WP Themes - would like your input - Virtual Assistant Forums

jp122163 · #1 (**permalink**) 01-11-2009

Hi everyone (I know some of you may have read this on another forum, but still looking for some input)

I'm working on a WP blogsite for a client and would love some input from anyone who might have a blogsite in this same 'industry'. It's not really an industry. It's a non-profit organization with a membership. They have annual fees paid by the members (so they need to renew) and the organization definitely wants to draw in more members with an interactive site, with blog posts and comments.

I'm overwhelmed with the number of themes out there for WP blogsites and I was wondering if I could get some insight and suggestions from anyone who has a client with a membership-based audience. What should I look for? Are there any really good plugins that would work to manage a membership?

They do have events throughout the year and will possibly be getting into webinars, teleseminars and maybe more. They also want a members-only area to download articles and videos and as well, want a Board Members-only area that would be password protected (which I know is possible).

If you have any suggestions for me, that would be a great help as picking a theme, I think, could take a long time (this is why I don't shop!).

Thanks so much!

Janice

Codehead · #2 (**permalink**) 01-17-2009

Hi, these features are not included in Wordpress and I'm not sure that there are any Wordpress plugins to support these.

It sounds like that you need a forum software rather than Wordpress, because many forum softwares support all these features out of the box.

I hope this helps

Tess · #3 (**permalink**) 01-17-2009

Just to follow up with what Hamid said - custom code is the only answer I know of for utilizing WP in the ways you're talking about. That's a pretty tall order for a blog platform.

jp122163 · #4 (**permalink**) 01-18-2009

Someone had suggest WishList Member plugin for WP. http://member.wpwishlist.com/

I took a look and it'll probably work for this client.

Janice

Tess · #5 (**permalink**) 01-19-2009

Good to know you found what you were looking for - amazing the plug-ins that are out for WP. I'll have to look into this one!

OrganizedAssistant · #6 (**permalink**) 03-18-2010

Janice, I have a client who is looking for something similar. Can you please let me know whether WishList Member was suitable?

ChristinaVOS · #7 (**permalink**) 03-18-2010

Janice,
I can't recommend enough Digital Access Pass. it has everything you are looking for and the customer service is awesome. They are always adding new features (some free, some paid) and I've found you can't beat it for it's versatility. I wrote a review on my blog about it not too long ago. You can see it here.

You can use it with any theme and it works great with WP.

~Christina

Your Virtual Wizard · #8 (**permalink**) 03-18-2010

Wishlist is the only one I know of to suggest but it is not a free plugin. I was just researching this yesterday and made this recommendation to a client.

The only other membership plugin I checked out was WP-member http://wp-member.com/ but again it is not free. I have not used it but it advertises as being affordable.

Regards,
Janine

OrganizedAssistant · #9 (**permalink**) 03-19-2010

My client doesn't mind paying for a good plug-in. It will still be less expensive than the system she is currently using.

Christina, thanks for letting me know about Digital Access Pass. I took a look at it but it seems to be more for a members-only access information site than an association membership. If I missed something, please let me know!

Janet