| Overall rating: |   |
| Version: | 1.2.7 |
| Reviewed by: | M. K. Safi |
Paid Memberships Pro (PMPro, for short) doesn’t have the quantity of features that some other membership plugins have, but it makes up for that by adding a lot of depth and refinement to each feature that it supports. For example, not only is PMPro capable of processing payments through Authorize.Net and PayPal Website Payments Pro, but it can also automatically process cancellations from your own membership site.
I like the unburdened and uncluttered feel to this plugin. The documentation is very well written and is easy to follow and understand. Its interface is clean and professional.
PMPro will always be 100% GPL, according to its developers. If you wish to help direct the future development of the plugin, you can get involved on GitHub or simply use the free version and provide feedback on the forum.
Below is my full review of the plugin which will help you find out what it’s missing and where it excels.
Installation & Admin UI
The full version of this plugin is always available from WordPress.org, so installation is easy, just use the “Add Plugin” feature of your admin dashboard.
The admin UI of Paid Memberships Pro couldn’t get any cleaner. It feels very native to WordPress.
There isn’t anything bad that I could say about either the installation process or the admin UI.
Documentation & Support
While the documentation of PMPro doesn’t include any videos or extended how-to tutorials, it is very sensibly ordered and so easy to follow.
Priority support to paying members is provided in the members forum. Support is also available through the public community WordPress.org forum.
Documentation and members support are only offered to paying subscribers.
Member Management
After activating PMPro, every WordPress user will now have a “membership level” attached to it. You can edit a user’s membership level from the WordPress user profile. But, for some reason, PMPro keeps some user related data, such as membership dates and billing details, away from the native WordPress user profile. Some of these details can be viewed by going to the “Members List” of PMPro.
While PMPro can export all members to a CSV file, it cannot bulk import neither from an external file nor from the built-in users table in WordPress.
Payment Processing Features
PMPro has professional-level integration with the two most advanced payment gateways: PayPal Website Payments Pro and Authorize.Net.
It automatically embeds the payment forms on your own site. Not only that, but it can also allow you and (optionally) your members to cancel their subscriptions from your membership site. Many membership plugins that claim integration with Authorize.Net and PayPal lack such advanced integration.
For easier and off-site payment processing that doesn’t require SSL, PMPro has support for PayPal Express.
PMPro doesn’t support upsells, but it has support for coupon codes.
Flow of Registration Steps
PMPro supports the following registration scenarios (each ‘→’ is a redirect):
- Register → Login & access free content → Pay
- Register → Pay → Login
- Pay on PayPal first → Register → Login
- Pay and register account on one page on your site → Login
- Register for a free trial by submitting payment info → Login → Automatic payment after trial
Content Protection Features
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.
Extensibility & API
The only available API documentation for PMPro is for a single function called pmpro_hasMembershipLevel(), which allows a developer to programmatically display or restrict content based on a member’s level. It can be used within plugins and theme templates.
Who is Using It
Paid Memberships Pro is one of the latest membership plugins, therefore there aren’t many examples of websites using it. Nonetheless, here’s one interesting example: Philly Side Arts. Furthermore, PaidMembershipsPro.com itself is powered by its own plugin! You can visit the site to see how payment and member registration flow, among other things…
Money Matters
Paid Memberships Pro is GPL licensed and available for free from WordPress.org. If you’re serious about using this plugin to power your membership site, you’ll want to become a paying subscriber at PaidMembershipsPro.com to get support and updated documentation. The subscription fee is very affordable, $10/month. Not only is it affordable, but if, for some reason, you decided not to use the plugin within 30 days, you can request and get a full refund!
