12 Features to Look For in a Membership Website Platform

Features that Support Business Operations

Robust Content Creation and Delivery Tools

Marketing and Sales Capabilities

Advantages of an All in One Membership and Marketing Platform

High-quality software drives successful membership sites – you develop your website, manage members, deliver content, and scale your efforts all using a variety of software applications and online platforms. So how do you find the best membership website platform? One that complements your business structure and provides the best possible experience for your members?

These are three categories you’ll need to have in mind when choosing a membership platform:

• the features that support day-to-day business operations, 
• functionalities that enable you to produce quality content, 
• and marketing capabilities that boost revenue.

Read on to learn about the specific features your growing business needs from a quality membership website platform.

Features that Support Business Operations

At the most practical level, your membership website platform should give you all the features you need to successfully manage your member base. Membership site management will look different depending on your business structure and pricing model – do you sell evergreen content? Lead cohorts? Offer a subscription-based service? The type of membership business you run may even change and adapt as your online community grows. Check out the list below to discover the business operations features your website platform will need to provide.

Multiple Membership Levels

Most membership businesses will want the option to include some kind of tiered structure. Whether you offer a free membership and a paid membership, membership tiers from basic to pro, or another variation of this model, multiple membership levels open up opportunities for new member experiences and pricing strategies. Membership software should make it easy for you to configure these tiers and make it simple for members to upgrade their experience over time.

Your checkout page should also feature an intuitive design for simple transactions and easy membership subscription management. Make sure your website platform accommodates your pricing model, letting members make one-time payments, recurring transactions, or installments. And if your checkout page remembers previous purchasers, this creates both a convenient user experience and enables you to make better business decisions based on purchase patterns.

Member Profiles and Progress Tracking

Growing your membership business relies on learning from your current and past users, and using that knowledge to give members the best experience possible. The membership platform you choose should make this process easy – with detailed member profiles and progress tracking. It’s not enough to know who has signed up for which membership plan – you’ll also want to know their level of engagement with your products or services. Course creators, for example, should be able to track their students’ progression through the materials. This information is crucial for knowing whether or not the students are gaining value from the course and how quickly they are processing information – among other important insights.

Member Helpdesk

As your member base grows, it’ll be especially important to keep track of user problems and questions. A member helpdesk is a key feature for any membership platform, allowing business owners to easily manage and respond to support tickets, membership questions, and any other problems that arise. Not only does a helpdesk keep members from falling through the cracks – improving the user experience and member retention – but it also gives you insight into where you can make broader changes or improvements. A quality member helpdesk will let you organize problems by type, and even analyze past interactions to identify recurring problems.

Robust Content Creation and Delivery Tools

Every membership site owner needs a reliable means for developing and delivering information to their users. Whether your business centers on content creation, like an online course membership, or it’s a service-led business like coaching, the content you develop should be professional and engaging. From landing pages to video content, a quality membership website platform will give you the tools you need to communicate effectively with your audience.

Drag-and-Drop Website Builder

An intuitive membership website builder is an important functionality for business owners who want control of their membership site to develop and publish professional content quickly. A membership platform that comes with a page builder and predesigned templates removes the need for coding experience or coordination with a web designer. This feature will be offered by most – if not all – membership site platforms, but they will differ in ease of use, design quality, and number of available templates. Look for a platform with a wide selection of customizable templates, so you can choose designs that perfectly complement your brand image and content goals.

Native Video Software

From welcome videos to tutorials, video content is a significant part of any online business. While most membership site platforms will accommodate video uploads, choosing a platform with native video capabilities enables you to create and publish video content in the same place. And native video functionality means you won’t have to put up with watermarks from other video software brands.

Integrating video with your membership management platform also lets you track how your members engage with the content you create, giving you crucial customer insights. If you sell courses, for example, native video software should provide analytics to reveal how far a student has progressed through the instructional videos.

Live Webinar Hosting

Live-streaming or recording webinars is a fantastic way to establish your business as an authority in your industry. While any website or membership platform will accommodate video uploads, a membership platform that features native webinar hosting keeps content development in the same place. This means webinars will seamlessly integrate with email automation, member management, and analytics dashboards. You’ll be able to easily follow up with attendees, track engagement levels, and monitor your webinars’ success. 

Whether webinars are an ongoing service you provide to members or an occasional perk of following your brand, they should be simple to set up and a natural part of your membership management system.

Email Automation

Consistent engagement with your member base is crucial as your business scales, and automated email sequences make this possible. Although there are a number of email marketing software tools to choose from, finding a membership website platform with built-in email functionality is a much better way to streamline your member engagement efforts. A native email automation tool will integrate with your member profiles, customer support platform, and even your payment processor – so you can send highly curated follow-up sequences and company communications.

Marketing and Sales Capabilities

There’s no reason to separate your membership software from the marketing tools that promote your business to new customers. Using a membership platform that comes with a slate of marketing and sales tools is the ultimate way to streamline business operations and minimize messy integrations.

Form Builder

Opt-in forms are a crucial part of the lead capture process, pairing with lead magnets like digital downloads or webinars to guide website visitors into your sales funnel. These forms also serve as one of the first interactions potential customers have with your membership site. With a quality form builder, you leave a good impression with a user-friendly, professionally designed form (that you didn’t have to code). With done-for-you templates and seamless integration with your member list, membership software that includes sign-up forms helps simplify your marketing and membership engagement efforts.

Automated Workflows and Sales Funnels

Automated workflows and sales funnels – the lifeblood of digital marketing efforts – allow you to focus on member management while still promoting products and services to new customers and current members. Upsell and cross-sell sequences, abandoned cart follow-ups, and a myriad of other automated sequences drive sales with minimal day-to-day involvement on your part.

And the huge benefit of pairing marketing automation with your membership website platform is that you can then access all the analytics and tools you need in one place. All in one functionalities reduce third-party integrations to a minimum and give you a birds-eye view of member experiences with your brand from start to finish.

Affiliate Marketing

Membership-based businesses have a unique advantage when it comes to affiliate marketing. Your network of past and present members provides a great resource for finding eager affiliates to promote your brand. And not only is affiliate marketing a sales model, it can even become part of the member experience. Long-term members have the chance to become affiliates and partner with your brand for a win-win arrangement. They share their knowledge of your membership site with others – and receive compensation for successful interactions that grow your business. 

Setting up an affiliate program does require the right software, however, which makes it a uniquely helpful feature of an all in one membership platform. Instead of paying for a separate affiliate management program, you can access your army of affiliates in the same platform where you run your membership program.

Cross-Channel Analytics

One of the most important benefits of consolidating management and marketing into the same membership platform is the enhanced quality of data analytics. Making sense of data points across multiple channels can be a time-consuming process, and the reports won’t always line up. Membership platforms with marketing capabilities give you insight into brand interactions from the first time someone signs up for a lead magnet to their latest membership renewal. And a platform with comprehensive analytics reporting will be able to integrate with social media channels and other third-party marketing platforms that contain important data. You’ll refine your product and hone your company messaging.

Advantages of an All in One Membership and Marketing Platform

A comprehensive membership and marketing platform like Kartra is a smart choice for businesses that need to streamline operations while growing their member base. The features in Kartra’s all in one marketing and membership platform enable business owners to run their membership sites as efficiently as possible. With access to marketing and sales features alongside business operations and content features, you can be sure you’re choosing the best membership site platform for your growing business.