Building a community is one of the most effective ways to expand your reach, whether you’re an entrepreneur, content creator, advocate or digital marketer. Membership sites make it simple to grow your community online while offering extra value to those who join.
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What is a membership website?
This type of website hosts exclusive content for members who have created an account to access it. Memberships can be free or paid, depending on your business goal. Free memberships are excellent for community building and paid ones provide a reliable source of revenue outside of advertising.
You can also offer several membership levels, with additional perks for those who choose a more expensive monthly subscription.
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10 membership website examples to inspire you
01. CountryClub
Providing a membership website underscores CountryClub’s goal of helping members connect with others. Instead of gating all the content, CountryClub’s website uses the menu to showcase various resources members receive access to, including events, direct messaging, group chats and an online forum. Potential users can click through each section to get an idea of what they would be able to access if they joined.
Think of it as a little sneak peek—teasers about events, groups and more. It’s a great way to spark curiosity and get non-members more engaged, which can nudge them toward signing up. You can also take inspiration from CountryClub’s member pricing page. They keep it distraction-free and showcase their most comprehensive membership level on the left-hand side, which draws the eye and highlights their best package. It’s a simple tweak, but it can make a big difference.
02. Golfer's Mingle
Another membership website focused on community-building is Golfer’s Mingle, where players can connect with others who share their love of the sport. The membership information page has a simple design that keeps the focus on the instructions for joining. It also uses muted colors to create a more inviting tone rather than an aggressive sign-up request.
Visitors can check out a handy bullet-point list of membership perks, like reciprocal country club benefits and a calendar packed with social golfing events. And the best part? When prospective members click on gated areas, they’re greeted with an easy-to-fill-in sign-up form. All it asks for is an email address and a password. No long application in the way—just a few clicks to join and start enjoying the perks.
03. Clay County Sportsman's Club
Membership sites are a fantastic way for local organizations to provide a central hub of resources. Take the Clay County Sportsman’s Club as an example. When members join online, they can set up a personal profile complete with a photo and description. It’s a great way to add a personal touch and create a community feeling.
In the directory, people can search for and follow other members. Using interactive features inspired by social media is an excellent way to encourage your membership base to connect and build their network online, which can lead to more retention and even higher attendance for in-person events.
04. Silicon Valley Youth Hardware Club
One of the main perks of joining the Silicon Valley Youth Hardware Club is the group’s technical forum, so the website’s homepage puts it front and center with an attention-grabbing red button inviting users to “Join the Discussion.”
On the discussion page, members can see the most recent topics along with stats, such as the number of viewers and comments on each post. From here, there are more red buttons users can click to follow a thread or create a new post. These lead to an easy sign-up flow that provides options to one-click join with Facebook and Google.
05. Heroines
Heroines is an organization that brings women together to build a community and develop life skills. The website’s design leans heavily on the imagery of women to underscore that the members are its ultimate focus. The membership page shares the group’s mission and lists out benefits, like discounts to events and access to virtual challenges, and has a clear call to action.
If you want inspiration for a site that nurtures potential members, take a few notes from Heroines’ playbook. Even if visitors haven’t joined yet, they can still explore. Non-members can read blog posts and even sign up for certain events to get a feel for the organization. It’s a smart way to connect with your audience and invite them in.
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06. DMC Coalition
As a professional development organization, the DMC Coalition provides destination management companies with a trusted community of similar members and a trove of educational resources that support business growth and success.
The clean design underscores the group's professional nature. If you’re creating a community, you might consider following the coalition’s example by including member testimonials. These serve as social proof of the value of joining, which is particularly useful for organizations offering paid monthly subscriptions.
07. Chase Health & Performance
Membership sites can be an especially effective business tool for coaching, training and education experts like Chase Health & Performance. In addition to providing in-person coaching sessions, Dan and Eleanor have an online membership program that gives clients access to a library of workouts and healthy recipes.
The website makes it easy for new users to browse member workout programs and see video snippets that highlight the quality of the online courses. If you’re a content creator, using GIFs and video previews is one of the best ways to tease exclusive content and further entice new users to pay the membership fee or join your community.
08. MICCO
MICCO is another professional growth community, and it’s aimed at helping budding artists successfully navigate the music industry. The homepage leverages a streamlined design that keeps the focus on choosing one of three subscription plans, which is where the real value lives.
Instead of pulling you in with a hero image, the main page relies on bold colors and a strong value prop, “Everything you need to reach millions of streams, more followers, and the buzz you deserve.” The no-nonsense approach to design creates a sense of trust with new visitors, which is extra effective when combined with emotionally resonant language like, “Consider yourself discovered.”
09. DCI Nova Scotia
Online communities are a great way to pool educational resources and insights from different sources to achieve a common goal. The Design and Construction Institute (DCI) of Nova Scotia uses its membership website to bring together a diverse group of construction industry professionals for networking events and educational opportunities.
On the events page, DCI shares information about both upcoming and past events to help prospective members understand the value of the community. If you offer timely resources, uploading recordings of past presentations like DCI does lets you showcase the quality you provide and generate interest in future events.
10. Moon Rabbit Acupuncture
Moon Rabbit Acupuncture is a Chicago-based wellness brand that offers a wide range of integrated health services. While anyone can make appointments, the brand’s members receive access to special perks, such as discounts on services and individualized wellness plans.
If you’re looking for design inspiration here, pay attention to the membership sign-up page. It lays out all the benefits of joining in a clear and straightforward way, making it super easy to see why it’s worth signing up. Plus, the sign-up button is impossible to miss—no hunting around required. Moon Rabbit Acupuncture also gets that life happens, so it offers flexible payment options and makes it obvious that users can change their subscription plan at any time with no hassle.
Best membership website FAQs
Can you make money with a membership site?
Creating a paid membership website is one way to earn recurring revenue for the value you provide members, such as educational content, industry resources or an exclusive community. An excellent option for monetizing your membership site is through a monthly subscription plan that gives paying members access to additional benefits and perks that are not available elsewhere on your website.
Membership sites also make it easier to drive revenue to both physical and digital products and services by creating an engaged group of potential buyers. As your community grows, you may also be able to tap into additional earning opportunities, like sponsored events, email marketing and affiliate marketing.