What can Memberstack do?

Using Memberstack 2.0? There is an updated version of this article here.

Here is a list of supported use cases with Memberstack. We will update this regularly as we release new features.

At its core, Memberstack is a platform that allows you to add user authentication, gated content and payments to your website with a single line of code. This core functionality lets our customers create some pretty incredible membership websites and web apps. Here is a list of things Memberstack can and can't do to spark your creativity and get you on the right path.

Can do

Upgrade/change membership for admin and members
If a logged-in member clicks on another membership, they can be upgraded or downgraded. Memberstack customers can also change memberships in our dashboard. The only caveat is that you can only change and switch members to free memberships.

Gated/hidden content
By adding a "Members Only Content" group, you are able to make a page on your website hidden to anyone who is not a member of a specific membership.

Import free members

If you have a CSV file of members, you can use our import tool to match fields to your data. However, we do not currently have an import tool for paid members.

Member-specific pages

Use this power-up to create a page for specific members to access. Regular "Members Only Content" can be seen by all members of a membership, but Member-specific pages can only be seen by one member.

Approve members

We don't have an official member approval feature yet, but we do have a few workarounds for you. These workarounds work best if you have a relatively small number of applicants/members/etc.

Site admins

Admins are able to update and edit any settings in your Memberstack account. This includes adding & removing other admin, memberships, members, and more. A site admin cannot remove the site owner.

Admin member

To get users to be able to see all hidden content, our customers create a new membership with a high price to purchase, and they toggle all the hidden content groups to "on," letting the membership access every hidden page. Once the membership is created, they also create an accompanying coupon to make the membership free.

Can do with workarounds

Send data between members

Experience level: Uses custom JavaScript.

To create the ability to send data between members, we suggest you use our API to add data to the members' metadata. We also suggest this only be done for custom web apps.

User-added content

Experience level: Needs Zapier/Integromat or custom code to implement.

Adding the ability for members to add their own content is a use case we see often. To do this without code, you will need to use a website builder that has Zapier/Integromat integration like Webflow to add CMS items.

Online courses

Experience level: Can use custom JavaScript.

Depending on how many features you want to let your members have, like the ability to keep track of viewed pages or videos, this could become an advanced use case. However, some of our customers have gotten online courses to work.

Job board

Experience level: Can use custom JavaScript.

Job boards are usually built with website builders that are integrated with Zapier/Integromat or need to be built fully custom. This is because most of the content is added by users.

Member directory

Experience level: Needs Zapier/Integromat or custom code to implement.

Memberstack was built around private profiles, meaning only a member or an admin is able to access member information. If you want to display member information outside of Memberstack, you'll need to use Webhooks or Zapier to pull that information out of Memberstack and host it somewhere else.

Calculate viewing totals/ tally times viewed for content

Experience level: Uses custom JavaScript.

Customers usually use our front-end API to get members metadata and update it. This can be done on page load in our onReady event.

Email members

Experience level: Needs Zapier/Integromat or custom code to implement.

Memberstack does not send emails by default, but we do have webhooks and Zapier/Integromat integration that you can send emails with.

Chat

Experience level: Can use custom JavaScript.

We recommend using community software for member-to-member chat, and chat tools to facilitate admin-to-member chat. Most of our customers use Crisp chat to do this.

Analytics

Experience level: Small amount of JavaScript required

Heap.io gives you a complete dataset of every interaction with your product. Every click. Every tap. Every swipe. There’s no code to implement, and no need to decide in advance what to track.