A website can do more than host content or sell products. It can become the home of a community. A space where people return not just to browse but to belong. Brands that use their websites to foster community build deeper trust, improve retention and create compounding value through shared participation.
Community doesn’t form around content alone. It forms around access, identity and mutual engagement. Membership tools make that possible.
What a Membership Platform Does
Membership platforms allow you to restrict content, offer exclusive perks, and personalise experiences for users who log in. This turns a public website into a private or semi-private community space. Members can access gated content, comment in forums, attend live sessions or engage with one another through structured features.
Platforms That Support Membership Communities
Shopify
- Bold Memberships: Create gated content, offer tiered access and manage recurring payments.
- Conjured Memberships: Use for exclusive products, early releases and member dashboards.
- PayWhirl: Add recurring payment plans and link access to customer profiles.
Wix
- Wix Members Area: Built-in tool for login areas, private pages and user profiles.
- Wix Forum & Groups: Create discussion threads and topic-based community zones.
- Wix Pricing Plans: Use to monetise access with subscriptions or time-based access.
WooCommerce (WordPress)
- MemberPress: Feature-rich tool with content dripping, subscription management and integrations.
- Restrict Content Pro: Ideal for tiered memberships and digital content access.
- WooCommerce Memberships: Integrates membership control with product access and email campaigns.
Kajabi
- Offers all-in-one tools for gated video courses, coaching, communities and email campaigns.
- Ideal for educators, creators and personal brands building high-touch experiences.
Thinkific
- Focused on education but includes private communities as a built-in feature.
- Allows students to interact, share wins, and ask questions inside structured discussion spaces.
Circle
- Built to be the “modern community platform,” used by creators, educators and businesses.
- Offers discussion boards, live rooms, member tagging, and paywall control.
- Integrates with Teachable, Kajabi and others for a seamless learning + community experience.
Skool
- Combines community and content in one cohesive user experience.
- Focuses on conversation over content delivery, making it ideal for engagement-led communities.
Benefits of Building an Online Community Space
Creating a community around your website offers compounding advantages:
1. Higher Customer Lifetime Value
Members are more likely to repeat purchase, engage longer and explore more of your brand ecosystem.
2. Lower Acquisition Costs
Engaged members refer others. A vibrant community becomes its own marketing engine.
3. Deeper Loyalty and Retention
Once people belong, their connection goes beyond price or product. They stay because they feel seen.
4. Better Feedback and Product Insight
Communities tell you what they want. You can listen directly to pain points, feature requests and emerging needs.
5. Content Co-Creation
Members contribute insights, experiences and social proof. This makes your content library richer and more authentic.
6. Exclusive Value Creation
You can offer things competitors cannot: behind-the-scenes access, direct interaction, early releases and group discounts.
7. Resilience to Market Noise
Community gives your brand a protective layer. Even when competitors offer discounts or newer features, your people stay because they’re part of something.
Ways to Entice People Into Your Community
- Offer exclusive content: Articles, videos, templates or interviews available only to members.
- Create progress paths: Track achievements or give milestones to gamify engagement.
- Use social proof: Share testimonials and show the real humans who belong to your space.
- Position it clearly: Define who the community is for and what members get by joining.
- Create scarcity: Offer founding member perks or close membership at intervals to increase urgency.
Types of Exclusive Content You Can Offer
- Articles, tutorials and guides unavailable elsewhere
- Livestreams or AMA sessions with you or your team
- Downloadable templates, checklists or tools
- Member-only product lines or services
- Curated newsletters with inside insights or trend breakdowns
- Access to a private Discord or forum for networking and discussion
A community does not begin with software. It begins with purpose. Tools only amplify what you already stand for. When you use your website to create that shared space, you shift your business from being a seller of products to being a catalyst of belonging.
If you need help building your community online, contact us at vic@webstitchdesign.com
