Login page or register page

#1

Hey guys, Im still a newbie on the s2member but I’ve watched a lot of the vids and read a lot. I am approaching the point of no return and Im going to have to put my s2 live very soon. This is what I’m going to do… can you give me some pointers and make sure that this is the correct procedure.

Im going to add a link on my word press homepage ( I dont have a sidebar) that says Members Only. Question…should the link go to the wordpress ‘register’ page or the wordpress ‘login’ page? I know you can access both from the same login but which one normally comes first?

I am not charging money for access so it is all set on level 0?

I am not sure why there is a member options page if Ive not charging? it seems that the member options is simply to charge for the service. is there any other reason why i would need a member options page? do i even need one at this stage?

all the content is behind level 0 so you will have to register or login to get access. will the people already registered or who have bought something on my site before get access already? they dont need to register again?

thanks guys. any pointers would be great. if you find the sidebar to be of use or ways to have a floating login or whatever you think works? thank you in advance

#2

Anyone who’s already able to access your site will continue to be be able to do so. They don’t need to register again.

You need a Membership Options Page (MOP) because s2Member just won’t work without one. It is where anyone will be sent when they attempt to access content to which they don’t have access. For that reason, you need to put a link there to your registration page.

I’d put your main Members Only link to the login page, but with a smaller link underneath to the registration page.

It will be easiest to start with all content protected at level 0. You can actually have more than one free level, but only if you have the Pro version of s2Member.

#3

thanks Tim, i noticed that on the s2 member home page there are 2 icons, one saying login and the other saying register. how do i get something like that on my page?

#4

I don’t know what you are referring to. But essentially a link to a page is just a regular hyperlink.

#5

ok great. thank you. while Ive got your ear can you please help me with a couple of related topics. im trying to get clear in my mind exactly what is taking place and why.

  1. I’m sending the initial ‘MEMBERS ONLY’ link from my homepage to the wordpress ‘login’ page which automatically has a register button included below the login. This means that the person clicking the link can login or register from that page.

  2. The members only page is where users are automatically sent when they try to get access to a restricted area. for instance, if they try to access a level that they are not qualified or paid for. or if they try to log in when they haven’t yet registered.

  3. This means that the membership options page is simply a page to include a way to register and also payment options for other levels of the membership?

  4. What other things do people use their membership options page for?

thanks tim, i know they are simple questions but i just want to make sure before i put the membership online.

#6

I would have links to both. Something like:

Members Login Here (linked to wp-login.php)
New Members Sign Up Here (link this to your MOP – see my comments below)

While a membership options page is primarily used to list your membership options and links to registration forms, it is not an optional page. An MOP is required for s2Member to operate. If you have only one level you can simply use a free registration shortcode to create a registration form on this page, but you should probably have a link to wp-login as well for members who forgot to login. The only visitors who see this form will be those who have not logged in (or registered, but its being logged in that counts on a site with only Level 0 members).

No, existing subscribers will not need to register again as long as you only have membership Level 0.

I often use the s2Member Pro Login Widget in either a sidebar or the page content, but there is a free alternative. See this s2Member KBA: https://s2member.com/kb-article/recommended-login-box-widgets/.

I personally don’t like “floating logins”, so I have no advice to offer there. :wink: