slides

Click here for Chris’s Presentation Slides

Read my Full Review of Wordcamp Sacramento

Click here to read my full review of Wordcamp Sacramento

Rick Cooper
Online Marketing and Social Media Trainer