The entire point of using a membership plugin is to paywall your premium content. There are several types of content with each one requiring a specific type of protection. There’s editorial content, user generated content, multimedia content, there’s sequential and time-sensitive content, among others. The best membership plugins provide mechanisms for protecting all of these types.
Below I detail how plugins achieve content protection and whether they can protect posts, pages, categories, tags, and specific URLs. I talk about IP restrictions and prevention of password sharing. You’ll also find information about how the plugin does gradual content deliver (drip feeding), teaser content (partial protection), protection of digital files, forums, WordPress MultiSite, and BuddyPress, and RSS feeds.
You can click on the name of the plugin below to view its full review.
s2Member
s2Member can protect posts, pages, categories, tags, URLs, and it can even restrict access based on IP address to prevent password theft and sharing. This is all done through native WordPress API.
Gradual Content Delivery
Content dripping is not s2Members strong suit. You can schedule content availability within a single post using some easy-to-write scripts, but if you want to schedule the available on per-post basis, you'll need to do some PHP programming.
Protecting Files
s2Member has fantastic options when it comes to file protection. It allows you to specify the allowed number of downloads per how many number of days, or provide an expiring download link. It integrates with with Amazon S3 and Amazon CloudFront to deliver content, such as streaming videos, securely.
Teaser Content or Scripting Tags
You can provide teaser content with s2Member in one of two ways. You can use the "Alternative View Protection" option, which basically gives you the option to either allow or disallow access to excerpts in search, feeds, comment feed, and navigation menu.
Another way to offer teaser content is to utilize s2Members' extensive scripting API, which is a collection of powerful shortcodes that you can use to programmatically determine who can and cannot view your content.
Protecting Forums, BuddyPress & WordPress Multisite
s2Member has built-in integration with bbPress forum (both the plugin version and the older standalone version).
The creators of this plugin understand BuddyPress and have developed the plugin to work with it as well as Multisite installations. Here are user reviews of s2Member on BuddyPress.org.
Protecting Entire Site
You can protect all of your posts, pages, categories, and tags by specifying "all" in protection options. It's very easy.
Keep in mind, though, that while s2Member is capable of blocking unauthorized access to RSS feeds, it doesn't provide a unique RSS link to each member, which would allow for more flexibility in delivering protected content through RSS.
WishList Member
WishList Member provides great flexibility in content management and protection. You can protect posts, pages, comments, categories, files, and folders.
Posts, pages, and custom post types can individually be protected from their respective edit screens. If you need to set protection rules in bulk, you can do that from the "Manage Content" tab in admin side.
You can tell WishList Member whether you want new posts to be automatically protected, if you wish.
WishList Member uses native WordPress API to protect content, which enhances its compatibility with other plugins. It's content protection mechanism are well thought out. It offers you the option to restrict logins of the same username and password if it's from multiple IPs to prevent password sharing.
Gradual Content Delivery
Sequential content delivery in WishList Member is handled through sequential membership level upgrades. Basically, you assign content to various membership levels, and then you create rules that automatically upgrade members from a certain membership level to the next. That way members gradually gain access to more and more content. Making these is actually not as complicated as my description of it sounds!
Protecting Files
The way WishList Member handles file protection is very efficient and professional. In WordPress, you can attach uploaded files to posts. If the post is protected, WishList Member automatically protects files that are attached to it.
Alternatively, you can protect files separately or create entire folders that are accessible to certain membership levels only.
Teaser Content or Scripting Tags
You can use [private] tags to partially protect content. WishList Member also has, what they call, merge tags, which are shortcodes that can be used to programmatically control the visibility of content.
Secure RSS Feeds
WishList Member provides every subscriber to your site with a unique RSS feed, which can be used by the member to access content that's available to their particular account.
Digital Access Pass
DAP can protect WordPress posts and pages by either post URL or category URL. If a post belongs to a category whose URL you've protected, restriction policies will apply.
Because DAP only protects URLs, if you change your posts permalink structure or change the slug of your category or its base, your protection policies will no longer apply. DAP cannot protect posts by their IDs or by the IDs of their categories.
Other than that, content protection in DAP works pretty well.
Gradual Content Delivery
When it comes to gradual content delivery, DAP is the best. For every URL that you protect in DAP, you can set a 'Drip on Day' field.
DAP's UI even provides a way where you can select multiple posts, specify the number of days by which to separate the posts, and then click 'Protect Selected Pages/Posts'. If you do that, DAP will protect the posts by dripping them to paid members at the interval of days you specify. See the screenshot:
Screenshot: DAP Posts and Pages protection
Protecting Files
DAP can easily protect any type of digital file located at wp-content/uploads. You can also protect files hosted with Amazon S3 by using the S3MediaVault plugin (developed by the DAP team).
Teaser Content
If you wish to expose some of your premium content as to tease potential buyers, you have two options in DAP. You can utilize WordPress' <!--more--> tag and enabling the Sneak Peak feature or utilize DAP shortcodes.
Members-Only Discussion Forum
The forum with the best integration with DAP is vBulletin. With vBulletin you can provide different privileges and access to forums based on the level that the member has purchased. DAP can also be integrated with WordPress-based forums, such as bbPress—but this type of integration is more basic. It only distinguishes between logged in paid members and non-logged in members.
Protecting RSS Feeds
DAP can generate a special RSS feed link for every member in your site. This way the script knows how many times a certain user accessed her feed and from which IPs. You can set DAP to restrict access if the number of IPs exceeds a given amount.
Protecting an Entire Site
DAP can't protect an entire site without you editing your PHP files—and it doesn't do this in a clean way. The process is described here.
eMember
eMember can protect posts, pages, entire categories, and even individual comments. Posts and pages can be protected from the post/page edit screen or from eMember's own admin UI. Categories and individual comments can only be set to 'Protected' from the plugin's admin UI.
Gradual Content Delivery
It is possible to achieve a gradual content delivery model in eMember by utilizing the plugin's 'Auto Upgrade' feature. Basically, you create multiple membership levels with each level having access to certain posts. eMember gives you the ability to automatically upgrade members to any of those levels after a certain period is passed (more details).
Mixing membership levels and content delivery features imposes some limitations on how you can structure your membership site. But at least if you really needed gradual content delivery, you still have the option.
Protecting Files
eMember cannot protect files without the help of additional plugins, such as eStore. With eStore, it could protect any sort of digital file. And with the help of WP Lightbox Ultimate plugin, it can even provide protection of video streaming through Amazon S3.
Teaser Content
You can make some premium sections of your content available to the public in one of two ways: (1) eMember shortcodes or (2) WordPress <!-- more --> tag.
The more tag is used in the usual way. Anything after it is protected. Anything before it is open. But if you wanna use the shortcodes, simply wrap your premium content in [emember_protected] and [/emember_protected]. These shortcodes accept other parameters that allow you to fine-tune who can and cannot see the wrapped content (more details).
Protecting Forums, BuddyPress & WordPress Multisite
Because eMember is able to set WordPress roles through its WordPress-eMember synchronization feature, it is possible to use the plugin on WordPress-based forums, BuddyPress and MultiSite installs. But this integration is not a priority for eMember's developers.
Protecting RSS Feeds
eMember is can protect RSS access by generating a unique RSS link for each member.
Protecting Entire Site
eMember has a feature called 'Domain Level Lockdown'. If you check that box, eMember will protect your entire site from all users who are not logged in. All pages on your site will greet visitors with something that looks like this screenshot
Magic Members
Magic Members provides several ways to protect content. And not only can it protect posts and pages, it can also protect categories and downloadable files. If you wanna protect posts in bulk, you can utilize category protection. The only other way is to go into individual posts and specify the access rights there.
Magic Members by itself doesn't monitor IPs to prevent possible password sharing. However, if you buy the 3-sites license or higher, you get the Magic Kicker plugin as a bonus, which does that and more. You can also purchase Magic Kicker separately.
Gradual Content Delivery
For each protected post or page in Magic Members, you can specify a delay in a number of days—a distinct delay can be specified for each membership level.
Protecting Files
Magic Members can protect any type of digital file. You have to upload the files using the Magic Member file uploader and then specify the posts on which the file will be available. After that, you have to insert certain shortcodes within the posts, which will be replaced with access links. For enhanced protection, Magic Members also supports Amazon S3 storage.
Teaser Content
Teaser content can be achieved in one of two ways. The more feasible way is probably to use the [private] shortcodes, which you can wrap around specific portions of your posts to make private. The other way is to use the global protection settings of Magic Members where you can specify the number of words to display for all posts before protection kicks in.
Protecting Entire Site
Magic Members makes it easy to protect all posts on your site. You simply go to the global protection settings and choose "FULL". That way, no content will be accessible by non-registered members.
Paid Memberships Pro
PMPro can protect posts and pages individually or protect entire categories.
You can protect content from the WordPress post/page editor or, if you want to protect an entire category, you do it by editing the membership level in the plugin's menu.
Currently, PMPro doesn't support advanced content protection features such restricting access by IP, digital files protection, gradual content delivery, or secure RSS feed delivery without additional programming.
WPMU DEV Membership
Membership can protect categories, individual posts and pages, and specific URLs—all using native WordPress API.
Gradual Content Delivery
Drip feeding content with Membership, although possible, is a very tedious process. You can view this tutorial to see how it's done. I would not recommend using Membership if sequentially delivered content is going to be a big part of your membership site.
Protecting Files
Membership provides basic file protection as illustrated in the user manual. However, it is not as strong as the protection other membership plugins provide. And Membership doesn't provide any means of protecting streamed videos.
Teaser Content or Scripting Tags
Teaser content can be achieved in one of two ways in Membership. You can either tell the plugin to protect content after the <!--more--> tag or you could utilize protection shortcodes where you wrap protected content within pre-designated shortcodes.
Protecting Forums, BuddyPress & WordPress Multisite
Membership puts a lot of emphasis and excels in protecting BuddyPress and WordPress Multisite. If you need BuddyPress or Multisite compatibility, this is one of the few plugins that provide true integration.
It is also possible to use Membership to protect WordPress-based forums since the plugin integrates with WordPress built-in roles and capabilities.
Protecting Entire Site
By default, once activated, Membership protects all pages of your WordPress site. That is, until you configure specific free content and assign that content to, what Membership calls, the "Stranger" level. So, yes, Membership is capable of protecting an entire WordPress site, if that's what you need.
Other Protection Features
Another interesting protection feature that Membership has is the ability to protect MarketPress pages. MarketPress is an ecommerce shopping cart plugin by WPMU DEV and Membership can help you create a membership site where only registered members can buy from your products.
Membership, however, doesn't support secure RSS delivery or IP-based restriction to prevent password sharing.
MemberWing
MemberWing provides advanced and complex options in serving time-sensitive content and digital files.
The plugin relies completely on "{premium markers}" to protect content. These premium markers can be placed within the content of a post or a page. Or they can be placed in the category settings page of MemberWing's admin. That way you can protect individual posts as well as entire categories.
Gradual Content Delivery
Creating gradually delivered content in MemberWing is a matter of setting a 'maturity' period as custom field for the post or page. You give the maturity custom field a number of days by which you wanna delay the content.
Time Sensitive Content
Gradual content delivery is based on the date a member joins your site. MemberWing can also control access privileges based on the publish date of posts. For example, when you first publish a post, you may want platinum members to see it first. And 5 days after, you want the rest of your members see it. And two months later, make the post completely public. MemberWing can do that, and it calls this feature Time Sensitive Information protection. This feature is only available in the TSI edition of the plugin.
Protecting Files
MemberWing has very advanced files protection features. I'd say it's the best in this category.
Simply place your premium files inside the pre-designated PREMIUM_FILES directory, which MemberWing creates upon activation. Within that directory, you can create sub-directories with names that match the names of the membership level that you offer. If MemberWing detects a name match, it'll grant access—otherwise, access is denied.
MemberWing employs some cool features when it comes to file protection. It allows you to serve an alternate version of the denied file. This could be a shorter, teaser version. It can also embed a digital signature in each file, which helps you trace back sources of leaked premium files.
Another unique feature of MemberWing's file protection is its ability to instantly build and launch a digital online store (albeit a very basic one).
Teaser Content
There are several ways by which you can create teaser content with MemberWing. You can simply place the {premium markers} in your content so that anything before the premium marker is visible. Or you can specify a teaser length at the category level.
As stated earlier, you can even provide teaser versions of protected files.
MemberWing also claims support for Google's First Click Free but I couldn't find documentation or instructions on using this feature or how it works within MemberWing.
Having said all of that, there some types of content that MemberWing does not officially protect, such as discussion forums. MemberWing cannot generate member-specific protected RSS feeds, and it has no option to simply protect an entire WordPress site.
Your Members
When it comes to basic content protection, Your Members can protect individual posts, pages, and categories. It cannot protect posts by their tag or URL.
With that said, Your Members can actually do much more than basic content protection.
Gradual Content Delivery
As you can see in the screenshot below, for every post or page in WordPress, you can set a number of days after which the content becomes available to the specific membership level. This is the only way to create a drip feeding effect in Your Members. It works well, but if your site relies heavily on sequentially delivered content, you may find the process tedious.
Protecting Files
Your Members can protect both normal digital files and streaming videos. For file protection, you just upload the file, using the Your Members Download Manager, and assign the file to a protected post. Whoever has access to the post can access the file—more information on that here.
The Pro version of Your Members includes the 'Secure Stream Module'. This module protects video streams by making the video playable only from your own protected site.
Teaser Content and Scripting API
Protected content in Your Members must be wrapped in [private] shortcode. You may place your shortcodes so that some of the content is visible and some of it is protected.
[private] is not the only protection shortcode that Your Members offers. The plugin has many conditional tags that allow you to programmatically determine who can and cannot see certain content.
Members-Only Discussion Forum
Since Your Members works well with WordPress built-in roles, it should be possible to integrate with WordPress-based forums, such as bbPress, without problems. However, there is no explicit documentation on bbPress integration. The only available documentation on the subject is very much out of date.
Protecting RSS Feeds
Your Members generates a secure RSS token for every member, but there is no way to monitor requests to those special RSS feeds and restrict unauthorized access.
Protecting Entire Site
Your Members used to have the ability to lockdown the entire site, but I don't see this option any where any more. And the documentation isn't of much help.
Facebook Membership Site Protection
One very interesting feature that Your Members has is the ability to embed a protected WordPress membership site on Facebook—even accept Facebook Credits as payment for protected content.
wp-Member
wp-Member provides basic content protection for posts, pages, and entire categories. But the plugin lacks any sort of advanced protection. It doesn't support IP restrictions, gradual content delivery, digital file protection, or protected RSS feeds. However, it does allow for partial content protection through [private] tag. And it allows for a site-wide lockdown where only logged in members can view any content.
