Best CMS for monthly website subscription service

I would like to setup a site that requires a monthly membership fee (or yearly if the user decides to) to gain access to certain restricted pages. I would like to have forums(open to general public) but some specific content pages that are paid members only. Having the ability to offer a free trial would be a big plus, but not a deal breaker if it isn't available. Of course, the reocurring monthly charge is a big must and having immediate access to membership content following initial payment is a must too.

I have looked through Joomla and some others and found a few options for my needs.

Joomla has something called Membership Control by OSE(http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/e-commerce/subscriptions/7591)that integrates with Virtue Mart(http://extensions.joomla.org/extensions/e-commerce/shopping-cart/129). It was able to offer free trials and basically fit my needs. It sounded good but Membership Control by OSE requires a paid version of the software. I'm trying to do this as cost effective as possible.

WordPress had something called "WishList(http://member.wishlistproducts.com/)" or WP e-Commerce(http://www.instinct.co.nz/e-commerce/). However, WishList had a paid only version and didn't seem to offer a free trial option for my members to try, and I couldn't find where WP e-Commerce offered a subscription member-only feature. Maybe it requires some tweaking.

I'd like to offer Paypal, Google Checkout, and Credit Card payments. I always read Paypal will allow credit card payments but my personal experience it has always wanted me to login or create a Paypal account. I've read Google Checkout doesn't offer a reoccuring payment process (so maybe I can't have that).

The Joomla option may be my best option, but I figured I would check with some people here before I make the leap of faith and put some money down. Free is always best but I think something of this magnitude will surely have some cost. Also, there might be some less popular CMS options out there I don't know about.

There are a lot of options and I feel pretty overwhelmed. If anyone could even recommend a few options that I may have overlooked, that would really help me limit my options and do some research on my end to make a decission. Thanks for any advice you can offer and personal experiences.

 

thindery

I would go with Joomla!

I've created a few membership with joomla and they work really well, it's also easy to protect your content from being viewed by non members, however I didn't use OSE Membership, instead I created a script to handle the sign up and recurring billing process.

The reason I created a script is because I felt that the sign up process with OSE membership and almost all the membership components in joomla were just to many clicks for the front end user!

OSE membership flow is:
Click the membership
Click add to cart
Click Show cart
Click Checkout
Click new user - Fill in details (address, email, etc...)
Click Submit
Then Pay
Then Confirm email address
Then log-in

That's like 8 steps to sign up, I don't like making the user jump through hoops to join the site.

Our script is 3 steps:
Click Join Today
Enter details and click register
Pay


And our script works like this:
* A member signs up to your site using the join today form
* One click and they’re taken to the payment page
* Paypal will automatically bill the customer each month and send you the money
* The script automatically adds the “user” to joomla allowing them access
* When a payment is not made or if subscription is cancelled by the user the script will automatically block the user from accessing the sites members area.

Like I said Joomla is great for membership sites, but... think about the flow of the sign up process because if it's complicated it might lose you customers!

PS. We don't sell our membership script - but we do give it away to members of our site for free! We also have training videos for Joomla!

PM me If you would like more details...

Regards
Alex

 

Joomla for me.

 

Hi Alex
I like to see your software, how to get a copy ?

Thanks again Preben