Membership websites are a rapidly growing market that feeds into our desire for exclusivity and to be part of something special.

• By 2025, the subscription economy will be worth an estimated $1.5 trillion, a significant increase from $650 billion in 2020.
• The eCommerce subscription market is expected to expand at a rate of 25% per year by 2025.
• 70% of businesses view membership and subscription models as vital for future growth.

(Source)

Those are three good reasons to discuss the benefits of creating a membership website and review the most popular WordPress membership plugins.

We have tried, tested and compared them all to help you make the best buying decision.

The Benefits of Creating a Membership Site

There are many benefits to membership websites, not least the earning potential.

Increase Revenue

A membership website gives you the opportunity to offer exclusive premium content and charge for it.

A number of online communities are already exceeding the $100k per year mark. With some hard work and dedication, yours could too.

Demonstrate Authority

Creating a membership site helps establish your expertise and build authority in your domain.

As long as you deliver consistent quality and earn that authority, your name will quickly become synonymous with your niche.

Add More Value

People often value something more if they are paying for it rather than getting it for free.

Offer quality, unique viewpoints or something members can’t get elsewhere and many will be willing to pay for it.

Build an Email List

You probably know the importance of building an email list. Email marketing continues to provide one of the highest rates of return for all marketing channels.

Members already trust you, or are starting to trust you, making them prime candidates for further marketing.

What To Look For in a WordPress Membership Plugin

We look for some key features when comparing membership plugins, including:

• Ease of use: Any plugin you install on your website should be easy to install, activate, set up and use.
• Compatibility: Any plugin you install needs to be compatible with the latest version of WordPress as well as your theme and plugins.
• User access and content restriction: You should have the flexibility to set up and customize content restrictions easily.
• Payment options: It’s important that the membership plugin integrates seamlessly with payment gateways so you can accept both one-time and recurring payments.
• Integration: Your membership plugin should ideally integrate with other tools and software or support APIs.
• Support: Most membership plugins are stable and simple to use but it’s always useful to have support on hand just in case.

We included all these features in SureMembers and rated all other membership plugins in this list against these requirements.

Best Membership Plugins for WordPress Websites

Each of the 17 membership plugins in this post are worth checking out but 3 stand out above the others:

1. SureMembers

SureMembers is our own membership plugin and is already making quite an impact.

It’s part of the SureCrafted group of products, designed to make it simple to create membership websites. It’s fast, stable and easy to use.

We think it delivers everything a membership site needs and then some!

Ease of Use

Configuration — Configuration is simple. All you need to do is open the plugin, create a membership (access) group, assign content to the group and set a price.

Member-friendliness — SureMembers comes with a detailed admin dashboard so you can control every aspect of memberships.

There’s also a simple user dashboard where members can control subscriptions and all aspects of their account.

Content Restriction

It’s easy to add or remove content, set category access, exclude certain content or allow free access periods so you can try before you buy.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility:

• Themes — Designed to work with all compliant WordPress themes. As we are the team behind the Astra theme, it works perfectly with it.
• Plugins — Easily integrate with other WordPress plugins including SureCart, CartFlows and others.
• WooCommerce — While designed for SureCart, SureMembers works seamlessly with WooCommerce.

Integration

SureMembers is compatible with a wide range of WordPress plugins, themes and services.

There’s also API and webhook support if you want to take integration much further.

Payment Options:

SureMembers is designed to work with an eCommerce solution such as SureCart or WooCommerce. It will accept a wide range of payment methods including Stripe, PayPal and others.

SureMembers Support:

• Extensive documentation, knowledgebase and how to videos.
• Ticketed support.
• 24/7 dedicated support team.

Pros of SureMembers:

• Simple to set up and manage.
• Multiple membership levels and payment options.
• Full control over content.
• Integrations with lots of email and payment tools.
• Drip content tools.

Cons of SureMembers

• Limited documentation.

SureMembers Pricing:

• SureMembers Pro – $99/year for a single site.
• SureMembers Business – $199/year up to 5 sites.
• SureMembers Agency – $299/year up to 10 sites.

NewPulse Labs had this to say about SureMembers:

“If you’re looking for a lightweight membership solution that doesn’t slow your site down, is easy to set up, has a modern UI, and integrates with all your other apps, I think SureMembers is absolutely worth a try.”

Get SureMembers

2. MemberPress

MemberPress is a highly-configurable WordPress membership plugin created and maintained by Caseproof.

It allows you to easily create and manage membership subscriptions and digital products.

Ease of Use

Configuration — Configure the user permissions, registration process, log in and how the membership site will look and feel.

Member-friendliness — MemberPress provides the ability to create, update, upgrade or cancel subscriptions directly from member portals.

Content Restriction

MemberPress allows you to control what users can see based on their membership or the products they have purchased.

You can also restrict access to pages, child pages, posts, categories, tags and any other type of files in your WordPress installation.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with any WordPress theme (even custom themes).
• Plugins — Compatible with most WordPress plugins. However, there are a few plugins that may not work well with MemberPress.
• WooCommerce — Works well with WooCommerce.

Integration

MemberPress currently integrates with 70+ third-party software and tools.

For plugins and software that aren’t listed above, you’re also able to extend the functionality and connection using developer tools.

Payment Options

• PayPal — Integration available on all plans.
• Stripe — Integration available on all plans.
• Authorize.net — Integration is only available in the Plus and Pro plans.

MemberPress Support

• Extensive user manual and knowledge base.
• Ticketed support.
• Support hours — 09:00 to 17:00 MST, Monday to Friday.

On the topic of support, Reddit member OutOfFavor said:

“MP can generally do anything you want it to do, but sometimes not in the way you would prefer that it be done. It has tons of options that gives you great flexibility.

Another pro is the extensive online documentation and related videos and the Facebook groups (discussed below). Support has been quick to answer the few times I have had questions.

MP is definitely supported and updated frequently, which is a good thing.”

Pros of MemberPress

• Detailed dashboard with stats and controls.
• Well-designed UI with logical interface.
• Developer tools to enable further integration.
• Compatible with most themes and plugins.
• Reasonable learning curve.

Cons of MemberPress

• Support hours only Monday through Friday 9-5 MST.
• No free trial.

MemberPress Pricing

• Basic — $249/year for a single site.
• Plus — $399/year for 2 sites.
• Pro — $549/year for 5 sites.
• No free trial.

Get MemberPress

3. Paid Member Subscriptions

Paid Member Subscriptions is a membership plugin for WordPress that allows you to create subscriptions, manage members and restrict access to premium content.

The plugin is created and maintained by Cozmoslabs and has over 10,000+ active installations.

Ease of Use

Configuration — There are many pre-built shortcodes that you can use to build registration pages, login forms, member account pages and most other pages.

Member-friendliness — Once registered, members can easily add another subscription or product to their plans. If they are on a free trial, they also have the option to upgrade to paid plans.

They also have the option to downgrade their membership from their user profile.

A review from user stevanterzic on WordPress.org sums up why we like it so much:

I’ve been using the Paid Member Subscriptions plugin by Cozmoslabs on my WordPress site, and it’s honestly been a breeze. Setting it up was easy, even for someone not too tech-savvy like me. What really stands out is the range of payment options—it’s made subscribing super accessible for my audience.

Content Restriction

Paid Member Subscriptions enables you to restrict content based on membership levels. You also have the option to restrict content based on parameters such as duration, status and price.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with most WordPress themes. Additional functionality available for the Elementor website builder.
• Plugins — Compatible with most WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — Yes. Restrict content, product viewing, and purchasing.

Integration

Paid Member Subscriptions is compatible with WooCommerce and many popular plugins. BbPress integration is available with an addon.

Payment Options

• PayPal — All plans are compatible with PayPal. You’ll need the Pro plan to accept subscriptions or recurring payments.
• Stripe — Integration is only available with the Pro plan.

Paid Member Subscriptions Support

• Extensive documentation and knowledgebase.
• Web support is available via their ticketing system.
• Support hours — 09:00 to 17:00 (GMT), Monday to Friday.

Pros of Paid Member Subscriptions

• Well-designed dashboard with intuitive controls.
• Flexible user interface with logical layout.
• Multiple membership levels and subscription options.
• Free demo option for new members.
• Cheaper than some options.

Cons of Paid Member Subscriptions

• Limited email app integration.
• Support hours only Monday through Friday 9-5 GMT.
• No free trial.

Paid Member Subscriptions Pricing

• Hobbyist — $69/year for a single site.
• Pro — $149/year for unlimited sites.

Get Paid Member Subscriptions

4. Restrict Content Pro

Restrict Content Pro allows you to create a membership site by using content restriction and tying it to a subscription.

It works a little differently than a dedicated WordPress membership plugin but it still gets the job done.

Ease of Use

Configuration — You can easily create any number of membership levels and packages with built-in tools.

Member-friendliness — The customer dashboard allows members to easily view their account, subscription information, renewal dates and upgrade/downgrade/cancel their accounts.

Content Restriction

Restrict Content Pro allows you to restrict content within a post or page based on membership levels.

You can also restrict topics within the forum based on membership levels.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Designed to integrate with most WordPress themes with no custom CSS required.
• Plugins — Easily integrate with other WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — Yes. It allows you to control who can view or purchase products from your store.

Integrations

Lots of integrations including many popular plugins such as ActiveCampaign, Mailchimp, AWeber and others.

Also integrates with Easy Digital Downloads (created by the same company) allowing you to sell digital products.

Payment Options

Restrict Content Pro integrates with multiple payment gateways including Stripe, PayPal and others.

It can also integrate with others with the help of the custom payment gateway API.

Restrict Content Pro Support

• Extensive documentation and knowledgebase.
• Online ticketed support.
• Email support.

Pros of Restrict Content Pro

• Integrates seamlessly with Easy Digital Downloads.
• Multiple email platform integrations.
• Numerous payment options.
• Detailed membership levels and content control.
• Custom APIs.

Cons of Restrict Content Pro

• Reviews of support are not the best.

Restrict Content Pro Pricing

• Free — Basic free WordPress membership plugin (2% Stripe processing fee).
• Personal — $99/year for a single site.
• Plus — $149/year for 5 sites.
• Professional — $249/year for unlimited sites.

Get Restrict Content Pro

5. ProfilePress

ProfilePress is a modern WordPress membership plugin for selling paid memberships, accepting one-time and recurring payments and selling digital products.

ProfilePress is created and maintained by the Proper Fraction team and is apparently used on thousands of websites.

Ease of Use

Configuration — Create custom registration and login pages, set up payment methods, configure taxes and create coupons.

Member-friendliness — ProfilePress includes a user account page to manage orders and subscriptions, upgrade/downgrade/cancel accounts, and update profile information.

Content Restriction

ProfilePress gives you fine-grained control over what content users can see based on your protection rules and shortcodes.

You can restrict content, including pages, child pages, posts, custom post types, categories, tags, and custom taxonomies based on membership plans, user roles, usernames, and logged-in status.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with any WordPress theme.
• Plugins — Compatible with numerous WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — Yes. You’ll need an addon though.

Integrations

ProfilePress currently integrates with third-party software and tools via addons available with paid plans. Most popular apps are included.

Payment Options

ProfilePress supports Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Paystack and Mollie.

ProfilePress Support

• Extensive documentation and how-to videos.
• Support is available via a ticketing system.

Pros of ProfilePress

• Detailed membership reports.
• Multiple membership plans and payment methods.
• Fine-grained control over what content members can see.
• Powerful addons covering most use cases.
• Compatible with most themes and plugins.

Cons of ProfilePress

• Limited official integration with email marketing software.
• Integrations mainly through addons rather than built-in.

ProfilePress Pricing

• Free – Basic free WordPress membership plugin.
• Standard — $129/year for a single site.
• Plus — $299/year for 3 sites.
• Agency — $499/year for unlimited sites

Get ProfilePress

6. WooCommerce Memberships

WooCommerce Memberships allows you to create a membership store or retail club deeply integrated with WooCommerce.

The plugin is created and maintained by SkyVerge and could work well for existing stores that want to include memberships as part of the mix.

Ease of Use

Configuration — Allows you to convert your eCommerce store into a membership-based site with member-only products or exclusive products.

Member-friendliness – Members can upgrade or downgrade or pause their memberships but not much else.

Content Restriction

Enable any or all sections of the member area to show them a list of accessible content, products and discounts.

The plugin also allows you to drip content but doesn’t have the same level of features as other WordPress membership plugins in this list.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with most WordPress themes.
• Plugins — Compatible with most WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — The plugin integrates extensively with WooCommerce and WooCommerce-related extensions.

Integrations

The plugin integrates with WooCommerce Subscriptions to help you sell and manage recurring membership options. In fact, you’ll probably need it to create your site.

Payment Options

Since this is built into your WooCommerce store, it connects directly to the payment system you use. So, if you accept PayPal, Stripe in your store you can use it for memberships.

WooCommerce Memberships Support

• Extensive documentation.
• Web support is available through a ticketing system.
• Support hours — 10:30 to 19:00 (GMT), Monday to Friday.

Pros of WooCommerce Memberships

• Integrates seamlessly with WooCommerce.
• Easy to use and manage.
• Well-designed dashboard.
• Great for creating exclusive stores.
• Responsive support team.

Cons of WooCommerce Memberships

• You’ll probably need to buy Woocommerce Subscriptions.
• Cannot exclude content from memberships.
• No free trial, although there is a demo site.

WooCommerce Memberships Pricing

• Single site — $199/year.

Get WooCommerce Memberships

7. s2Member

s2Member allows you to protect and restrict posts, pages, tags, categories, files, audio and video within a membership website.

The plugin is created and maintained by WPSharks and has in excess of 1.2 million downloads.

Ease of Use

Configuration — s2Member is easy to configure and extend. The plugin is powered entirely by WordPress shortcodes, making it easy to install and set up.

Member-friendliness — Members can easily edit or update profiles, change subscriptions and perform other basic tasks.

Content Restriction

Ability to sell specific posts or pages, or sell access to specific file downloads. Content dripping is available only in the Pro version.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Integrates with other themes.
• Plugins — Integrates with other plugins.
• WooCommerce — Not very compatible with WooCommerce but it can work.

Integrations

s2Member integrates with a number of services such as payment gateways, email platforms, affiliate programs, forum plugins and more.

Payment Options

• PayPal — Available for both the free and Pro versions.
• Stripe — Only available for the Pro version.
• Authorize.net — Only available for the Pro version.
• ClickBank — Only available for the Pro version.

s2Member Support

• Extensive documentation, knowledgebase, articles, video tutorials, and forum.
• No additional support available.

Pros of s2Member

• Flexible membership plugin with lots of options.
• Unlimited membership levels with or without subscriptions.
• Set custom access with simple controls.
• User account security tools.
• Integrates with most WordPress themes and plugins.

Cons of s2Member

• Slight learning curve for more complex controls.
• WooCommerce integration isn’t the best.

s2Member Pricing

• Framework — Free membership plugin.
• Pro version S2Member — $89 one-time fee for a single site.
• Pro version Unlimited — $189 one-time fee for unlimited sites.

Get Started with s2Member

8. MemberMouse

MemberMouse is a membership plugin for WordPress that allows you to sell products, memberships, and subscriptions.

The plugin is created and maintained by Eric Turnnessen and mixes membership qualities with eCommerce elements to provide a lot of flexibility in how you run your site.

Ease of Use

Configuration — MemberMouse helps with both free and paid memberships. It lets you customize checkout pages, create a password-protected member’s area, and easily protect/restrict content.

Member-friendliness — Members can upgrade or downgrade their membership plans and update their payment information.

Members also have the option to register and log in using Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus using social login.

Content Restriction

You can restrict or protect pages or deliver premium content (PDFs, videos, software) to specific members using this plugin.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Fully compatible with most themes.
• Plugins — Fully compatible with most plugins.
• WooCommerce — Not compatible with WooCommerce but can be integrated using MemberMouse WooCommerce Plus.

Integrations

There aren’t as many integrations for MemberMouse as for other membership plugins but all the basics are covered. You can easily integrate with third party services using MemberMouse’s API or Zapier.

Payment Options

MemberMouse integrates with leading payment providers:

• PayPal — Only available for the Plus and Pro version.
• Authorize.net — Only available for the Pro version.
• Braintree — Available for the Plus and Pro version.
• Stripe — Available for all versions.
• ClickBank — Only available for the Pro version.

MemberMouse Support

• Extensive knowledge base with lots of articles and videos.
• Ticketing system available for installation help or troubleshooting.
• Support hours — 09:00 to 17:00 (EST) Monday to Friday.

Pros of MemberMouse

• Lots of subscription options including products and services.
• Checkout optimizations with upsell tools.
• Extensive membership management.
• Drip content and scheduling.
• Lots of tracking and reporting options.

Cons of MemberMouse

• Priced for larger business or enterprise.
• Support is Monday to Friday only.

MemberMouse Pricing

• Basic – $199/year.
• Plus – $299/year.
• Pro – $399/year.
• Elite– $1,199/year.

Get Started with MemberMouse

9. Magic Members

Magic Members is a WordPress membership plugin that helps turn your website into a fully automated membership site.

It isn’t the most up to date or polished in terms of interface and branding, but it certainly delivers the features.

Ease of Use

Configuration — The plugin allows complete control over your membership site so you can easily upgrade, downgrade or remove members.

Member-friendliness — Magic Members has a simple member dashboard to control basic settings.

There’s also a built-in email reminder system so members will receive a custom email before their subscription expires.

Content Restriction

The Control Content Access feature allows you to control what members in different levels of memberships can see.

The pay per post and pay per view features give you the ability to allow non-members to purchase content or articles on an individual basis, which is a neat trick.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with most WordPress themes.
• Plugins — Compatible with most WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — Compatible with WooCommerce.

Integrations

Magic Members integrates with many services including email, payment gateways, forums and more.

Payment Options

Magic Members integrates with an extensive list of payment gateways and processors, which is why it’s in our list of best membership plugins.

It supports:

• 1ShoppingCart.
• PayPal Standard.
• PayPal Website Payments Pro.
• PayPal Express Checkout.
• 2CheckOut.
• Stripe.
• CCBill.
• Authorize.net.
• ClickBank.
• WorldPay.
• MoneyBookers.
• iDeal.
• Epoch.
• Payza.
• Ogone.
• SagePay.
• eWay.
• PagSeguro.

Magic Members Support

• Knowledge base and support video library.
• Ticketing system available for installation help or any troubleshooting.
• Support Hours — 09:00 to 17:00 (EST) Monday to Friday.

Pros of Magic Members

• Easy to use and to master.
• Extensive payment gateway options.
• Easy to set up sequential drip content for courses.
• In-depth reporting tools.
• Sensible lifetime pricing.

Cons of Magic Members

• Lots of different features to learn.
• We’re not sure if it’s still being developed or not.

Magic Members Pricing

• Single — $97 one-time fee.
• 3-Site — $197 one-time fee.
• Unlimited — $207 one-time fee.

Visit Magic Members Website

10. WP-Members

The free WP-Members plugin allows you to easily create a WordPress membership site without having to spend anything.

Created and supported by RocketGeek, and has been installed on over 80,000+ websites.

Ease of Use

Configuration — Create and edit membership options based on the duration and type of access. Restrict individual posts or pages. Easily set up a WooCommerce site to sell membership plans.

Member-friendliness — The plugin has a user profile section where members can manage their own settings and update passwords.

Content Restriction

Ability to restrict posts or pages based on membership levels. You also have the option to restrict an excerpt or portion of posts and pages instead of the entire post.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with most WordPress themes.
• Plugins — Compatible with most WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — Requires the purchase of an extension, included with the purchase of the WP-Members Pro Bundle.

Integrations

WP-Members works with most compliant WordPress plugins and has API support for everything else.

Payment Options

WP-Members only integrates with PayPal and requires the purchase of the PayPal subscription plugin.

WP-Members Membership Plugin Support

• FAQ library.
• Priority email support and access to the support forum is only available for paid support subscriptions.

Pros of WP-Members Membership

• User friendly and easy to learn.
• Supports flexible subscriptions and member options.
• Can configure the entire website for memberships including menus.
• Notifications for events and new signups.
• APIs available for extra integration.

Cons of WP-Members Membership

• Overly complicated pricing.
• Dependency on plugins for integrations.
• Some useful features are restricted to extra premium extensions.

WP-Members Membership Plugin Pricing

• Free — No support and no access to premium support or the forum.
• WP-Members Priority Support — $59/year. Includes 1 year of email support, and access to the forum.
• WP-Members Pro Bundle — $125/year.
• Extensions — Additional purchases required for plugins with prices ranging from $39 to $49.

Get WP-Members Plugin

11. WishList Member

WishList Member is an easy to use WordPress membership plugin that allows you to convert any site into a powerful membership community.

Created and supported by WishList Products, this plugin is known for offering the flexibility to design almost any type of membership website.

Ease of Use

Configuration —Create unlimited membership levels, create and sell free, trial and paid membership levels. Easy to install and integrate with your WordPress website.

Content Restriction

Restrict content (posts, pages, course lessons, categories, folders, files) based on membership levels. You also have the ability to enable a pay-per-post option.

Control the length of time each member has access (3 days, or 7 days, or any time period).

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with most WordPress themes.
• Plugins — Compatible with most WordPress plugins except bbPress or BuddyPress.
• WooCommerce — Compatible with WooCommerce.

Integrations

WishList Member integrates with over 50 services as well as Zapier and SureTriggers. There’s also an API for extra flexibility.

Payment Options

WishList Member integrates with an extensive list of payment gateways, which is one reason we like it so much.

It supports:

• PayPal.
• Stripe.
• Infusionsoft.
• ClickBank.
• PayPal Pro.
• Authorize.net.
• Recurly.
• 1ShoppinCart (API).
• 2Checkout.
• eWay.
• JVZoo.
• Pin Payments.
• SamCart.
• Premium Web Cart.
• UltraCart.
• Red Oak Cart.
• Cydec.

WishList Members Support

• FAQs, tutorials, knowledge base and codex.
• Ticketed support available.

Pros of WishList Member

• Setup wizard walks you through most steps.
• Excellent ‘protect’ button in content editor.
• Unlimited membership levels.
• Extensive trigger actions.
• Sneak peek option for protected content.

Cons of WishList Member

• There’s a lot to learn.
• Course options only available in more expensive plans.

WishList Members Pricing

• Basic – $149.50/year.
• Plus – $249.50/year.
• Pro – $349.50/year.
• Elite – $1,149.50/year.

Get Started with WishList Member

12. AccessAlly

AccessAlly allows you to seamlessly accept payments, create courses, set up a fully functional LMS and manage members all with a single tool.

The plugin is ideally suited for websites that want to sell memberships and online courses.

Ease of Use

Configuration — Create multiple courses or membership tiers with the help of the course wizard. Manage members, user permissions, subscriptions all in one place.

Member-friendliness — Create member directories so users can find and connect with each other. Members can also update their profiles or upload their photos.

Content Restriction

Create flexible content layouts based on the various membership levels. Control or restrict pages, posts, and courses based on your settings.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with most WordPress themes. Added functionality for Elementor, Beaver Builder and Divi.
• Plugins — Compatible with most WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — AccessAlly is fully compliant with WooCommerce.

Integrations

Lots of integrations covering most popular services, Zapier, SureTriggers and others included within the core plugin.

Payment Options

AccessAlly integrates with both Stripe and PayPal. It also integrates with widely used eCommerce services such as SamCart and ThriveCart.

AccessAlly Support

• Demo, knowledge base and documentation.
• All subscriptions included access to priority email and web support.

Pros of AccessAlly

• Used by over 2.5 million businesses.
• Combined membership/LMS/affiliate/community plugin.
• Extensive tools to control content access and memberships.
• Lots of integrations for plugins and services.
• Free demo.

Cons of AccessAlly

• Expensive.

AccessAlly Pricing

• AccessAlly Essentials — $990/year for a single-site license.
• AccessAlly Pro — $1,290/year for a single-site license with built-in LMS.
• AccessAlly Community — $1,490/year for a single-site license.

Get Started with AccessAlly

13. ProfileGrid

ProfileGrid allows you to create user profiles, groups, communities, directories and membership sites for WordPress, WooCommerce and bbPress.

The plugin is easy to use, feature-rich and could deliver the flexibility you need to create a membership website.

Ease of Use

Configuration — Create email templates within the WordPress dashboard. Send automated emails based on member actions — account creation, password changes, account deletion.

Member-friendliness — Users can sign up or login using either gravatar or social media accounts. There’s also the option to add members as friends and communicate with them via private message.

Content Restriction

Ability to restrict individual posts or pages, but this has to be done manually for each post. There isn’t an option to set global restrictions based on categories or authors.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with most WordPress themes.
• Plugins — Compatible with most WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — Yes. Available extensions help integrate with a store.

Integrations

ProfileGrid has a few integrations with WooCommerce, email services and WordPress.

Payment Options

ProfileGrid integrates with both PayPal and Stripe.

ProfileGrid Support

• A knowledge base is available for all users.
• Premium and Premium+ subscriptions receive access to web support via online ticketing.

Pros of ProfileGrid

• Well-designed UI throughout.
• Simple tools to control everything.
• Lots of social aspects for members.
• Fully integrated with WooCommerce and extensions.
• Free version with paid extensions.

Cons of ProfileGrid

• Can cause occasional slowdowns when activated.

ProfileGrid Pricing

• Core — Free plugin.
• Premium — $79/year for a single-site license.
• Premium+ — $139/one-time for unlimited site license lifetime updates and support.
• Extensions — Option extensions for the free plugin from $49.

Get Started with ProfileGrid

14. Ultimate Membership Pro

Ultimate Membership Pro is a popular plugin that helps you create exclusive access programs for both free and paid members.

It’s a very popular membership plugin with thousands of happy customers and lots of great reviews.

Ease of Use

Configuration — The plugin comes with pre-created templates for registration pages, login pages, content areas and subscription pricing pages.

Member-friendliness — The member dashboard allows users to edit or customize profiles, social accounts, subscription levels, view orders and transaction history.

Content Restriction

Restrict access to pages, products, categories, any URL, images, files, navigational menus. Partial content restriction is also available to restrict based on certain parameters.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with most WordPress themes.
• Plugins — Compatible with most WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — Yes. Sell subscriptions using WooCommerce and offer discounts for packages.

Integrations

Ultimate Membership Pro has a decent number of integrations including email, social media and more as part of the package.

Payment Options

Ultimate Membership Pro integrates with multiple payment gateways:

• PayPal.
• Authorize.net.
• Stripe.
• Braintree.
• Payza.
• 2Checkout.
• Mollie,
• Pagseguro.

Ultimate Membership Pro Support

• Support is provided via Envato Market.
• All future updates as part of the purchase price.

Pros of Ultimate Membership Pro

• Templates for every conceivable use.
• Extensive reporting tools.
• Lots of payment gateway integrations.
• Flexible membership and content restriction options.
• Drip content tools.

Cons of Ultimate Membership Pro

• Complex plugin with lots of features to learn.

Ultimate Membership Pro Pricing

• Regular license — $59/one-time free for a single-site license.
• Additional support available at $26.25/year.

Get Ultimate Membership Pro

15. ARMember

The ARMember membership plugin is a complete system that allows you to build, maintain and grow a fully functional WordPress membership website.

It’s a powerful plugin used by businesses of all shapes and sizes.

Ease of Use

Configuration — Create and offer any type of membership plan — free, trial or paid plans, and recurring subscriptions. The built-in form builder allows you to create sign up forms, login pages, profile update pages and more.

Member-friendliness — Allows members to sign up and log in using social connect (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google).

Content Restriction

Restrict content (pages, posts, category, navigation menus, archives, BuddyPress pages) based on membership levels.

Drip content feature allows you to delay the release of content (posts, pages) based on membership levels and subscription period.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Works with any WordPress theme.
• Plugins — Works with most WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — Yes. Content restriction rules are available for WooCommerce products.

Integrations

ARMember is fully translation ready and supports the WPML plugin. Zapier integration is available to connect with other CRMs or email marketing platforms.

Payment Options

ARMember integrates with multiple payment gateways:

• PayPal.
• Authorize.net.
• Stripe.
• 2Checkout.
• Pagseguro.
• PayUmoney.
• Mollie.
• PayStack.

ARMember Support

• Extensive documentation and video tutorials.
• Dedicated web and email support is available for premium subscriptions.

Pros of ARMember

• Membership setup wizard included.
• Trial periods for new members.
• Drag and drop form builder.
• Flexible content restriction options.
• Free version available.

Cons of ARMember

• Not the most intuitive plugin to use.
• Some documentation is hard to follow.

ARMember Pricing

• ARMember Lite — Limited version with basic features.
• ARMember Pro — $69/one-time fee for a single-site license.
• ARMember Add-on Bundle Pack – $149 for 35 premium addons.

Get Started with ARMember

16. DigiMember

DigiMember is a useful plugin that allows you to create a fully functional membership website.

Rather than setting up an entire site for memberships, DigiMember offers per-page control for greater flexibility.

Ease of Use

Configuration — Easy to install and set up free and paid membership options. Create unlimited products and membership levels and choose which protected content belongs to which level.

Member-friendliness — Member account management to easily change passwords, edit profile information or delete accounts.

Content Restriction

Control how long members can access your content (a certain number of days, weeks or unlimited access).

Pay per post feature enables you to restrict access to single articles, and request a specific price for access.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility:

• Themes —. Works with any WordPress theme.
• Plugins — Works with most WordPress plugins and a list of the compatible plugins is growing.
• WooCommerce — Compatible with WooCommerce.

Integrations

DigiMember doesn’t change how the site works so it will integrate with most services you’ll use on your site.

Payment Options

DigiMember integrates with multiple payment gateways:

• PayPal.
• Stripe.
• 2Checkout.
• ClickBank.
• CleverBridge.
• AffiliCon.
• Digistore24.

DigiMember Support

• Extensive documentation and video tutorials available to all users.
• Dedicated email support is available for DigiMember Pro licenses via a ticketing system.
• Support Hours — 09:00 to 17:00 EST; Monday to Friday.

Pros of DigiMember

• Designed for ease of use.
• Unlimited products and membership levels.
• Drip feed tools included.
• Integrates with payment gateways and email tools.
• Secure download manager.

Cons of DigiMember

• Cost of premium puts it out of reach of smaller websites.

DigiMember Pricing

• Free — Limited to 1 membership level and 50 paying members.
• DigiMember Pro — $37/month. Unlimited members and membership products.
• Additional site licenses $10/month.

Get Started with DigiMember

17. Paid Memberships Pro

Paid Memberships Pro is an all-in-one WordPress Membership solution. Comprehensive documentation and the vast array of integrations and addons makes this plugin a must-have.

Ease of Use

Configuration — Paid Memberships Pro is one of the most powerful yet straightforward WordPress membership plugins to set up.

Member-friendliness — Members can cancel and modify memberships, use an invoice system and manage core membership settings.

Content Restriction:

Paid Membership Pro offers simple-to-use content restriction by membership level along with a range of addons to drip feed or protect content.

WordPress Theme/Plugin Compatibility

• Themes — Compatible with any WordPress theme (even custom themes). Also themes created by the Paid Memberships Pro team.
• Plugins — Compatible with all WordPress plugins.
• WooCommerce — Yes. Core eCommerce functions supported.

Integrations

Paid Memberships Pro currently has over 60+ integrations including Zapier. Some are included with the core product while others are enabled by addons.

Payment Options

Paid Memberships Pro supports:

• PayPal.
• Stripe.
• Authorize.net.
• Braintree.
• CyberSource.
• 2Checkout.
• Payfast.

Paid Memberships Pro Support

• Extensive user manual and knowledge base.
• Web support is available via a ticketing system.

Pros of Paid Memberships Pro

• Flexible membership levels and payment options.
• Uses REST API.
• Compatible with Zapier and other integrations.
• Open source core.
• Works for all types of membership websites.

Cons of Paid Memberships Pro

• Issues have been reported with some payment integrations.

Paid Memberships Pro Pricing

• Free — Unlimited site and some addons.
• Plus — $37/month for all addons and 1-5 site licenses.

Get Started with Paid Memberships Pro

Create Your Own Membership Website

Have any of these plugins inspired you to create your own membership website? It’s easy if you use WordPress and one of these membership plugins!

This video shows you how:

Conclusion

Now you have seen our list of WordPress membership plugins, what’s next?

All the best membership plugins for WordPress in this list are worth checking out otherwise they wouldn’t be here.

However, we recommend our own SureMembers plugin for anyone looking for ease of use, flexibility and reliability.

There’s no easier way to create a successful membership website!

If you want a WordPress theme to go with it, look no further than Astra. It will work seamlessly with any of these membership plugins and delivers exceptional designs and superior performance.

Recommended Astra’s templates:

• Membership website templates
• eLearning website designs and templates
• LMS website templates

Here’s the best part — Astra is available for free to use for your WordPress membership website.

As you grow your website and add more features, then Astra Pro will help you provide more customizations and personalization.

Do you run a membership website? What do you look for in a membership plugin? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Get your audience excited before the big moment by creating an engaging coming soon page!

Build anticipation and connect with potential customers before your site or product officially launches.

In this extensive tutorial we’ll talk about:

• Some cool examples of coming soon pages for inspiration
• How you can create a coming soon landing page in less than an hour
• Tried and tested tips for creating a killer coming soon landing page

Let’s start with those examples.

31 Coming Soon Page Examples

Need some inspiration for your coming soon landing page?

Check out these real-life examples used by different businesses.

We’ve organized them into two categories, websites and product launches.

Coming Soon Pages for Websites

Here are some great examples of coming soon pages from different industries.

These businesses successfully used these concepts for their launch.

1- Strax

Let’s start with Strax! They distribute mobile and health related accessories for a mobile lifestyle.

This coming soon page looks like a simple approach – a heading and two ‘unrelated’ visuals connected. We like this simplicity!

They connect gadgets with travel which means their products help people on the move.

The whole arrangement not only communicates more with less elements but also raises curiosity.

2- Quaternity Yoga

A healthy lifestyle is only possible when your body, mind, heart and soul are fully synchronized.

In this example, the visual communicates this message clearly.

For additional information, Quaternity Yoga provides a description of what they should expect from them.

They’ve also allowed people to get in touch through social media buttons on their coming soon page.

3- Demure

Demure raises the curiosity of to-be brides with a stunning visual.

With this background image they clearly tell you who the target audience is and what they should expect.

They also want potential customers to hear from them about their plans through a sign-up form.

The signup will help them collect the email addresses of people who are most likely to be interested in their product.

It’s a simple approach but it does the job right.

4- Koe Cheese Bread

Cheese bread enthusiasts will find this coming soon page more than enough to whet their appetite.

The visual makes your taste buds tingle and reveals all the delicious details of the ingredients used for baking the bread.

They also encourage you to sign up to learn more about their plans.

People interested in buying their bread will likely use live chat and social media buttons to connect.

5- AB Flooring

The background image on this coming soon page tells the whole story. The unrolling of a carpet and the heading tells what is coming without saying a word.

This approach is pretty straight forward and it works well.

Just like the earlier examples, AB Flooring only uses a signup option for potential customers to get in touch.

6- Crea

In this coming soon page example, Crea Furniture makes things more engaging.

They use multiple elements on a white background. After the heading, we see a counter that clearly shows how long users need to wait.

They’ve also added social media icons, email and a phone number.

Everything is there for the target audience to connect with them.

7- Hart Homes

Hart Homes deals in lavish houses, which is very clear from the background image on their coming soon page.

The use of typography is very much in line with the overall theme.

To engage with users, they’ve used a counter, signup option and social media icons for additional information.

8- Morgan Consultancy Services

Morgan Consultancy Services uses a simple but effective technique on their coming soon page.

A heading and a subheading tells what users should expect. Underneath, a large counter shows when they will launch the website.

They also use a contact form from and center so you can get in touch.

9- Planner

Planner offers smart agri solutions.

They want potential clients to wait and watch for something fresh coming their way.

Curious audiences can sign up or follow them on social media to get notified soon as they launch.

10- Inner Glow Design

When you want to increase more suspense, a traditional coming soon page works well.

Just a heading and a launch date, that’s all. This is what Inner Glow Design has done with their WordPress coming soon page.

Simple and effective, just the way we like it!

Coming Soon Page Examples for Product Launches

If you want to design a coming soon page for an upcoming product, the following examples will help.

11- Amazon

The Amazon AWS certification page shows everything a user needs to know about the exam schedule.

If you are running an educational site, this simple, no-nonsense design might be good inspiration.

12- Xbox

If you or your client are involved in running a gaming site, take a look at how Xbox has designed their coming soon page.

We like how Xbox has effectively used text and visuals to captivate the gaming enthusiasts.

The prominent heading and a date at the top provide a clear insight into the upcoming games.

13- Light House Cinema

This example from Light House Cinema is a simple way to showcase upcoming releases.

It is nicely categorized to allow users easy browsing and each page shows all the information users need to know about a movie.

It uses a familiar format we know from other movie reviews and releases so you automatically know where to look and what to expect.

14- Microsoft games

Depending on the number of upcoming products you have, you could organize things like Microsoft.

Users can filter games from the left sidebar, read an overview and preorder the desired item in a couple of clicks

Another simple but very effective way to display upcoming products, especially if you’re launching more than one.

15- Image Comics

If you want to be a little creative, Image Comics plays nicely with the visuals.

They display upcoming products on the front and offer menu elements so you can explore the rest of the site.

At the same time they’ve used the background space to tease the audience about the new graphic novel “Where the body was”.

16- Wallis

Wallis shows off upcoming movies in a traditional way.

They use a strong and elegant background without compromising the overall balance.

Everything is sharp and clear and the whole site design creates an atmosphere closely linked with the heyday of cinema.

17- Electronic Arts

If you’re into promoting products and services, Electronic Arts shows you how to display a coming soon digital product.

Every element is correctly sized and decently placed which allows users to get the information in one go.

Simple, effective messaging that lets the game speak for itself.

18- Holland Cooper

Holland Cooper offers a number of filters to go through upcoming clothing on their coming soon page.

You can see that the minimal design and white background highlight the products, which look beautiful.

19- Jenny Bird

We really like how Jenny Bird shows off jewelry in a minimal design.

The overall design of this coming soon page is more like our earlier example of Holland Cooper but there’s a difference.

A mouse hover effect is added for users who want to see how this item will look when they wear it.

Also notice a couple of search options at the top for easy browsing the product archive.

20- Jelly Cat

Jelly Cat shows us an eCommerce coming soon page. They use a white background to focus on products.

In addition to mentioning the price and product name, adding the date when the product will be available is a nice touch.

You can find multiple filters on the top and left to narrow down the search.

This is another great example of a product coming soon page where you’re releasing multiple products at once.

11- Abrams Books

Abrams Books sells children’s books online in addition to other paper made products.

Their coming soon page uses a multicolor menu on the sidebar and a large pane to feature the products.

Each book cover is surrounded by a title, brief outline, price and a prominent add to cart button.

22- The County Library

The County Library takes a little different approach than Abrams Books. They are more organized about sharing a roadmap for the next six months.

Each month is further categorized into different genres. You can click on each genre to see upcoming books, which helps build anticipation.

It’s more work to use than other pages here but it delivers what you would expect from a library.

23- Product Hunt

Product Hunt is a useful site to find out about the launch of digital products from a variety of sellers.

Their coming soon product page is a newsfeed style which notifies you when the product launches.

You can see the product title, brief description and who is following the launch of a specific product.

Feed styling works well, which is why we like this page.

24- Lafayette Anticipations

Lafayette Anticipations organizes an event called Coming Soon.

The page offers everything a participant needs: a call to action to buy a ticket, event name and when the date of the event.

For more information, you can scroll down to read the description of the event and learn everything you need to know.

25- NeighbourCare

NeighbourCare is a chain of primary health care services. Their coming soon page offers a number of ways to reach out to them.

At the same time, they’re trying to make you a little curious about what’s coming soon.

The simple graphic grabs your attention long enough for the page to communicate the message. Simple design done well.

Analyzing 6 Coming Soon Pages for Better Understanding

We discussed some great examples of coming soon pages earlier in the article.

It’s time to dive into some key insights so that you can create a page that really stands out from the crowd.

Let’s examine a few fantastic examples of coming soon pages and learn how you can use them to improve your own.

26- Stan Lab

Stan Lab collaborates with educational institutions and provides AI services for lab setups.

However, the content on their coming soon page isn’t doing much for their reputation.

Overlooking basic grammar rules might affect how people will look at their credibility regarding what they claim to offer.

It would be better to error check the page before publishing it to avoid unwanted errors.

If you want to hire someone, Upwork has plenty of editors to do this job.

Alternatively, you can use proofreading tools such as Grammarly to do it yourself.

27- Avenue Realty

Avenue Realty deals in the real estate industry. They’ve used a large sized text to inform people they are creating a new site and something is coming soon.

Anyone looking at it wouldn’t know what product or service is coming their way as ‘website’ isn’t exactly specific when matched with ‘we are coming soon’.

Not just that, there is no way to interact with them and make prelaunch queries.

Another thing to worry about is that the coming soon landing page still appears in searches long after launching their website.

How about using an image similar to their homepage? That would be more relevant.

Remember the Strax and Koe Cheese examples above?

And to make it more engaging, a chat or social media buttons could be added.

28- Ultra Cleaning Services

Ultra Cleaning Services takes orders online through their one page website that tells you everything about their expertise.

It’s a shame their old coming soon page still appears in search results with a messy description and no creative title.

Even their coming soon page displays a faulty counter and non-functional social media links.

This is enough for uss to leave the site for good. The whole thing shows no SEO and communication strategy.

What we learn here is to take care of our coming soon page after launching the website.

Here are some pointers:

• If we want to keep the coming soon page for a future need, make sure to update the content with something relevant. We have an example coming soon.
• Double check the title and meta description of the page to ensure the page uses SEO best practices.
• Alternatively, delete the page using SEO guidelines or redirect queries to another page.

29- June Store

Another example of a coming soon page that could be improved is The June Store.

The page doesn’t hint at what product or service this company will launch.

The company forgot to replace the placeholder text with a meaningful description under the heading.

And the worst part is that the page still appears in the search results despite the fact that this online store is live!

We can clearly see room for the following:

• Make sure your page clearly communicates the ‘what, why and when’ of your new product or service.
• You need to know SEO basics to create a well-optimized page. Alternatively, hire someone who knows.
• Use an editor to ensure everything looks right before publishing.

30- Sani Bel Candle

Sani Bel Candle has used a blog post instead of a web page for their coming soon campaign. You can notice a publishing date under the title.

This post might rank in the search engines but this is not how to create a positive first impression.

We recommend creating a dedicated page for your essential pages such as about us, contact and coming soon pages.

31- Little Moses: How To Do It Right

We really like how this company has paid attention to small details.

Little Moses specializes in designing baby products. Their dedication to catering to babies’ needs shines through their coming soon page.

After they launched their website, they chose to keep the page live to ensure it still shows up in searches.

However, they cleverly switched the “Coming Soon” heading to “We are live!” to inform anyone landing there that their website is up and running.

They’ve also included a link to their homepage in the middle of the page, a thoughtful touch to prevent losing visitors who come across it.

There are a few benefits of this approach:

• It doesn’t disappoint visitors
• The page remains SEO healthy
• It can be reused whenever company plan to launch a product in future

There are a number of other examples we can bring to you but you get the idea, right?

Create a Coming Soon Page

There are two main ways to create a coming soon page on your WordPress website.

• With a plugin
• With a code snippet

We’ll use the plugin method as it’s the fastest and easiest. It also offers a number of other benefits that you might find useful.

There are a lot of good plugins out there to do the job such as Spectra Pro, Elementor or SeedProd.

Choose a plugin that offers:

• Ease of use for all skill levels
• Essential design features
• Separate options for enabling coming soon mode and maintenance mode
• SEO benefits
• Top-notch support

We recommend Spectra.

Spectra is a very popular page builder with over 600K downloads. It

meets all our requirements and above all it offers a simple solution to complex requirements.

A coming soon page is one such feature.

You can install Spectra for free just like you would do with any other WordPress plugin.

If you have yet to set up your website, ZipWP is the best AI tool for building WordPress websites.

You could have a fully working first draft website in just 60 seconds!

You get a variety of options to build your site however you want. And the best part is, it automatically installs Spectra.

Here’s a video that explains everything about ZipWP.

Create a Coming Soon Page in 2 Simple Steps

Once you have the Spectra page builder installed on your website, you should see the following interface.

We will keep this part short and simple without going into the nitty gritty of what Spectra can do.

If you want to know more about how it works, the welcome video is a great resource.

You can also read this Spectra Pro review if you want to know everything about this excellent website builder.

Let’s begin with our coming soon page!

1- Create a Coming Soon Page With Spectra

You can use an existing page or create a new one from Pages > Add New Page.

You can use predesigned templates that the Spectra library offers or you can create from the ground by using Spectra blocks.

We’ll show you how to use a template as that’s the easiest.

In the page editor, press the Template Kit button to choose from a library of predesigned pages, patterns and kits.

Pick anything that suits you and customize it however you want. The whole thing is a breeze!

If you want to do everything yourself from scratch, Spectra offers a number of blocks and tons of design settings for each block.

Create a new page and press the block inserter button to open the blocks archive.

Choose the blocks that you want to use for your coming soon page.

We used the Image and Heading blocks to build a simple looking page for this tutorial.

Each block offers plenty of options to help you show it the way you want.

Select an item in the editor and look on the right side of your screen for the relevant settings.

Pro Tip:

You might want to display a little fancy design and a lot better tagline. It’s all easily achievable with Spectra! You can replicate any design from the sample coming soon pages we showed earlier.

2- Activate Coming Soon Mode

Once you have built a page and are happy with how it looks, it’s time to publish and use it.

From the Spectra menu, go to Settings and tap on the Site Visibility page.

Use the toggle button to enable Enable Coming Soon Mode.

Once enabled, a list field will appear. Choose the page that you want to use as your coming soon page.

In our case, we created a page called Coming Soon.

There is no save button. Settings will be saved automatically.

Now, whenever anyone visits your website, they will see your brand new coming soon page.

Users with admin rights will see and manage the website as usual.

Note:

Enabling this option will return an HTTP 200 status code to search engines which means the website is yet to be indexed. This is a great SEO feature for fresh websites that are under construction.

Activate Maintenance Mode

There’s also an option if your website is already live. If you don’t want visitors to see until you are done, try this:

On the Site Visibility page that we accessed earlier, the second option under Enable Coming Soon Mode is Enable Maintenance Mode.

Enable this option and your visitors will see a page of your choice reflecting what’s happening.

As we did earlier, you can create a new page using the blocks or use a pre-designed template and customize it however you want.

Remember, you can only enable one mode at a time. If you try to enable both modes simultaneously, Spectra will disable the previous option.

Note:

When you enable maintenance mode, the plugin sends HTTP 503 code to search engines. It requests not to index the site for a while. This is how it communicates that your site is undergoing maintenance.

Pro Tip:

You should use this mode for up to a few days. This might impact the overall SEO in case you use it for longer.

How To Properly Remove the Coming Soon Page

You should disable your coming soon page as soon as you’re ready to launch.

It’s a very simple process:

• Disable the respective option on the Site Visibility page. You can still keep the page for future use.
• Redirect or delete the page properly using the recommended methods.
• Clear the cache if you have a cache plugin on your website.

Advanced Tips for Coming Soon Pages

Crafting an engaging coming soon page is like cooking up something special.

Drawing from our extensive experience building websites, we’ve collected some proven methods to create a page that your visitors will adore.

Use Pages Instead of Blog Posts

We earlier saw the example of Sani Bel Candle’s coming soon page. that used a blog post instead of a dedicated page.

While posts and pages are similar, they have their own structures and purposes.

When crafting a coming soon page, it’s a wise choice to use a web page instead of a post.

Here are the top three reasons:

• Web pages are good for static content that rarely changes.
• A WordPress coming soon page typically has a more structured presence than a blog post.
• Blog posts usually carry a date stamp which makes them less permanent. This date also appears in the search results which doesn’t suit a coming soon page.

Grab Attention

The goal of your coming soon page is to spark curiosity to get visitors excited about what’s on the horizon.

It should communicate clearly, build anticipation and set expectations for what’s coming.

Communicate Clearly

Use compelling headlines and to the point descriptions. Avoid overwhelming the reader with technical jargons or complex language.

Your purpose should be to convey your message clearly and keep things straightforward.

Let the Visuals Speak

Visuals speak volumes. Use high-quality images, engaging videos, or animations to convey your message.

They set the scene for your brand or product.

If you don’t have a photographer on staff, you can always use free stock images to spice up your design.

Use Brand Fonts

You can be creative with font style but it should sync with your brand identity.

Consistent branding matters. Choose colors and fonts that reflect your brand’s personality.

A neat layout boosts both readability and how eye-catching your page is.

Test the Page First Before Going Live

Always test your coming soon page before taking it live.

Ensure functionality, check for any hiccups and ensure everything runs smoothly.

Skipping this step could lead to some unexpected and awkward moments!

Responsive Design Is a Must

Your coming soon page must look great on any device.

Responsive design ensures seamless viewing and interaction, whether on desktops, tablets, or smartphones.

Look for a theme and page builder that handles this automatically for you.

Utilize Countdown Timers or Progress Bars

Create excitement by displaying a countdown timer or progress bar. It builds anticipation, encouraging visitors to return for the launch.

Implement a Good SEO Strategy

Optimize your page for search engines. There are some great SEO plugins to help optimize your website.

Use relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and tags to increase visibility and attract organic traffic.

Keep an Eye on Performance

Track visitor behavior and engagement.

Analytics provide valuable insights to help you understand your audience and refine your strategy.

A great free tool is Google Analytics. You can easily implement this tool without a fuss.

Offer Something Valuable to Early Subscribers

Encourage sign-ups by offering exclusive content or early access. Incentives like discounts or special offers entice visitors to subscribe.

It’s a great way to sell something before you actually start selling.

Integrate Social Media To Spread the Word

Leverage social media for promotion. Integrate social sharing buttons to encourage visitors to spread the word, building anticipation within their networks.

Final Thoughts

You can craft a coming soon landing page for your website in many ways.

A nicely created page will help you benefit from it long before launching your website or product.

You can build the most relevant email list, book pre-sale orders and market yourself creatively.

All you need is a cool page builder that works, effective tips from professionals, and some real life examples to know how to achieve your goal.

What kind of page are you aiming for? If you’ve created an awesome page, we’d love to hear about it. Share your thoughts in the comments below!

All you need is a WordPress site and the right booking plugin.

In this article you’ll learn:

• The best WordPress booking plugins to use
• What each plugin is good for
• What should you look for in a booking and appointment plugin, and why
• Our opinion of the top three WordPress booking plugins

Let’s begin our journey!

9 Essential Features of WordPress Booking Plugins

You might think a booking system is merely a calendar attached to a simple form.

In reality, it’s a more complex process and depends on the type of booking business.

For instance, a gym might have multiple personal trainers. Each trainer needs their own schedule listed on the website.

Similarly, a dental clinic may need to show specific times and offer different types of services.

Therefore, you should know what the right booking plugin has to offer.

Here are some essential features you should look for in a WordPress booking plugin:

1- Ease of use

The first thing a plugin needs is user-friendliness. Especially for a booking and appointments plugin, it should be easy for both clients and admins.

Clients should have a smooth time booking appointments on the website.

And on the admin side, managing everything should also be a breeze.

2- Customization

The best WordPress booking plugins let you tweak both the front and back ends for a great user experience.

You should be able to put a booking button and form wherever you need and style them however you want.

It should also be compatible with third party tools such as calendars, payment gateways, or marketing platforms.

3- Auto notifications

Once a client books an appointment, you should get an email or SMS notification. This event should alert your agent and also send a confirmation to your client.

The plugin should also allow you to customize these notifications and choose the channel it uses.

4- Location and schedule support

Your desired WordPress booking plugin should support multiple locations and schedules.

For instance, you might offer various services on different days or specific times, like health counseling or training in different places.

Your booking plugin should be flexible enough to handle all these variations without having to reconfigure everything.

5- Multi-payment support

A top-notch booking plugin should provide a range of popular payment methods. This makes it easier for clients to pay in the way that suits them best.

It’s a win-win, fewer no-shows and lower cart abandonment rates.

Ideally, it should also integrate well with popular eCommerce plugins such as WooCommerce and SureCart.

6- Mobile friendliness

Lots of people use their phones to access the internet. Sites that work smoothly on mobile catch the most eyes – like Alibaba, eBay, or Amazon.

Your booking plugin needs to be fully responsive and make it easy for clients to book on any device.

7- Multiple bookings at once

For businesses with lots of services, having a plugin that lets clients book multiple things at once is super important.

Imagine a client wants to book several services together – like a beard trim, haircut, and a full facial massage. They should be able to book it all in one go on your website.

If your booking plugin can’t do this, they’d have to book each appointment separately, which can be a blocker.

8- Avoid booking overlap

When many clients want the same time slot, only one should get it.

For instance, if someone books Monday from 4 PM to 6 PM, the calendar should mark that slot as taken.

The booking plugin should prevent double bookings, so even if two people try to book at once, it stops them overlapping.

You wouldn’t want multiple clients coming in at the same time and only you to cater to them!

9- Group bookings

Group booking is a must have feature for some businesses, so it’s a must for your booking plugin. This is super handy for places like restaurants, hotels, vacation rentals and educational businesses.

Imagine booking an Airbnb separately for each family member – that’s a hassle you’d definitely want to skip!

Comparing the Top 3 WordPress Booking Plugins

Let’s quickly compare the features of our top three picks from our list to help you make an informed decision.

Best 19 Appointment Booking Plugins

Let’s explore the complete list of best WordPress booking plugins!

1- LatePoint

To start off our discussion, let’s check out what Alex Simov, a solopreneur and creator, has to say about LatePoint.

Pricing:

• You can purchase licenses for up to 10 websites. A single site license starts at $49 for the first year

Description

LatePoint stands out among WordPress booking plugins for its incredible user-friendliness.

It offers lots of tools and options, neatly packed into an easy-to-navigate dashboard that you’ll master in no time.

The plugin allows you to place your booking button and form anywhere you want without touching a line of code.

In addition to offering tons of modern features, LatePoint has a comprehensive knowledge base to help you in any situation.

For instance, if you need help with Google Calendar synchronization on your site, there is a step by step guide to help you enable it.

Features

• Well designed and a simple dashboard to control everything
• Can sync with Google Calendar
• Add your own services and sub-services as your business requires
• Everything is customizable
• Downloadable appointment, customer and payment data
• Zoom and Google Meet integration
• Group booking support
• Twilio integration for sending SMS notifications
• Webhooks available for third party tools such as Zapier or SureTriggers
• Multiple location and time zone selection support
• Multiple payment gateway support
• 26 addons included with the Pro plan to add extra features
• Optimized for maximum performance
• Detailed analytics to know about business performance

Best for:

• Any booking based business of any scale
• Use cases include legal firms, photographers, studios, gyms and personal trainers, yoga instructors, educators, healthcare practitioners, salons and beauty therapists and a lot more

Go to LatePoint

2- Amelia

Pricing:

• Free version available. Premium plans start at $64

Description

Amelia is a fantastic WordPress booking plugin. It’s great for many industries like gyms, health clinics, law firms, spas, salons, photographers, and others.

The free version is a nice option for basic needs. But if you’re looking for advanced features such as online payments, recurring appointments, unlimited staff or notifications, you’ll need the premium version.

Features

• Automatic notifications via SMS, email and WhatsApp
• Responsive calendar that synchronizes with Google and Outlook
• WooCommerce integration and multiple payment gateway support
• Zoom and Google Meet integration for online appointments
• Insightful admin dashboard with key metrics
• Google Analytics integration for in depth monitoring

Best for:

• Businesses looking to use it on multiple sites and for multiple services
• Typical uses cases include beauty and spa salons, barbers, photographers, studios, doctors and healthcare, event companies, gyms and personal trainers, automotive or coaching businesses

Go to Amelia

3- Booknetic

Pricing:

• A license costs $79 as a one time purchase. Advanced features need additional paid addons

Description

Booknetic is a flexible and easy-to-use plugin for booking appointments.

What stands out Booknetic is its ability to integrate with a wide range of third party tools.

It’s a good deal for most basic needs with a one time cost. But if you need advanced features such multiple payment methods or Zoom meetings, you’ll want the premium addons.

Features

• Customize everything to suit your needs
• Modern and user-friendly interface
• Drag and drop form builder makes things easy
• Streamline bookings with custom working hours, buffer times, holidays, and more
• Support for multiple services, employees and locations
• Integration with multiple payment gateways

Best for:

• Small businesses looking for an affordable and effective booking system
• Use cases include hotels, salons, dentists, law offices, consultants, and gyms

Go to Booknetic

4- Bookly

Pricing

• Paid single lifetime license for the basic version costs $89 per year
• Advanced features come with paid addons

Description

Bookly is an excellent WordPress booking plugin for automating bookings for any type of business. It lets customers book multiple appointments at once, making it a super convenient feature.

Once they book an appointment, the plugin automatically sends a confirmation email.

As an admin, you have the freedom to customize the booking form, add special holidays to the calendar, set up a space for your staff, and do much more.

Features

• Option to add unlimited booking form, services, and staff members
• Easy to import and export unlimited customers with their payment and stats.
• Create a separate pricing structure for different staff members.
• Detailed calendar to show all appointments. Color coded for different services
• Send SMS and email reminders to customers
• Customers can make online payments through PayPal, or pay on arrival
• Built-in analytics
• Google Calendar synchronization
• WooCommerce compatibility

Best for:

• Companies and individuals looking for an affordable booking solution with a one-time license fee on a single domain
• Salons and beauty, health and wellness, medicine, education, fitness and gyms, or any professional service that can be scheduled

Go to Bookly

5- Booking Calendar

Pricing

• One-time personal license starts at $31.60 for a single site for the first year
• One-time multi-users license starts at $259.60 for a single site for the first year

Description

Booking Calendar is another smart choice that allows clients to check availability and reserve slots on specific dates and times.

You can use multi-color calendars and legends to show availability of days and times.

Regardless of your accommodation business type, you can also allow single or multiple-day reservations with a few clicks.

Clients don’t need to press the usual ‘Next’ button to process their bookings. Everything is visible right there.

Features

• Send auto email notifications for pending and confirmed bookings
• A simple and user friendly interface that makes booking a breeze
• Responsive design that works on all devices
• Lots of options to customize and organize your booking calendar
• Add any number of booking resources
• Advanced features for offering seasonal discounts or coupons
• Configure forms and email templates however you want
• Manage bookings for specific times in a day

Best For

• Service or accommodation business of any scale
• Use cases include hotels, houses, apartments, legal services, equipment rentals, meetings or events.

Go to Booking Calendar

6- Easy Appointmzents

Pricing

• Starter extension starts at $39 per year. It includes a support account.

Description

As the name suggests, Easy Appointments is a simple and straightforward plugin.

You get basic features without the bells and whistles other plugins on our list offer.

It doesn’t mean the plugin lacks essential features. You can use it for multiple locations and services and connect them with specific employees.

The plugin integrates seamlessly with PayPal. But if you want to offer more payment methods such as Visa or Mastercard, it can be done through WooCommerce.

Features

• Multiple locations, services, and workers
• Create a dedicated calendar for a location, service or agent
• Flexible timetable that can easily handles the most complex time slots
• Automatically notify admins, workers and customers through email about booking statuses
• Bookings can be confirmed via a link inside emails
• Populate customer form fields with logged in users’ data
• Five multi-languages are supported
• SMS notification support via Twilio and Omnicom

Best for

• A variety of booking services based businesses such as salons, cleaning services, doctors, spas, personal trainers, lawyers, and more.

Go to Easy Appointment

7- MotoPress Appointment Booking

Pricing

• Free version called Appointment Booking Lite
• A single site license costs $59 per year

Description

The WordPress Appointment Booking plugin by MotoPress is ideal for multiple services, staff members, and locations. It’s powerful, easy to use and can work for most appointment types.

It takes just a few clicks to set up payment processing options, including PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link. The plugin also provides deposit and coupon options.

Staff timetables can include breaks, holidays and working hours to make resource management simple. You can also manage automated email appointment notifications and reminders, giving you everything you need for your business.

Features

• Unlimited services, employees, and locations
• Online and onsite payments
• Book multiple services at once
• Automated notifications and reminders
• Group appointments
• A centralized bookings calendar to view all bookings
• Synchronization with staff Google Calendars
• Customer accounts to log in and view booking details
• Built-in analytics dashboard to visualize business performance

Best for:

• Education beauty and wellness, healthcare, fitness and coaching, photography: studios, videographers, and event planners.

Go to MotoPress Appointment Booking

8- BookingPress

Pricing

• Free version available, premium starts at $99 per year

Description

BookingPress is a super flexible WordPress booking plugin. It allows you to control how your booking system appears and functions on your site.

You can tweak your booking forms however you want. You can also set up different dashboards for admins and staff.

No matter your business size, BookingPress is designed to boost your online bookings and deliver fantastic results.

Features

• Fully customizable appointment booking plugin
• Responsive design
• 17+ online payment gateways integration (PayPal, RazorPay, Stripe and others)
• Supports dynamic pricing
• Advanced reports and analysis
• Whatsapp, email and SMS notifications
• Invoicing feature with PDF support
• Google, Apple and Outlook calendar integration
• Advanced staff dashboard for staff members
• Custom booking fields with conditional behaviors
• Fully customizable booking forms and customer panel
• Cart facility for multi-booking
• Customizable email notifications

Best for:

• It’s a great solution for booking business of any scale
• You can use it for health services, dental clinics, pet grooming salons, cleaning services, yoga classes, maintenance and repair, class scheduling, boat and car rentals, fitness, gyms and a lot more

Go to BookingPress

9- Simply Schedule Appointment

Pricing

• Free version comes with most basic features. Premium plans start at $99 per year

Description

Simply Schedule Appointments is a great WordPress plugin if you want to simplify client booking for your business.

It packs loads of features to make managing bookings a breeze. One standout feature is how it caters to everyone, including those with extra auditory, visual, or physical needs.

The plugin is all about accessibility, making it easy for everyone to use.

Features

• Manage staff schedules and team bookings
• Stripe and PayPal payments
• Google Calendar sync and conflict management
• Zoom integration for web meetings
• SMS notifications with Twilio
• Gravity Forms and Formidable Forms integration
• Build beautiful booking page layouts with Elementor, Divi, or Beaver Builder
• Advanced scheduling options such as per day limits, buffers, and booking windows
• Unlimited appointments, booking calendars, and email notifications

Best for:

• Consultants and small businesses
• Use cases include podcasters, lawyers, agencies, personal trainers, hair stylists and more

Go to Simply Schedule Appointment

10- MotoPress Hotel Booking

Pricing

• One-time single site license costs $99
• One-time unlimited sites license costs $199

Description

As the name suggests, the MotoPress Hotel Booking plugin is an all-in-one property management suite.

It’s a great booking solution for hospitality businesses.

What’s worth mentioning is the iCal Channel Management feature. It makes it simple to sync in real time with platforms like Airbnb, Booking.com and TripAdvisor.

Features

• User friendly booking form that also shows availability for bookings
• Offer comprehensive accommodation details along with a featured image
• Dedicated booking calendar with all information including room type, period of booking, room status, and more
• Option to set flexible pricing
• Support for online payments with built in support for PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, and other gateways
• Visitors can make group bookings
• Sends email confirmations to admin and guests
• Shortcode and widget support

Best for:

• Any type of accommodation business such as hotels, vacation rentals, apartments and hostels.

Go to MotorPress Hotel Booking

11- Booking & Appointment Plugin for WooCommerce

Pricing

• Starter plan for single site costs $299 per year

Description

If you’re a fan of combining WooCommerce with a booking plugin, the Booking & Appointment plugin for WooCommerce is a great option.

You can create bookings for every type of WooCommerce product—simple, group, variable, bundled, or composite.

A standout feature is its impressive search widget that shows off available dates and times to your customers in the sidebar.

Features

• Optimized for taking bookings, appointments and rentals
• Users can search for time and date availability before booking
• Supports unlimited bookings
• Customers have the option to reschedule a booking
• Admin has the option to confirm or deny a booking
• Lots of customization options for the booking calendar
• Option to send SMS and email reminders
• Compatible with multi-vendor plugins like Dokan and WC Vendors Pro
• Google Calendar integration
• Calendar management includes off-days customization
• Customize prices based on specific days
• WooCommerce support

Best for:

• Real estate agencies, transport business, hotels, doctors, beauticians, wedding planners and consultancy services

Go to Booking & Appointment Plugin for WooCommerce

12- WooCommerce Bookings

Pricing

• The plugin is available for $20.75 per month or $249 per year

Description

Another WooCommerce based plugin in our list of best WordPress appointment plugins is WooCommerce Bookings.

If you’re using WooCommerce or thinking about it, this booking add-on will give you lots of booking options.

Whether you’re scheduling appointments for a salon or renting out hotel rooms, WooCommerce Bookings can handle it all.

One thing we love about this plugin is how it lets you allow multiple vendors to offer their services on your site.

You can do this by using other WooCommerce add-ons and themes designed for specific niches.

For instance, you can use the WooCommerce Product Vendor plugin to create a marketplace for rental properties.

Addons such as Deposits, AutomateWoo, Follow-Ups, or the Hotel theme are a few of the options within the WooCommerce ecosystem. These can help you set up a fantastic booking site.

Features

• Option to define time intervals for each appointment
• Allow users to specify a time length for each booking or appointment
• Supports group bookings
• Option to specify a minimum and a maximum number of customers/clients per appointment
• Set up special pricing and discounts for group bookings, appointments on specific days, and so on
• Support for online payments
• You can review each appointment before confirming a booking
• Automatically send email reminders to reduce no-shows
• Booking overlay support
• Google Calendar synchronization
• Tons of addons available for the plugin to add niche-specific features

Best for:

• Making reservations, appointments and renting equipment

Go to WooCommerce Bookings

13- Salon Booking System

Pricing

• Annual license for Basic plan $75.69 (€69) per year for a single site

Description

The Salon Booking System isn’t just for salons. It can cater to a range of booking businesses.

It suits various booking businesses like hairdressers, doctors, photographers, and more.

While you might wish for a few modern features you’d want, one prominent feature is its mobile web app. It works just like the desktop version to let you manage, create, and edit reservations on the go.

So if you or your staff is on the move, the plugin makes sure you don’t miss a reservation.

Features

• Mobile web app makes sure to set appointments on the go
• Handle multiple branches from a single dashboard
• Option to set up custom booking rules to best reflect your timetable
• Set holiday rules and off-days
• A dedicated backend calendar to help you manage, cancel, or create bookings
• Option to create unlimited services, agents, and locations
• Send reminder emails and SMS to your customers and staff
• Integrated discount system for loyal customers
• Google Calendar synchronization
• Tons of customization options for the booking form
• Support for online payment via PayPal, Stripe, and Redsys
• Detailed reports and stats on reservations, most booked services, most booked assistants, and highest spending customers

Best for

• Barbershops, hairdressers, beauticians, nail bars, spas, therapists, clinics, tattoo parlors, tutors, consultants, rental services, car shops, dog groomers and sports facilities

Go to Salon Booking System

14- Webba Booking

Pricing

• Free version available. A premium license for a single site costs $19 per month

Description

If you are looking for an easy-to-use WordPress booking plugin with great support, give Webba Booking a shot.

It comes with detailed documentation that makes setting up and managing the plugin super easy.

The free version comes with the most basic feature but for accepting payments you’ll need the premium version.

Features

• Offer unlimited services and organize them effortlessly
• Webba offers built-in translations and seamless compatibility with WPML
• Manage and modify all your bookings with just a few clicks
• Take charge of business hours and holidays
• Set pricing based on time, day, and the number of already booked time slots
• Personalize and toggle email notifications, adding your own touch with variables
• Visualize your booking trends over time for easy tracking
• Seamlessly conduct online meetings with Zoom events
• Create special deals on specific days using promotional coupons
• Works with Paypal, Stripe, or Woocommerce (with over 100 gateways)
• 2-way Google Calendar integration
• Send SMS notifications using Twilio
• Customize booking form design to match your brand

Best for:

• Wellness business, sports, salon, consulting, events, medical clinic, rental business or any other booking based business

Go to Webba Booking

15- Start Booking

Pricing

• Free version is available. The Basic plan starts from $79 per year

Description

If you run a small booking based business, Start Booking is more than just a booking plugin. It’s a versatile platform that also gives you time management tips to help boost your productivity.

The Start Booking plugin for WordPress gives you a super-customizable look that blends perfectly with your theme.

Your customers can check available times, book appointments or join classes, tweak their bookings, and pay for services—all without leaving your website.

Features

• Provides an intuitive interface for users to book appointments on your website
• Supports group bookings
• Stripe integration for online payments
• Comes with email and SMS support
• Gives you the option to create separate calendars for staff members
• MailChimp integration to help send emails
• Detailed analytics and reporting
• Partially cloud-based
• Responsive and mobile friendly

Best for:

• Gyms, yoga studios, healthcare, beauty, law firms, spas, salons and similar businesses

Go to Start Booking

16- OzApp

Pricing

• Free version available. Premium license costs $79 as a one-off fee.

Description

OzApp (formerly Book an appointment online PRO) is the next in our top WordPress booking plugins list. It stands out with its mobile phone management feature.

Unlike the Salon Booking System which sticks to a web interface, OzApp has its own Android app.

The idea is to make it convenient for you to manage your booking business on the move.

Features

• Accept payment online with PayPal, Stripe, Yookassa or WooCommerce
• Clients can select single or multiple services at once
• Mobile app allows to view appointments booked via the web
• Video conferencing features
• Booking and appointment notifications through email and SMS (Twilio)
• Seamless integration with WhatsApp, Google Calendar, Firebase, Recaptcha
• Custom fields available to add/remove fields from the booking form
• Ability to add breaks during working hours or take the days off
• Client management area for viewing and canceling appointments

Best for:

• Doctors, hairdresser and stylists with a younger audience who prefer mobile apps

Go to OzApp

17- PinPoint Booking System

Pricing

• Free version available. Premium version starts at $70 per year

Description

PinPoint Booking System is a really flexible choice that works well for both small and big companies.

If you are running an accommodation business such as a hotel, PinPoint is one of the easiest solutions out there.

It comes with lots of ways to handle check-ins, check-outs at different times, and has a detailed reservation management section.

But don’t think it’s just for hotels. You can use it for any type of business!

Features

• Beautiful front end helps you stand out from the competition
• Admin or users can create AJAX powered unlimited booking calendars
• Calendars can be duplicated and show data depending on the timezones
• Administrators can add notes to calendars for themselves or others
• Clients can view calendars
• Business locations can be added to Google Maps
• WooCommerce compatibility allows managing payments in multiple ways
• Multilingual support for front and back end can translate everything
• Reservation management automatically updates booking calendars
• Each booking calendar can be synchronized with Google Calendar, iCalendar or Airbnb
• Personalize email templates based on notification type and language
• Add booking calendars anywhere in the sidebar through widgets

Best for:

• Accommodation businesses benefit most, but the plugin offers features that work for a variety of industries

Go to PinPoint Booking System

18- Gravity Bookings For Gravity Forms

Pricing

• Gravity Forms’s basic license for a single site starts from $59 per year
• Gravity Booking’s basic plan start from $79.99 per year

Description

Did you know you can schedule appointments and events using Gravity Forms?

If you’re thinking of using Gravity Forms on your website, or if you already do, you can easily manage appointments and events.

If your customers pay you in person, Gravity Forms’ built-in features can help you set up a basic booking system on your site quickly.

For more advanced features like accepting payments, offering discounts, or using an appointment calendar, you’ll need third-party add-ons or plugins.

One great addon is Gravity Bookings which comes with lots of bells and whistles.

There are a few more choices such as GF eCommerce Fields or Simply Schedule Appointments.

You can choose the one that suits your needs.

Let’s take a look at the key features Gravity Bookings offers:

Features

• Synchronize bookings with Google Calendar and Outlook Calendar
• Customers can add appointment details to their personal calendar with a single click
• Offer multiple payment methods
• Add unlimited booking rules such as service categories, time slots or staff count
• Customize your booking forms however you like
• Export your booking data in multiple formats such as CSV or PDF
• Create multi-steps booking forms for customer’s ease
• RTL support allows bookings for clients who use RTL languages
• Preview your booking form before taking it live
• Conditional logic allows you to hide or disable fields based on specific needs

Best for

A variety of appointment based businesses such as doctors, spas, gyms, tutors, restaurants and more.

Go to Gravity Forms | Gravity Bookings

19- WP Simple Booking Calendar

Pricing

• Free version available. Premium version costs $39 per year for a single site

Description

Last but not the least, we have WP Simple Booking Calendar. It’s a popular plugin that makes renting out your property via your website a breeze.

Visitors can easily check when your place is available and book it hassle-free.

You can add a calendar in minutes that works smoothly on any device. You’ve got choices – use the block editor, a widget, or shortcode to add the calendar to a post or page.

While it’s ideal for vacation rentals, it’s also handy to display availability for rooms, offices, or equipment.

Features

• Bulk edit dates in a single click
• Combine multiple calendars into one for a clear view
• Search widget allows customers to see available dates
• Simple and responsive UI that works well on all devices
• Language translation options
• Create unlimited calendars to refer to different products
• Google Calendar synchronization, data backup and restoration
• Synchronize with any website that supports iCalendar format such as Airbnb and Booking.com
• Unlimited booking calendars (premium only)

Best for:

• Hotels, guest house and property rentals businesses

Go to WP Simple Booking Calendar

Top 5 WordPress Booking Plugins: A Quick Overview

If you’re short on time and can’t go through the whole list of booking plugins, don’t worry! We’ve picked out the top 5 performers to cover all your booking service needs.

Final Thoughts

That was our deep dive into finding the perfect WordPress booking plugins for your site. We’ve made a handy checklist to help you choose the right appointment booking plugin.

Each of these plugins delivers, otherwise they wouldn’t be here. But, if it were us, we would choose LatePoint. It has all the features you’ll need alongside an ease of use that makes it accessible to anyone.

Did any of these stand out to you? Share your favorites with us in the comments below!

MemberPress is a popular plugin that comes with plenty of features and a support for a number of addons.

But, is it right for your membership business?

In this MemberPress review, we’ll give you a comprehensive breakdown of what’s good, what’s not so good and what could be better.

We cover:

• What qualities set a membership plugin apart
• Do those features exist in MemberPress?
• How simple is it to get started with MemberPress?
• What we think about MemberPress

As the company behind the SureMembers plugin, we know a thing or two about building membership websites.

We’ll use that knowledge for your benefit here.

What To Look For in a Membership Plugin

When searching for the perfect membership plugin, keep these key essentials in mind,

A membership plugin should have:

• Content dripping: Provide content based on a schedule you set.
• Content expiration: Let you control how long members can access specific content.
• Membership management: Make it simple to cancel, pause or modify memberships.
• Discounts and coupons: Offer discounts, coupons or gifts to both existing and new members.
• Flexible payment plans: Provide flexible payment plans such as partial or recurring payments.
• Easy payments: Give you the option to offer multiple payment methods to suit a wider audience.
• Email integration: Work smoothly with popular email services.
• Customization: Allow you to customize the checkout process and essential pages.
• Ease of use: Be easy to work with for anyone regardless of experience.

Considering these essentials, let’s explore whether MemberPress is the best WordPress membership plugin or not.

MemberPress Overview

MemberPress is a robust membership plugin used widely across the internet.

It excels at handling core functions like content protection, access control, and subscription management.

With just a few clicks, you can set rules to manage content access and decide who sees what and when.

Whether you prefer partial protection, a paywall, or members-only, it’s easy to configure from within the plugin.

It provides full control over where members can go, what they see and when.

You can direct them to a custom dashboard for upgrades, downgrades, subscription pauses, or self-administration of accounts.

You also get built-in email notifications that allow you to create automated messages. Useful for essential tasks such as subscription renewals, credit card expiry, or cart abandonment.

What really stands out about MemberPress is its adaptability.

If you want a straightforward membership management solution, the built-in features are sufficient. If you need more advanced features, the plugin has you covered with tons of addons and integrations.

What People Say About MemberPress

Having been around for over a decade, MemberPress is one of the industry’s most seasoned players.

Let’s see what real users are saying about it.

Here are a couple of reviews from TrustPilot and GetApp:

Review 1 (GetApp)

Review 2 (GetApp)

Review 3 (Trustpilot)

Review 4 (Trustpilot)

That’s what other people think of MemberPress, now let’s share what we think!

MemberPress Features

Here are some key features of MemberPress :

• Create unlimited members and courses
• Flexible content dripping
• Easy to manage subscriptions
• Create coupons to boost sales
• Customize access rules based on your needs
• Built-in support for PayPal, Stripe and Authorize.net
• Reminder management
• Build your own affiliate program
• Built-in tool to handle taxes

As you can see, the plugin has the core features most business needs to run a membership website.

Need some food for thought for your next membership website? We have some amazing ideas that work:

• 30+ membership site examples that created devoted fans
• 14 Best membership website ideas for your business in 2024

How To Use MemberPress

Now we’re a little more familiar with MemberPress, let’s explore how simple it is to set up on a WordPress website.

If you’re a beginner, this section will also guide you through how to get started with MemberPress.

Install and Activate the Plugin

Once you sign up, you can download the plugin (in zip file format) from your user dashboard.

Once the plugin file has downloaded, it’s time to install it on your WordPress site.

Log in to your WordPress admin area and navigate to the plugin menu.

Click on the Add New Plugin menu item, then hit the Upload Plugin button at the top.

In the middle of the page, you’ll find the Choose File button.

Click on it and select the MemberPress.zip file you downloaded.

Once you’ve chosen the file from your computer, hit the Install Now button to proceed.

Then hit the blue Activate Plugin button.

On the MemberPress Settings page, head to the License tab to enter and activate your license. This ensures you receive the latest updates each time they are released.

Note: You’ll find the license key inside your MemberPress dashboard.

That’s the basic plugin installation complete. Let’s now set things up.

Set Up a Payment Method

Before adding memberships to your website, it’s crucial to configure the payment methods.

To set up payments, go to the Payments tab within the Settings menu.

You’ll find the Add Payment Method option next to a ‘+’ button. Click on it to explore the available options.

You will see a few options to choose from:

• Stripe
• Offline
• PayPal
• Authorize.net

Each payment method comes with its own specific set of options.

When you choose a method, you’ll need to add its name for internal processing and provide the necessary information.

For instance, if you opt for Stripe, you’ll need to give it a name and select a couple of options.

After that, hit the Connect with Stripe button on the right to link your website with the payment gateway.

A wizard will appear that walks you through the rest of the process.

Once you’re done, click the Update button to save your new payment method.

The settings area includes other tabs where you can input business information or integrate external services.

For example, in the General tab, you can choose currency defaults and configure some SEO options.

Note: When there’s a significant update in MemberPress, it’s highlighted with a red New label.

For instance, when writing this review, we noticed a new option in the Taxes tab called Enable Stripe Tax.

This fresh feature assists in automatically calculating tax when you have Stripe payments enabled.

Set Up Membership Levels

Once you’ve finished configuring the payment method, the next step is to create membership levels.

To do this, click on the Memberships menu in the left sidebar. This action will take you to the membership management area.

Click the Add New button at the top to open the membership editor.

MemberPress uses WordPress default functionality, so this editor resembles a page editor.

Add a title and description and proceed to the Membership Terms widget in the right sidebar.

The widget enables you to set a price for the membership.

Once you input the price, it opens up the Billing Type option. You’ll see a dropdown menu for selecting either a one-time or recurring payment.

If you opt for a recurring payment, you’ll see a few additional choices, such as:

• Interval – Set weekly, monthly, yearly or custom payment intervals.
• Trial Period – Specify the number of days for the trial period, set the price or choose to keep it free.
• Allow Only One Trial – Limit members to a single trial.
• Limit Payment Cycles – Allow users to make a specified number of payments before their subscription expires or provide them with lifetime access.

After you’ve set the price, you might want to tailor the membership options.

Scroll down to locate the Membership Options window, which displays four tabs: Registration, Permission, Price Box, and Advanced.

You can customize a number of things here such as:

• Registration button text
• Thank you page message
• Welcome email members will receive after they sign up
• Payment methods
• Who can sign up for the membership
• Price box
• Membership access URL
• Login redirect URL

If you wish to include a featured image for this membership, you can do so from the sidebar.

Once everything is in order, click the Publish button to make the membership level live.

Create Rules for Memberships

Rules give you the power to determine how members engage with your content.

To achieve this, click on Rules in the left sidebar. This action will open the rules management page.

Click the Add New button at the top to create a new rule.

After the title screen, you’ll encounter three widgets: Content & Access, Drip/Expiration, and Unauthorized Access.

Content & Access allows you to:

• Choose the type of content you want to protect. It could be a post/page, category, tag, a group or entire content.
• Set the access restriction based on conditions.

Drip/Expiration includes the option to:

• Choose how you want to release content. Include a period after a member registers, a specific date, or after a member makes a purchase.
• Specify when you want the content to expire: after a member registers, on a specific date, or after a member makes a purchase.

Unauthorized Access empowers you to override global settings for handling unauthorized access to content protected by any particular rule.

Addons and Integrations

MemberPress seamlessly integrates with a variety of third-party services and plugins.

For instance, if your target audience includes WeChat users, you can enable payments through the China Payments Plugin addon.

If you’re switching to MemberPress from another plugin and need to import existing members, the native importer plugin can help.

Simply navigate to the Add-ons page and click the Install Add-on button within your desired widget to install it.

MemberPress Pricing

MemberPress provides four plans designed to cater to various audiences.

The Basic plan, suitable for a single website, is priced at $359 per year.

This plan is ideal for solopreneurs. It allows you to manage unlimited members, memberships, and restrict content according to your preferences.

However, if you need advanced features such as content dripping, multiple coaches, Taxjar integration, or order bumps, you’ll need a higher-tier plan.

Here’s a summary of the MemberPress plans:

MemberPress Review: Our Experience

MemberPress has a long-standing presence that makes it a reliable choice for many membership business requirements.

Whether you’re selling courses, podcasts, or exclusive content, the plugin handles it all.

One standout feature is its user-friendly setup which makes it accessible for beginners with no prior experience.

You won’t find yourself grappling with complex tasks like connecting payment methods or creating rules and groups – MemberPress streamlines the entire setup process.

It sounds like a perfect solution, but there are areas we think need attention. We are in 2024 with more diverse needs than ever before.

Today, it’s more about simplicity, modern features, customization and great user experience.

With MemberPress, you have to rely on addons and third-party plugins for additional features.

Tasks such as generating a PDF invoice, incorporating a captcha feature, or enabling members to download content may require separate addons.

Unfortunately, many addons add database tables which can gradually increase the database size over time.

This, in turn, adds to the effort required to maintain an optimized database.

If you ever decide to remove MemberPress, it might require expert assistance to uninstall the base plugin and addons and remove the database tables they added.

We would also like the freedom to customize member areas and forms to better align with individual needs and use payment methods of our choice.

MemberPress: The Pros

The things we like about MemberPress include:

• Easy to set up
• No transaction fees or monthly fee
• Built-in tax handling
• Tons of customizable email templates
• Comprehensive reporting to monitor everything
• Segment memberships with groups
• Highly flexible content dripping and expiration modules
• Responsive customer support

MemberPress: The Cons

There are a couple of things MemberPress could do better in our opinion:

• It gets pricer with more features
• Essential features like forums and order bumps are only available with more expensive plans
• Popular payment gateways such are Mollie or Razorpay are missing
• Lack of customization features keeps your branding needs unfulfilled

Comparing MemberPress With SureMembers

Membership businesses have no shortage of solutions as there are plenty of good WordPress membership plugins out there.

Let’s spice up our MemberPress review by comparing it side by side with a worthy alternative. This will give you a better idea of how MemberPress stacks up.

Let’s introduce SureMembers!

SureMembers

This new premium WordPress membership plugin has quickly gained a following.

SureMembers comes packed with features like creating content paywalls, drip feeding content, and managing membership levels.

It offers plenty of customization options to fulfill your branding needs.

Plus, it’s fully compatible with popular page builders like Elementor, Spectra and others which gives you extra wings.

It’s a great fit for any membership business, and it gets extra support from its two companions: SureTriggers and SureCart.

Now let’s expand our comparison!

Our objective is to find out whether MemberPress ticks all the essential feature boxes. We’ll also assess the same for its rival.

Essential Features	MemberPress	SureMembers
Content dripping
Content expiry
Membership management
Discounts and coupons
Flexible payment plans
Multiple payment methods
Email integration
Login page customization
Redirect rules
Customized menu visibility
User roles

Curious how SureMembers works? Here’s an in-depth review that explains everything.

Is MemberPress for You?

MemberPress is a reliable, feature-packed plugin that gets the job done.

Its core functionality is effective in most scenarios, and for additional needs, there’s a wide range of addons and integrations.

You can create access groups and rules however you want to protect your content.

The basic version is a good fit for small businesses. But if you need advanced features like community-building, you’ll need to upgrade to a pricier plan.

This might be a deal breaker, especially if you’re looking for complete customization, stylish design, and various payment options.

If you’re seeking a membership plugin that fulfills all your requirements at less than half the price of MemberPress, consider SureMembers.

If you want to see how SureMembers can create a fully functional membership site, this video is a great resource.

What’s your choice for a membership plugin on your website? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

Want to create a professional website in just 5 minutes?

You can do it with an AI website builder!

Whether you’re pressed for time or not tech-savvy, an AI builder is all you need.

From business sites to blogs and online stores, you can build anything.

Here’s what you’ll find:

• The best AI website builders, ranked for you
• Pros and cons, plus our expert opinion
• The top-ranked AI builder and how to create a website in minutes

Let’s jump in and explore the world of AI!

What Is an AI Website Builder?

Just like drag and drop website builders made website creation easier, AI website builders have taken it to the next level.

With just a few clicks, you can have a complete website all ready to go in just a few minutes.

It’s almost like having a developer do it for you!

Some tools do everything, while others focus on specific tasks. Even some drag and drop editors have AI features attached to them.

Let’s explore them in detail.

10 Best AI Website Builders in 2024

We have hand-picked some of the best AI website builders around right now.

Each has its own unique features, strengths and weaknesses.

They are:

Builder Name	Free option?	Pricing	Quick opinion
ZipWP		Starts at $9/mo	Best for creating any WordPress website
Wix ADI		Starts at $4.50 a month	Best for creating a few pages website quickly
Hostinger		$2.99/mo	Best for budget users
Jimdo		Starts at $9/mo	Best for basic layouts
Durable		Starts at $12/mo	Best for drag and drop editor lovers
10web		Starts at $10/mo	Best for small businesses with budget restrictions
B12		Starts at $49/mo	Best for professionals in the service sector
codeWP		Starts at $12/mo	Best for generating custom code
Hocoos		Starts at $15/mo	Best for testing AI builders for free
Framer		Starts at $10/mo	Best for all skill levels

1- ZipWP

We start our list with ZipWP as it’s the most AI-driven website builder available.

It can literally build a complete, fully working first draft website in 60 seconds.

If you’re curious about how this tool works, check out this video.

Whether you are a beginner or a pro user, this platform has everything you need.

You can create a complete website in a few minutes with AI and let it do everything for you.

Or you can build a blank website with the press of a button and use your imagination to shape it however you want.

In both cases you have complete control over every aspect of your website.

And why do we say that?

Because ZipWP uses the power of WordPress to address all the pain points you might face when creating websites.

Just like other platforms, you need to answer a few questions such as your industry, your business name and a business description.

Everything else is taken care of for you.

ZipWP will analyze your input and generate a website in just a few minutes.

Here is what makes this offer unique:

• You don’t need to worry about web hosting. ZipWP provides space for multiple sites
• The built-in AI Writer generates high quality text for your entire website
• You have a built-in stock image library at your disposal to pick the right images for each page
• You can add as many pages and posts to your site as you like
• You get the best in class WordPress theme, Astra, with every installation

Astra is the most popular WordPress theme ever made. It is fully customizable, fast and secure and capable of serving any niche you may think of.

With Astra, you have access to over 240 predesigned website templates to help you with any business need.

We really like how ZipWP gives you the freedom to add any plugin you want.

For instance, you can use the best plugins in town on your site such as Rank Math for SEO, SureMembers for managing memberships or SureCart, a dynamic eCommerce solution.

Another feature that gives ZipWP an edge over others is its ability to create a team from your dashboard area.

It is particularly useful if you design websites for clients with multiple collaborators.

ZipWP pricing

ZipWP is a free AI website builder for now. Premium plans are coming soon.

Ideal for beginners and professionals in any niche.

Our opinion

If you’re in a rush but still need a professionally built website, ZipWP is the answer.

It’s an ideal platform for any business type. It gives you meaningful AI capabilities to create websites that are just right for your needs.

You get multiple choices to select your design, an integrated AI Writer to generate perfect copy, web hosting and a lot more.

2- Wix ADI

Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) is a cloud-based AI website builder.

Just answer a few questions about your project and let Wix do the rest.

Wix uses machine learning algorithms and natural language processing to understand your requirements. It helps Wix come up with a relevant design for your website.

We like Wix ADI because it allows you to choose your design preferences and layouts while building your website.

You can customize the design to suit your needs and add a number of elements such as images, buttons or forms to boost your website engagement.

They make sure your website is responsive and works smoothly on all device types.

If you have an online presence elsewhere on social media or other websites, Wix allows you to import content from there.

Wix ADI also helps you select high quality stock images or upload your own during the process.

Wix pricing

• Free plan is limited to a few pages, no custom domain and a Wix logo on your website.
• Premium plans start at $4.50 a month and go as high as $27 a month for online stores.

Idea for building small websites quickly.

Our opinion

Wix ADI isn’t perfect for everyone but it’s a good pick if:

• You haven’t made websites before
• You don’t have much time to make a site
• You’re doing something quick that won’t be there for long (like an event)

The cool part is, Wix ADI makes all the pages your site needs and fills them. You can also make the layout look better using the Wix Editor if you want to.

3- Hostinger

Hostinger Website Builder (formerly Zyro) is another cool option.

With Hostinger, using AI to build a website is as easy as 1-2-3. Just provide your company name, choose the kind of site you want, describe your brand, and you’re done.

If you need to shape things your way, there are plenty of options to customize your design. The drag and drop editor is super easy to use.

The AI writer can really help if you want to stand out with compelling site content.

You also get other AI tools such as the Blog Title Generator, Business Name Generator, and Slogan Generator. This is incredibly helpful, especially when you’re stuck for ideas.

We really like the AI heatmap as it’s helpful to mark the most eye-catching elements on a page. This helps you set up your site for conversions by tweaking content and calls to action.

Hostinger pricing

• Hostinger Website Builder has one plan that costs $2.99 a month for the first month. It renews at $6 a month thereafter. If you’re not sure, try the demo first.

There’s also a 30-day money back guarantee if you change your mind.

Ideal for small businesses with tight budgets

Our opinion

If you’re new to websites and want a simple online presence, Hostinger Website Builder is a great choice. It’s easy for beginners and very affordable for small businesses.

But if you’re experienced and have specific needs, Hostinger Website Builder might not be the best fit.

4- Jimdo

Jimdo is a great choice for users looking for a decent AI website creator.

The Dolphin AI builder asks a number of questions to deliver a website that’s ready to publish.

It allows you to choose a theme, color scheme and the type of pages you need.

Jimdo will generate two beautiful website options for you to pick from. The good part is that you can customize the site further according to your needs.

The drag and drop editor lets you add sections and pages just like changing text and colors.

While you don’t have the same number of AI tools you get with Wix or Hostinger, you get responsive design, search engine optimization and image library integration.

Jimdo integrates seamlessly with external tools to set up live chat, forms, translation services and more.

Jimdo offers a free SSL certificate and a free domain name for the first year.

If you are a beginner, Jimdo has everything to help you create a website.

If you have coding knowledge, you can add custom code to transform your website however you want.

With the built-in analytics tool, you can check out how many people visit, where they come from, and which pages are popular, all in one place.

Jimdo pricing

• Jimdo offers a free plan with limited features on their subdomain. Sites will carry a Jimdo logo.
• Paid plans start at $9 per month up to $39 per month. Higher plans are better for businesses and online stores.

Ideal for individuals who don’t mind tuning their website manually.

Our opinion

The Jimdo AI website builder can give you some decent websites, but the designs it makes might look a bit basic. We also found that the website copy was not that impressive and didn’t always match the design.

Overall, you may need to invest some time and get your hands dirty inside the editor to get the website you want.

5- Durable

Durable AI builder is a great choice when you need to make a website fast. It’s known for being the quickest website builder, and there’s a good reason for that.

Just a few clicks and you’ve got a website you can customize and make your own.

Before developing your website, you’ll be asked the type and name of your business. The AI will do the rest.

It’s ideal for small businesses who need a ready-to-use website without involving a developer.

You will not only have the layouts ready, but also the copy for every relevant location, like the team, testimonials, and about us.

If you think there is a specific area that needs to be redesigned, it is possible to do that. Just hover your mouse over a section you want to change and click the option “Regenerate”. That’s it.

The Durable editor will create a new version of that element for you.

You also have other useful AI tools at your disposal, including search engine optimization, ad copy generation, content creation and business name generation.

For those who want to tweak things their way, the Durable AI editor has everything you need to customize.

This makes Durable a super easy AI website builder for beginners.

We’ve heard Durable is also going to introduce tools to manage your business finances too!

Durable pricing

• Free plan lets you try Durable in a test environment.
• You need a premium plan to take the website live, which starts at $12 per month. The business plan costs $20 per month

All Durable plans include custom domain names, AI Assistant, invoicing, AI powered CRM and more.

Ideal for small businesses that need a website and accounting solution all in one.

Our opinion

We think Durable is a reliable tool. It’s fast and creates a website according to your needs. You won’t even need to redo the website copy, as the text generator is capable of meeting most requirements.

However, the same is not true for design diversity. This is the area where Durable needs to improve in our opinion.

6- 10web

Just like ZipWP, 10Web brings together AI and WordPress to provide a cutting-edge website-building experience.

With 10Web, you can quickly create a top-notch website using automation in just a few minutes.

As well as building, you can also host your website with 10Web so you don’t have to worry about looking for a third party service.

All you need to do is choose “Create a new website with AI” and answer a few simple questions about your business.

AI will use your input to generate a web layout with content and images that you can modify in WordPress.

10Web editor has an extensive range of AI tools for things like content writing and SEO.

What we really like about 10Web is its ability to mimic a layout design based on what you provide.

Its AI recreation tool asks you to choose a page you like, scans it and implements the same design on your website.

For instance, if you love a competitor’s homepage and want to have a similar layout, 10Web can recreate it for you.

Once you have the website ready, no need to worry about generating content. 10Web’s internal AI writing assistant has everything you need to write anything in a few clicks.

You can use it for:

• Creating FAQs for your website
• Rewrite your content so it is more engaging
• Creating blog post outline as well as complete articles

The 10Web AI writing tool integrates seamlessly with the WordPress block editor. Every time you want to create something, it looks like a native experience.

10Web pricing

• No free plan.
• Prices start at $10 per month for a single site.
• Three websites cost $24 per month.
• Plan for web design agencies costs $60 per month.

Ideal for individuals and businesses who need lots of AI tools at their disposal without budget restrictions.

Our opinion

The 10Web AI Website Builder is ideal for small business owners who are looking for a self-managed, DIY option.

You can use 10Web AI Website Builder to migrate from any website hosting provider or website builder. So whether you are new to building a site or you are pro, it’s a great way to start building your website.

7- B12

B12 is a blend of AI and human expertise. It uses AI to kickstart your website building and then design and SEO experts tailor the site to your specific needs.

The platform is ideally suited to professionals and businesses who want automation and human expertise at the same time.

Instead of offering a bunch of pre-made templates, B12 uses AI to make a couple of mobile responsive custom designs for you. These designs are based on the information you provide when signing up.

One thing to note is that these templates are just a slight variation on one core design. However, you can customize them later however you want.

B12 uses proprietary technology for building websites, which is not quite the same as other content management systems. If you are coming from WordPress there might be a learning curve.

The platform isn’t generous with its offerings. You only get the best tools on high tier plans. For instance, you need to subscribe to the Advanced plan for SEO.

Similarly if you need to publish monthly blogs on your website, starting and mid-tier plans don’t have this option.

Pricing:

• B12’s basic plan starts at $49 per month for a single user.
• Professional plan costs $199 per month for a single user.
• Advanced plan costs $399 per month for 5 users.

If you want B12 to launch your website, there’s a one-time setup fee of $1,999.

All plans include website hosting, domain registration and unlimited bandwidth.

Ideal for busy professionals such as lawyers who actively use websites for their services.

Our opinion:

With B12 you can make a simple website with a few pages in a few minutes, although not as fast as some of the other options on our list.

If you want an online store, a blog, or a more complex site, it’ll take longer.

If you’re a small business just getting started, B12 can be really helpful. But as you grow, you might want to explore other options like ZipWP or Wix. Plus, that price.

8- CodeWP

When it comes to AI website builders, CodeWP stands out. This special AI tool can take your designs and turn them into responsive WordPress themes.

Here’s how it works: You give CodeWP your design, and like magic, the builder transforms it into a dynamic WordPress theme that’s ready to impress your visitors.

CodeWP is all about creating code for WordPress, and it’s made just for WordPress creators. It covers different things like PHP, JS, WooCommerce, and more.

When you need some code, you can tell it what you want, and it’ll generate the code you need.

What’s cool is that it’s available in multiple languages. This includes English, Chinese, Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, French, Italian, Korean, Russian, Portuguese, and Japanese.

With its advanced AI and multilingual abilities, CodeWP is changing the way we make WordPress websites.

One thing we really like about CodeWP is that it can quickly make complex logic, saving you time and money when you need snippets for your WordPress site.

It’s like having StackOverflow and ChatGPT, but customized for WordPress.

You can also upvote or downvote snippets, which helps make the AI even better in the future. So, by using it and giving feedback, you’re helping the tool improve.

All you have to do is type in what you need, like you’re talking to a developer. Be clear about what you want, and the machine will create it for you. It’s that easy!

Pricing

• Free plan allows 10 generations per month.
• Pro plan costs $12 per month with unlimited generations.
• Agency plan costs $36 per month.

Ideal for any WordPress user who needs to create and use custom code for any purpose.

Our opinion

CodeWP is a powerful tool. It uses AI to simplify development and speed up custom solutions. It’s also budget-friendly, user-friendly, and offers great support.

If you want to boost your WordPress development skills, CodeWP is a fantastic choice.

9- Hocoos

If you’ve used ZipWP or Hostinger, Hocoos operates in a similar way.

It starts with asking you a few questions about your business and then creates a website for you in a few minutes.

Once the website has been created, you can use it as it is or customize it however you want. It’s a no-code drag and drop experience.

In the end, you will have the option to attach your existing domain or buy a new one from Hocoos.

You don’t have to worry about hosting your website, it’s hosted on Hocoos.

Hocoos is an ideal AI website generator for online stores as you don’t have to deal with payment systems.

You can quickly connect Stripe and PayPal accounts to your online store and start receiving payments immediately.

You get several built-in tools to help you manage accounts and marketing. Hocoos AI wizard can generate customer invoices on its own and their marketing toolkit can help you with AI-generated email campaigns.

Although they claim to build websites for any niche, we noticed they are limited and actually need to add more industries to actually cater to every niche.

Just like most AI website builders, if you find yourself stuck somewhere, their team can help you with any related problem.

Pricing

• Free plan allows limited features.
• Premium starts at $15 per month.

Ideal for individuals and businesses looking to explore an AI website builder with the free plan

Our opinion

Hocoos is popular for beginners who want to test multiple AI website builders for free before buying.

Though you can have your website up and live in a few minutes, outdated designs, limited features and less than desired customer support can become deal breakers.

10- Framer

Last on our list of best AI website builders is Framer. It offers many cool features to make web design easy, even if you’re not a coding expert.

With AI-driven design and a freeform canvas, it caters to both beginners and experienced web designers.

Framer uses AI to kickstart your website design, giving you a beautiful starting point that you can customize later. This saves you a lot of time.

You can add animations, interactions, and a number of other things to make your site unique and engaging.

If you already use Figma for design, Framer has a seamless transition with a Figma plugin. You can copy and paste your designs from Figma to Framer, so you don’t have to start over.

Framer has a deep understanding of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). When you build your website with Framer, you are going to get all the essential SEO features that help you rank higher in the search engines.

Framer also lets you connect your site to popular apps through various plugins. Whether you want to add a YouTube video, a Twitter feed, or a Google Map, Framer has you covered.

Pricing

• Free is designed for hobbyists.
• Premium plans start at $10 per month for a single site and go as high as $40 per month.

Ideal for web designers who are not coding experts.

Our opinion

If you want to build a website with AI, an easy-to-use interface, and lots of features, give Framer a chance. It’s useful whether you’re a beginner or a pro. But, like any tool, it’s best to try it to see if it fits your needs.

Final Thoughts

Creating websites has become incredibly easy with AI website builders.

No matter if you’re a seasoned developer or a non-techy, you can craft any website with just a few clicks.

All you require is the right AI builder that lives up to its claims.

If selecting one feels overwhelming, fret not. This article has you covered.

It kicks off with our top pick, ZipWP, and features other best performers in the AI world.

Pick the one that fits your requirements!

Which AI builder catches your eye for your project? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Is your store plagued by abandoned carts?

Want to reclaim lost sales by optimizing checkout?

If so, you’re not alone in wanting to improve conversion rates in your eCommerce store.

• 70.9% of all online shopping carts are abandoned.
• 18% of those abandonments are down to a checkout process that’s too long or too complicated.

That means 1 in 5 shoppers in your store who abandon their cart do so because the checkout appears too complex or too long.

That’s a lot of lost sales!

Every eCommerce store owner should optimize their checkout, which is why we created this post.

Read on to learn:

• The essential ingredients of checkout page design
• How successful stores design their checkout for maximum sales
• Checkout page design best practices
• 10 Actionable tips to optimize your checkout for higher conversion

By the end, you’ll have all the information you need to tackle abandoned carts and make more sales!

Essential Ingredients of High Conversion Checkout Pages

First let’s quickly discuss what an optimized checkout page design should look like.

A checkout page should include:

1. Cart contents and prices
2. Address form for billing and delivery
3. Shipping method, cost and estimated delivery time
4. Payment methods
5. A buy now button

Those are the minimum ingredients for a functional checkout page. The more you add to the page, the more distracted or frustrated a customer can become.

A high conversion checkout page should be:

• Short – It should contain the minimum form fields to complete a purchase
• Simple – A customer should be able to complete the form and check out without having to think too much
• Easy to follow – The checkout page should be intuitive and funnel the visitor towards completing checkout.
• Informative – Give customers everything they need to know including total price, shipping cost, estimated delivery date and any other essential information.
• Full of choice – Include guest checkout, account login, delivery options, payment options, currency options and whatever else is relevant to your target market.
• Reassuring – Add trust signals, guarantee information and links to your returns and privacy policies.
• Well designed – Reflect the store design, minimize navigation and opportunities to leave checkout before completion

We think these characteristics are essential for minimizing abandoned carts and maximizing conversion.

Keep them in mind when building yours and reap the rewards!

10 Tips for Designing Optimized Checkout Pages with Examples

In “5 Things to Do to Ensure the Best Checkout Experience for Customers”, we discussed ways to build an extraordinary checkout page using WooCommerce.

Let’s look at some tips to optimize checkout with some real life examples so you can see them in action.

1. Allow Guest Checkout

24% of people abandon their cart because they have to create an account.

Allowing guest checkout is a simple way to optimize checkout and minimize friction.

The average visitor will have dozens of accounts and they probably don’t want more. That’s especially true if it’s a one-off purchase or big ticket item as they would only be occasional visitors.

As payment gateways make guest checkout easy, there’s no reason to not accept them.

Examples of guest checkout in action:

Big Chill

The Big Chill online appliance store is a pretty fun experience that taps into customers’ sense of nostalgia. The checkout page exudes nothing but modern convenience.

We like the Big Chill’s checkout page because there’s:

• No top navigation bar.
• Breadcrumbs to let you know what you need to do next.
• An SSL certificate seal on the page for reassurance
• The contact form fields fall in a single vertical line to simplify completion
• Everything is formatted so customers can easily complete the form
• WooCommerce checkout makes use of two pages and two steps. It also does a fantastic job setting expectations with customers from the start

What we like…

We like the guest checkout option, the progress bar at the top, the simple order summary and and the social proof box on the right.

What could be better…

The delivery charge isn’t mentioned on the product page and appears on the checkout page. ‘Surprise’ delivery charges are a big turnoff for many shoppers even though you expect it on larger items.

Lego

Lego has a minimalist checkout page design that’s very friendly and approachable, like the brand. It also does guest checkout well.

You have the option to checkout using PayPal on the preceding page or can select it on the checkout page. It’s simple and makes short work of purchasing, which is what we look for.

The rest of the page keeps things simple with an order summary on the right, delivery charge front and center and hidden form fields that open only when required.

We like the Lego checkout design because:

• It’s clean, friendly and approachable
• It makes it easy to check out as a guest
• There are multiple payment options
• The order summary is easy to see

What we like…

We like the entire design including guest checkout, brand colors, simple layout and the dynamic form.

What could be better…

There’s nothing we would change about this design as it’s one of the best checkout page designs we have seen..

2. Allow Multiple Payment Methods

While we’re on the subject of payment gateways, we also recommend allowing as many payment methods as possible.

This is especially important if you serve international customers. A payment method that’s popular in one region may not be available in another.

There’s no practical limit on how many methods you can offer, but we would recommend 3-4 options for the majority of stores.

The more you include, the more customers can purchase.

Amazon

One of the many things Amazon gets right is the payment options. You can use as many as you like, add as many as you like and select one for each individual purchase.

Using gift cards or existing balances is just as easy. As is selecting a delivery method.

The order summary makes it clear what you’re spending and on what too, which adds to the experience.

We like the Amazon checkout page because:

• Logged-in users can one-click purchase
• Multiple payment options offered
• Simple payment method selection
• Expected delivery date is also included

What we like…

We like the option to select from multiple payment methods, add new ones, add coupons or gift card details in one box. We also like the summary box on the right.

What could be better…

There’s little to criticize here except that the checkout page design is a little old fashioned. That’s the same for the entire Amazon brand though.

Adidas

Adidas offers 10 payment options, in gray at the bottom of the screen. They include all the majors like American Express, Mastercard, Visa, PayPal and their own, AdiClub.

That enables the company to sell to a wide range of customers in different territories.

We also like the minimal checkout page design. The brand is clear throughout and the page opens up once you complete the preceding section. It’s very well designed!

The Adidas checkout page is a good example of:

• Offering multiple payment methods for the widest appeal
• Minimal checkout page design
• Dynamic form design where fields open up when required
• Showing a clear order summary with transparent pricing

What we like…

We like that all the payment methods we commonly use are covered. We also like the order summary clearly showing shipping charge or lack thereof.

What could be better…

Dynamic form design is great but you’re not quite sure whether shipping is free or not until you get to that part of the form.

3. Minimize Required Form Fields

The more work a customer has to do to get what they want, the less likely they are to try. That’s why we strongly recommend keeping checkout forms as short and as simple as possible.

Minimize forms wherever possible and use a checkbox for ‘Same as delivery address?’ to reduce them further. If you can pre-fill form fields for logged in customers, all the better.

The shorter the form, the less to get in the way while a customer is in a buying mood!

Apple

As one of the world’s largest companies, you would expect Apple to get their checkout page right. And they do.

The company uses a multi-page checkout with minimal contents on each. They offer guest checkout, use accessible language and provide options every step of the way.

We particularly like this page, where you can choose to have your iMac delivered or pick it up from your closest Apple Store. The call to action ‘Continue to Shipping Address’ makes it clear what’s coming next too.

Apple’s checkout page design is:

• Minimal and breaks things up into stages
• Written in accessible language like the rest of the brand
• Easy to understand what to do and what’s next
• Informative, tells you how much you’re paying and when to expect delivery

What we like…

We like that the checkout page reflects the core Apple brand precisely and walks you through checkout without being overbearing.

What could be better…

We’re fans of one page checkouts but there is very little to criticize here.

LatePoint

LatePoint is a WordPress booking plugin that makes it simple to add appointment booking to a WordPress website. It’s here because the checkout page is about as simple as it gets.

It’s a one page form with only the bare minimum form fields required. You can immediately see what information is needed and where and how quickly you can purchase.

Digital products do have an advantage here but LatePoint does a great job of simplifying things.

We like the LatePoint checkout page because:

• One page checkout is always welcome
• Minimal form fields to complete
• Offers two popular payment options
• Trust signal at the very bottom ‘secure, encrypted payment’

What we like…

We like that the checkout page can be seen all at once and that it’s simple and minimal. You know you’ll be done in seconds, which is a great conversion tactic.

What could be better…

A couple more trust signals might be nice, especially as the brand isn’t as well known as some. More payment options would also be welcome although the basics are covered.

4. Provide Total Order Cost Early

Not everyone likes surprises. If that surprise is added fees or hidden costs on the checkout page, it’s not going to end well.

According to the Baymard Institute, 17% of abandoned carts are because customers couldn’t see the total cost up front. That’s a lot of customers to lose on something so simple!

Make customers aware of delivery options and costs on product pages. Let them see right away how much delivery is and approximate times if possible.

Don’t leave it until the checkout page.

Bed Bath & Beyond

Bed Bath & Beyond knows what they are doing when it comes to retail. Their eCommerce store isn’t bad either.

There’s a lot going on here, but you can see clearly what you ordered, what it costs, how much shipping costs and the order total. You also have buy now pay later (BNPL) options should you want them.

This is the opposite of minimal checkout page design but it has been done in such a way that you can clearly see what you need to do.

Bed Bath & Beyond’s checkout page is:

• Complete and easy to follow
• Clear about the charges and total cost
• Accessible, with multiple payment options including BNPL
• Well designed and fits their brand

What we like…

We like that everything is crystal clear and you know exactly how much the product costs, how much shipping is and the total cost of your order.

What could be better…

The page is a little busy. We aren’t fans of upselling on the checkout page either. There’s a time and place for that and we don’t think that’s here.

Tredz

Tredz, an online bicycle retailer, gets checkout page design very right. The design is minimal, there are very few distractions and the total order cost is kept prominent throughout.

The page also includes mentions of a money back guarantee, links to chat and a buying guide to help overcome objections. While they provide a potential escape from checkout, their value outweighs the risk.

It’s a simple checkout page done well.

We like the Tredz page because it:

• Has a clear order summary
• Is simple and to the point
• Contains minimal distractions
• Reassures with mentions of guarantees and chat

What we like…

We like that the order summary is clear even when it’s a big ticket item. There’s also reassurance provided by the extra help and money back guarantee.

What could be better…

We’re not convinced the checkout page is the right place for a buying guide. We would ideally want to see that earlier in the sales funnel so it could help convert.

5. Create a Logical Flow Down the Checkout Page

Western audiences tend to read left to right and top to bottom. Design your checkout page to work with that.

Have your form on the left and work your way logically down the page until you reach the buy now button. It feels familiar and reassuring, which should help conversion.

If you can add an order summary, delivery options and trust badges to the right or prominently within the page, all the better!

Examples of logical flow include:

Orange Amps

Orange Amps are a well-known manufacturer of musical equipment and sell some of them online. The store design isn’t the most intuitive but the checkout page is a great example of how to do it.

Overall, this checkout page does a nice job of streamlining the final step to conversion. It’s also a good example of a company that’s chosen to offload payment processing to a trusted third-party (either PayPal or Sage).

We believe this is a well-designed checkout page because:

• Customers have the option to log in or check out as a guest
• An account creation request occurs after the form
• Form fields are logically structured and easy to tab through
• There’s no need to retype shipping information if it’s the same as billing
• Payment methods include clearly recognizable and well-trusted logos

What we like…

We like the simplicity of the form and how it flows. Prompting to create an account after allowing guest checkout is a nice touch too.

What could be better…

There’s no mention of shipping costs, courier or estimated delivery times. We recommend every checkout page includes that information.

G-Shock

G-Shock uses a dynamic checkout page where the next part of the form is revealed only when you complete the preceding one. It offers a great flow down the page.

There’s an outline so you can see how many fields are involved and logical steps.

Choose delivery, check out as a guest or not, add the address and payment methods or choose express checkout. It’s all very easy.

G-Shock gets a lot right with their checkout page design:

• A dynamic page that unfolds as you progress
• Logical flow throughout the form
• Costs are kept clear throughout with the order summary
• Express checkout option for even faster checkout

What we like…

We like how the form unfolds like a story as you progress. We also like how the order summary stays visible throughout.

What could be better…

The trust badges are tiny and in the lower right corner. While the brand has a lot of trust, we would make those more visible.

6. Add Trust Signals Wherever Possible

Staying on the subject of trust signals for a moment. The Baymard Institute study we quoted earlier said 19% of abandoned shopping carts were because the customer didn’t trust the store with their credit card information.

Trust signals play a pivotal role in conversion. Customers are much more likely to purchase if they see ‘Verified by Visa’, ‘McAfee Secure’, ‘Secured by SSL’ and others.

Add mentions of your money back guarantee and links to your returns and privacy policies and you give customers everything they need.

See trust badges in action here:

Astra

We think our own Astra checkout page is a great design. It’s short, simple and adds clear trust signals to overcome objections.

The page also includes multiple payment options, mentions the money back guarantee and secure checkout. All designed to reassure buyers they are in good hands.

The progress bar at the top is also a nice touch so customers know exactly what’s happening.

The Astra checkout page design is:

• Reassuring with multiple trust badges
• Short and concise
• Easy to use with multiple payment options
• Transparent with links to policy pages

What we like…

We like how short the form is, made shorter by not having to ship. We also like the reassurance provided by trust badges and guarantees.

What could be better…

There isn’t actually much we would want to change here otherwise we would do it!

GhostBed

GhostBed is smart to do everything it can to get a leg up over the competition. In addition to having a beautifully designed WordPress website, the WooCommerce checkout page is very well optimized.

But that’s not actually where we want to focus your attention. GhostBed does a nice job streamlining checkout and it was a good move with the trustmarks.

You can see ‘Secure Checkout’ at the top, ‘Sleep Support’ on the right and awards at the bottom right. All make you feel better about purchasing.

Highlights of the GhostBed checkout page include:

• Secure checkout trust badge
• Simple checkout form
• All pricing, taxes, and shipping fees clearly displayed
• Multiple payment options from a range of providers
• BNPL option
• Live chat option

What we like…

We like how clean and simple the form is while offering lots of options. Good use of trust badges and a live chat widget adds to the appeal.

What could be better…

There isn’t actually much we would change here as this is one of the best checkout page designs we know of.

7. Add Social Proof if Appropriate

If you can add social proof as well as trust signals, you’re adding more reasons to trust you.

Social proof can include star ratings, number of people using your product, reviews and testimonials, either left directly with you or a third party such as Trustpilot.

Wherever your reviews are, include some of them on your checkout page.

They can help build trust and work alongside trust badges to give customers the confidence to complete checkout.

Xero Shoes

Xero Shoes adds social proof on the blue banner at the top of the page. It reads 5,000 Mile Sole Warranty, 56,694 5-Star Reviews, Natural Fit, Feel and Motion and 1,000,000+ Happy Customers.

We’re naturally interested in the number of reviews and happy customers. It’s good use of social proof on a page without it getting in the way of the purchase.

Along with a progress bar, clear order summary and logical flow, this is a great example of checkout page design done right.

We rate Xero Shoes because:

• The design is clean and simple
• The blue banner reflects the brand and includes proof
• There’s a progress bar
• Logical flow down the page towards checkout

What we like…

We like the simple design that reflects the brand while staying out of the way. The blue bar reassures new customers and should help convert.

What could be better…

The blue bar is good, but you have to look carefully to read it. We would make those points much larger and part of the order summary box.

Shoptimizer

Shoptimizer is a WooCommerce template for WordPress. The checkout page is minimal but uses trust badges and social proof to help convert.

While we all know the most positive reviews will be picked for this page, it’s still reassuring to know real people like the theme. SSL secure connection is just a bonus.

The rest of the design is simple and no-nonsense, making the form and checkout itself the only thing to see.

We think Shoptimzer’s checkout stands out because:

• Social proof is front and center
• The SSL trust badge is an added bonus
• The form is simple with a logical flow
• There’s nothing else to distract you from checkout

What we like…

We like the simplicity of the page with social proof made very obvious. Including an SSL badge and not much else is also a good move.

What could be better…

The Pay with PayPal option is at the bottom of the form, which would negate you having to fill in the form at all. We would definitely change that!

8. Make Sure Everything Works on Mobile

We all know mobile web use has overtaken desktop so it’s essential your store supports mobile.

Fully responsive web design goes a long way towards that, but pay particular attention to forms. Use the right WordPress theme and your form should work perfectly, but test everything before launch to make sure.

The mobile user journey should be just as straightforward as the desktop version so do everything you can to make it happen.

eBay

eBay offers an excellent experience on mobile whether you use the app or browser. The checkout page design is minimal and also has a logical flow, which we appreciate.

Depending on the product you buy, you’ll see payment options, delivery options, an order total and a clear buy now button.

That’s all we need to see to purchase, which is why it works so well.

We like the eBay checkout design because:

• It reflects the brand with the colored name at the top
• It’s minimal with very little design
• There are multiple payment options at the top
• There’s a logical flow with minimal scrolling

What we like…

We like that you get the same checkout experience whatever device you use. The app and browser experiences are also very similar.

What could be better…

This is another checkout page that works well. We wouldn’t change anything as it’s one of the best checkout page designs on this page.

9. Minimize Distractions

When a customer lands on your checkout page, we want nothing to stand in the way of completing the purchase. That’s the sole goal of the page so we want to minimize distractions wherever possible.

We recommend removing header and footer navigation and not including anything that doesn’t absolutely need to be there.

Leave the account login, upsells, cross-sells, promotional videos and other conversion tactics for preceding pages. Checkout should be the path to purchase and nothing else.

Two examples of minimal checkout pages include:

All Blacks Shop

Fans of New Zealand rugby will already be familiar with the All Blacks store. What fans might not have paid attention to is how awesome this checkout page is.

You have the option to log in at the top and the form is divided into multiple pages so each is simple. The call to action is clear and there’s a cheeky upsell on the right.

The checkout page hits all the high points in delivering a truly premium experience:

• Checkout is very easy to follow
• Contact form asks only for what’s needed
• Option to use an account (but not required)
• Automatic duplication of billing information to shipping fields
• Simple order review widget
• Well-recognized payment options

What we like…

The focus is on simplicity. The checkout page requires minimal information from customers and removes as much friction as possible from the purchase.

What could be better…

It’s hard to critique something that’s very good but we would personally avoid upsells on the checkout page. We would add them earlier, but that’s just us.

10. Include a Full Order Summary

A full order summary should include what’s in the cart, how much shipping will be, how long delivery will take, payment method, order number or reference, where it’s being delivered and any other pertinent information.

If you can also give customers the opportunity to add or remove items, all the better. While you may lose a sale or two because of this, we bet you’ll see an increase overall.

Give the customer all the information they need on the page and in the confirmation email.

Under Armor

Under Armor has a clear, easily understandable order summary that we particularly like. The red checkout button is also effective, leaving you under no illusions about what to do.

Most of the examples in this post have good order summaries, with clear pricing, discount codes where applicable and delivery costs, but we like this one.

That red call to action button and shaded background make it stand out for all the right reasons.

We rate the Under Armor checkout page design because:

• The order summary is clear and well designed
• The red call to action button draws attention
• The ‘You Saved’ section is particularly good for conversion
• The product image is also good

What we like…

We like the checkout page as a whole as it’s young, energetic and reflects the brand. The order summary is especially good.

What could be better…

There’s a cross-sell box underneath the main order summary. That’s an opportunity to leave and we wouldn’t suggest doing that.

Doctor Martens

Doctor Martens goes in a different direction than Under Armor with their order summary, as literally everything is in the same box.

You can see delivery options, payment options, order total and add a promo code if you have one. There’s a lot there but it’s all easy to understand.

The shipping options element is a nice touch as it shows the cost and approximate time too.

We like this checkout because:

• Everything is on the order summary
• Including shipping costs and times is smart
• It reflects a well-known brand
• Multiple payment options are included

What we like…

We like the checkout page design, spacing and order summary. We like how it includes everything you need to know along with the total price.

What could be better…

The center section looks a little empty. Even the upsell looks oddly placed. We would refine the design a little to make it look more even.

Inspired by any of these ideas?

Wrapping Up

If you use WooCommerce or a theme like Astra to build your online store, you’re off to a great start.

But your journey doesn’t end there.

eCommerce is a marathon, not a sprint and will involve continually looking at your store and your stock to see what works and what doesn’t.

Use the tips on this page and you’re setting yourself up for success. More sales, more profit and a more successful store. Who doesn’t want that?

Do you have any checkout page design tips to share? Any stories to tell? You know what to do…

Checkout Design FAQs

Have questions on checkout pages or design? We have answers.

How do I create a checkout page?

You can create a checkout page using WordPress, WooCommerce or SureCart. eCommerce platforms come with a readymade checkout page. You can customize that to suit your needs or use blocks to create one from scratch in the same way you would create any page. This guide shows you how to create or customize a checkout page.

How do I optimize my checkout page?

You can optimize your checkout page using the tips in this post. Keep the design the same, use minimal form fields and keep the page as short as possible. You want as few barriers between the customer and the buy now button as possible. Do that and you’ll have an optimized checkout page.

What is the difference between a sales page and a checkout page?

Sales pages are much longer and need to sell the product. The checkout page seals the deal and converts desire into action. A sales page should promote the product and convince the customer to buy. The checkout page enables them to buy.

How do I make checkout easy?

You can make checkout easy by considering the customer journey. Use minimal steps, offer multiple payment types, different delivery options, tell the customer when to expect their product and how much everything will cost. Finally, add a clear buy now button so the customer knows exactly what to do. Do all those things and checkout is as easy as it gets.

What is checkout abandonment rate?

Checkout abandonment rate, also called cart abandonment rate, is the percentage of sales lost when customers add items to their cart but don’t purchase. Just over 70% of all online purchases are abandoned, which is why checkout optimization and cart abandonment tools are so important.

From block editor improvements to new APIs, there’s a bit of something for everyone in this update.

So today, we’ll offer a detailed exploration of how these changes aim to refine the user experience.

Expect insights on performance improvements, new features, and how they can be leveraged to make your WordPress websites more impressive.

Top 5 Features Coming in WordPress 6.5

There are many features in WordPress 6.5 set to redefine the user experience and site management.

Here’s a snapshot of our 5 favorites:

Learn more about these features in our latest video:

Let’s now dive deeper into the full range of features and updates that WordPress 6.5 brings.

We’ve broken up these features into categories:

• User experience and design control
• Block functionality and flexibility
• Development and site management
• Tech advancements

Let’s get started with the first category.

Enhanced User Experience and Design Control

With WordPress 6.5, you won’t just create powerful websites – you’ll have more fun designing them too.

It’s truly a new era of enhanced user experience and design control, making it easier than ever to customize and manage websites.

Here’s a look at what the new update brings to the UX.

Drop Shadow Effect Added to More Blocks

Gone are the days of flat, two-dimensional designs that blend into the background.

With WordPress 6.5, the drop shadow effect breathes new life into blocks, adding depth and distinction.

It makes your content pop and easily improves readability and guides visitors’ eyes through content effortlessly.

Whether you’re crafting a call to action button that stands out or framing your images with subtle shadows, this addition ensures your designs leap off the screen.

Font Library

Typography is the foundation of website design, and WordPress 6.5 builds on that foundation with its streamlined Font Library.

Like the Media Library, it makes it easy to add, remove, and manage fonts from one central location.

The whole library is integrated with Google Fonts and you can upload custom fonts directly from the WordPress dashboard.

This means that you can align text perfectly with your brand identity and unique style, giving you complete control in just a few clicks.

It’s another step in the direction of giving site owners full control over how their sites look.

If you’ve been using the free Custom Fonts plugin, you’ve had the ability to upload and manage custom fonts since 2018.

But it will certainly be nice to have this feature integrated into core as well.

Updated Preferences Panel

Customization is key to creating a website that truly represents your vision. The updated Preferences panel in WordPress 6.5 puts the power back in your hands.

Built directly into the block editor, it offers a more personalized editing experience by allowing you to adjust settings and make preferences to better fit your workflow.

Whether you crave a dark mode for late-night editing or need to shuffle toolbars to keep things within reach, the new preferences panel makes it all possible.

Your editing experience should feel – and above all, work – according to your preferences – not the other way around.

Right-Click Access to Block Settings in List View

WordPress 6.5 introduces right-click access to block settings in the list view.

It’s a small, but incredibly powerful feature that makes block management and editing much faster.

In earlier WordPress versions, you’d have to select the block and select the three dot menu in the center to access block settings.

But in WordPress 6.5, you can right click the block in the list view in the left menu and select settings from there.

This means you can easily right click to access settings and tweak block settings without ever leaving the list view. This is an efficiency that’s sure to save a lot of time!

Link Control Improvements

Navigating a website should be as easy and intuitive as possible. Thankfully, WordPress 6.5’s link improvements will make it so.

An improved link control interface adds visual icons, speeding up link creation and giving link management a more natural feel.

This means you can add and edit links with ease, and quickly see a visual indicator to identify the kind of link created.

Previously, there was no visual distinction between link types. With WordPress 6.5, you can see at a glance if you’re linking to internal pages, or to external resources.

That’s a welcome change, if you ask us!

Rename Any Block in List View

WordPress 6.5 introduces another design control feature that significantly enhances content organization and navigation: the ability to rename any block in the list view.

This extends the renaming capability to every block within your editor, allowing for total control over the organization of complex layouts.

It’s another improvement that ensures every component is exactly where you need it to be, labeled for easy identification.

It’s another small change with a massive impact.

It will simplify the way you manage site structure and make it easier than ever to keep your content organized and accessible.

Interestingly enough, this ability to rename blocks while in list view has been available in the Spectra visual website builder for months now.

It’s good to see WordPress take one of our ideas and run with it!

Block Functionality and Flexibility Enhancements

WordPress 6.5 makes it easier to take advantage of block functionality and flexibility.

The following set of features allow you to create more dynamic, personalized, and efficient websites.

Partially Synced Patterns

Partially synced patterns offer a great way to maintain a consistent look across your website while still allowing for the flexibility to customize individual elements as needed.

Imagine having the ability to apply a uniform design element across your entire site., like a banner or a footer, with the freedom to tweak it on specific pages to better suit the content.

That’s what partially synced patterns offer.

It’s a smart solution for those moments when you want your design to be cohesive but not at the expense of the unique character of each page or post.

Custom Fields for Blocks

The new custom fields for blocks feature opens a door to a whole new world of dynamic content creation.

It cleverly extends the capabilities of custom fields – long cherished by WordPress developers and power users – into the heart of blocks.

With this new update, you can now integrate metadata and dynamic content with your blocks in a way that’s more intuitive.

Whether you’re looking to display unique information within a post block or craft personalized user experiences based on custom field data, this update significantly expands the possibilities.

For instance ,you could create a custom “Event Date” field for a block used in event listings, automatically updating the block’s content based on the custom field value.

This could save you a lot of time in the development process and make content management more efficient.

Here’s a look at a demo of this feature put together by the developers:

Development and Site Management Improvements

The newest WordPress update also brings development and site management improvements to the table.

They are designed to streamline site construction, enhance compatibility, and modernize the WordPress backend.

Let’s explore these features next.

Plugin Dependency Management

This new system revolutionizes the way WordPress navigates the complex relationships between plugins.

It’s designed to untangle the often intricate web of plugin interactions, aiming to minimize conflicts and boost stability and performance.

It’s a significant leap forward in making the WordPress ecosystem more manageable and less prone to errors when it’s time to update plugins.

Support for Appearance Tools in Classic Themes

Another exciting aspect of this update is how it’s extending block theme features to classic themes.

This will create new design options without having to rely on theme.json.

This is a great update for theme developers. We can now weave block theme editor tools into classic themes, enhancing the design and functionality.

It’s a step towards consolidating the WordPress experience, melding the flexibility and design prowess of classic themes with the innovative features of block themes.

This convergence promises an expanded palette of design and functional options for websites.

The Astra theme has brought many of these features to the table already, bridging the gap between the classic and block editors nicely.

Revisions Updates

Another update on the horizon in the next version of WordPress is modifications to the revisions system.

Templates and template parts will display revisions in WordPress 6.5.

There’s an update to style revisions with side-by-side comparisons, enhanced pagination, and more visual changes.

Improved Pattern Management for Classic Themes

With WordPress 6.5, pattern management in classic themes will be updated. This will enhance both the accessibility and visibility of patterns as a core feature.

This advancement will make it so pre-designed blocks can be inserted into pages and posts to quickly add complex layouts and designs.

These powerful design elements will also be more user-friendly. This ensures classic themes remain relevant in modern WordPress.

This will help bridge the gap between traditional and block-based designs.

Rollback for Plugin and Theme Updates

Site stability and compatibility are ongoing issues within the WordPress ecosystem and 6.5 aims to address some of these concerns.

This update introduces the ability to roll back plugin and theme updates.

This feature is a safety net for website owners. The ability to roll back offers a way to revert to previous versions of plugins and themes should the latest updates cause issues.

Rollback capabilities add a safeguard to the development process against potential disruptions caused by updates.

This will help to ensure websites can maintain their functionality and appearance without risking downtime or compatibility problems.

Technical Advancements and Improvements

WordPress 6.5 will bring several technical advancements that focus on enhancing site interactivity, data management, and the editing experience.

Interactivity API

The introduction of the Interactivity API in WordPress 6.5 is poised to transform how users interact with WordPress sites in general.

The API is designed to significantly enhance site interactivity and user experiences by allowing dynamic actions without the need to refresh the page.

As an example, imagine you’re running an online store built on WordPress, and you want to enhance the shopping experience.

To do this, you could use the interactivity API to set up a live product customization tool on your site.

As customers select different colors or styles for a product, they could see the changes reflected in real-time on the product image without the need to refresh the page.

The Interactivity API opens up tons of possibilities for creating dynamic, user-centric websites that are both fast and responsive.

The development team working on the Interactivity API put together a demo website to show off how the feature works.

View Pages, Patterns, and Templates in Grid and Table Views

Managing and visualizing data within WordPress will become more intuitive and efficient thanks to the WordPress 6.5 update.

You’ll see new data views for pages, patterns, templates, and template parts, providing a visual representation and more intuitive management system.

These enhancements make it easier to find and manage content, streamlining the process of building and maintaining websites.

Other Technical Improvements

WordPress 6.5 is packed with performance, security, and code quality enhancements, each designed to bolster efficiency.

They ensure WordPress remains a reliable and secure choice for web development.

It promises to offer:

• Faster load times
• Enhanced security measures
• Cleaner code

The aim here is to make WordPress an even more powerful and trustworthy platform for building and managing websites.

WordPress 6.5 Is on the Way – Are You Ready?

We hope you’ve enjoyed this deep dive into the WordPress 6.5 update!

With block editor improvements and new features on offer, there’s a lot to look forward to.

The update offers a significant leap towards making WordPress more intuitive, flexible, and powerful for users at every level.

It’s exciting to imagine what cool new things will be created as a result!

If you don’t want to wait for WordPress 6.5, you could always get the Astra theme, which offers many of these features built-in.

Pair that with the Spectra builder and you’ve got a powerful combination on your hands!

If you’re anything like us, the answer is, probably not.

We are all so used to finding whatever we want online, it seems strange to us when we cannot find what we’re looking for.

If you’re planning to start a new business, building a website is essential.

It’s also cheaper and easier than you might think.

The Astra theme has been downloaded over 2.4 million times so we know a thing or two about websites.

This post shares some of that knowledge with you. By the end of this post, you’ll know everything you need to know to create a website for your small business.

We’ll even show you how to build one in 6 simple steps!

Why WordPress Is Best for Small Businesses

Let’s be clear up front, WordPress requires more work than other options, but the rewards far outweigh the effort involved.

You could use Wix or Squarespace to build a website, but you’ll be paying them each month for the privilege.

You’ll also have little control over how you build your site, how your data is handled and how you market it.

WordPress requires a little more effort but provides more too.

You’ll have more freedom over how you build and design your site and more control over data and how you market your business online.

The only limitation with WordPress is how much you’re willing to do with it!

How To Build a Website for a Small Business

It’s very straightforward to build a website for a small business.

There are lots of free tools to help. WordPress themes use drag and drop page builders so you don’t need to know code.

All you need is an idea and some time to bring it to life.

Follow these steps to create your own small business website!

Set Your Goals

Before you go shopping for hosting or a WordPress theme, it’s useful to spend a short time planning what you want your website to be.

• What do you want it to achieve?
• What’s your target audience?
• What will they expect to see on a website like yours?

For example, a small business may want to just get their name out there so a simple website will do.

Other businesses may want visitors to be able to book appointments or sell directly to the public from an eCommerce store.

The goals you set now will influence everything else you do when building your site.

Set Up Domain and Hosting

A domain name and web hosting are essential for every website.

The domain is your name on the web like our https://wpastra.com/. The www. is optional and most names work with or without it.

A good domain name should be:

• Short and easy to say and to type
• Memorable
• Similar to your business name and/or industry
• Keyword rich if possible

Your domain name will also give you a business email address so you want it to be good!

Web hosting is rented server space linked to the internet. Your website is stored on your host so it’s accessible to the world.

Performance is key when choosing a web host. Look for fast servers, a minimum of 99% uptime and preferably, unlimited bandwidth.

When we review web hosts, we typically look for:

• NVMe or SSD storage for speed
• Free SSL certificate for security
• Free domain name for the first year
• No limits on bandwidth or visitors
• Network-level and server-level security
• WordPress or app installer
• 24/7 support
• 99% uptime

Learn all you need to know about domains and hosting.

Install WordPress, a Theme and a Template

Most web hosts will automatically install WordPress for you. Just select it as the option when you’re setting everything up and the system will take care of the rest.

If you want to do it yourself, this guide will walk you through every step of the process.

WordPress is the framework that makes a website tick, but it’s the theme that makes it pretty.

It’s easy to install a WordPress theme, and free too.

The Astra WordPress theme is free and comes with a range of business Starter Templates.

To install the Astra theme:

Log into WordPress and select Appearance > Themes.

Select Add New and type ‘astra’ into the search box on the right.

Select Install and then Activate when the options appear.

Astra automatically installs itself and will present you with the setup wizard.

The wizard walks you through choosing a template, setting a logo, colors, typography and all the essentials you need.

This video walks you through the entire process. It’s really easy!

FYI: We use the Car Repair template in this post.

Customize Template to Your Needs

The Astra setup wizard lets you change the colors and typography but you can also change them later if you like.

You can change everything you see on the page, from the header to the footer using the WordPress site editor or your favorite drag and drop page builder.

For example, you can change sitewide colors like this:

Select Astra > Dashboard > Color.

You’ll be taken to the WordPress editor where you can change color schemes and individual colors however you like.

Use the same Astra > Dashboard to change the header, footer, site layout, typography and many aspects of your site.

For individual customizations on specific pages, open the page in the WordPress editor or page builder, select the block and change whatever it is you want to change.

You’ll see options within the block menu or on the right.

Remember to always save whenever you make a change!

Add Essential Pages

You can add pages to WordPress in seconds.

Select Pages > Add New and open in the editor or your page builder.

You can import the page design from another page by copying a page and renaming it or by using block patterns.

If you use the Spectra page builder (free with Astra), select the blue Template Kits button at the top of the page to install individual page designs.

Either way, you can create as many pages as you need with minimal effort.

There are some pages every business website needs.

Whether you’re a startup, freelancer or corporate multinational, you’ll need the following pages at the very least:

Homepage

The homepage is the main page of the website. It should contain navigation so visitors can find their way around.

It should also include a hero section outlining what you do and all essential information a visitor might need.

That will differ depending on what you do but can include a form to book an appointment, short teasers of products or services and some social proof to help convince the visitor you’re a safe bet.

Service Pages

Service pages should be full descriptions of a product or service covering features and benefits and all essential information.

A good service page addresses common pain points and makes the case for a visitor choosing you over one of your competitors.

About Us

The about us page is often overlooked but is now more important than ever.

People increasingly want to know where their product comes from, its origin story and your own story.

It’s the equivalent of provenance for antiques or point of origin of food ingredients. The more of your story you share, the more you engage the audience.

Contact Page

The contact page is essential. It’s where you can turn curiosity into action and will likely be where the calls to action throughout your site all point towards.

Some contact pages can be a form, social media handles and nothing else. Others, for businesses with a physical presence, can include a map and perhaps directions.

Learn more about website pages in this video:

Test Everything

Testing is key when launching a small business website. First impressions count and you want yours to be a positive one.

Test all pages work, check site copy, check all images, check any interactive elements and contact forms.

Top Tips for Building Website for a Small Business

As you have seen, building a website for a small business is relatively straightforward if you use WordPress and a quality template.

There is more to running a website though and these top tips should help.

Use a Fast Web Host

The faster your web host, the faster your website loads for visitors. Performance improves the user experience but also contributes to SEO.

How long would you wait for a web page to load?

If you’re anything like us, it isn’t long at all. That’s why performance is key.

Uptime and customer service come a close second to performance when shopping for a host. After all, you want your website to be there when people visit!

Use a Good Theme

A WordPress theme for business should deliver a fantastic user experience while reflecting your brand. It should also inspire confidence and deliver the professional aesthetic customers look for in a business.

If that wasn’t enough, the theme also needs to load quickly, be flexible enough to fit any purpose and be easy to use.

Astra is all those things and more.

Anyone with any level of experience can build an amazing website with Astra!

Quality Content

All Astra templates come with placeholder content so you can see how it will look but it’s up to you to fill it with your unique message.

Write from a visitor’s perspective. Why are they there? What do they want to know? What questions will they have about you, your products or services? What will convince them to do business with you?

Answer all those questions in your website copy.

Use short sentences, first person, friendly tone and simple language so you can communicate with the widest possible audience.

Edit site content carefully before you publish. If you’re not confident in your writing, you can use AI to check it for you.

Use this prompt in your AI tool of choice:

“Review the following web page content for grammatical errors and clarity of language. Suggest improvements, highlight errors and any keyword optimizations I might make.”

While we’re on the subject of AI…

Use AI Content Generators Carefully

AI content generators are very good at what they do but they still have a long way to go.

Use them to help create your website copy but be prepared to edit carefully and add your unique voice.

A small business website works best when it communicates your personality. Save the corporate style sites for when you’re larger!

Use a Single Call to Action

A call to action (CTA) is where you try to get the user to do something. It’s a good idea if all calls to action on a page have the same message to reinforce the point.

Wherever you see content like:

• Book your free consultation today!
• Download for free!
• Try it now!
• Sign up for your free trial
• Schedule your free, no-obligation assessment

… you’re reading a call to action.

A call to action will usually have a snappy sentence or two like the above and a form or a button for the action.

They work incredibly well. If you craft a good call to action that gets people to engage, your small business will be off to a flying start!

Use Images and Video

Images and videos are amazing for engagement. They form part of visual content marketing and outperforms written content on all counts.

Did you know?

• Video is the most popular and effective media format. (Source)
• 50% of marketers used visuals in over 91% of their content. (Source)
• 91% of consumers want to see more online videos from brands. (Source)
• 96% of consumers have watched an explainer video to learn more about a product. (Source).
• Short-form video has the highest ROI of all marketing trends. (Source)

If you can add unique images and/or video to your small business website, engagement could go through the roof!

Add FAQs and Social Proof

Remember that website copy should answer as many visitor questions as possible? FAQs can help with that.

If you don’t want to fill your page with answers to every conceivable question, use a FAQ section instead.

Do it right and you may be featured in rich snippets or People Also Ask.

Social proof uses reviews and testimonials to help convert you into a customer.

We all read reviews before buying, especially when working with a new business. If you have genuine reviews or testimonials, make sure they feature prominently on the page!

Essential Plugins

WordPress is powerful and the Astra theme flexible, but there are things they cannot do.

That’s where plugins come in.

We tend to add a minimum of:

• A security plugin
• Backup plugin
• Caching plugin
• SEO plugin

There are thousands of WordPress plugins to add extra features or improve existing ones.

Many are free and install directly into WordPress using the Plugins > Add New menu in the user dashboard.

Optimize for SEO

There are millions of websites out there, all vying for attention and trying to be found in search.

You’ll need to compete with any in your industry, which is where SEO comes in.

SEO, Search Engine Optimization, helps search engines understand, categorize and rank your website.

The better the SEO, the higher you could place in search.

It’s a huge, complicated subject, but there are SEO plugins for WordPress that can help get you started.

Learn To Blog

A blog is the part of your website where you can have two-way conversations.

It’s an opportunity to share news, seek opinion, chat, tell your story and engage with your audience.

Blogging also helps with your SEO by providing fresh content. Blog regularly and well and it could be a vital asset for your business!

Learning how to blog is easier than you might think.

Maintain Your Website

WordPress requires very little maintenance and can mostly look after itself. There are things you may want to keep an eye on though.

Those include:

• WordPress, theme and plugin updates
• Website uptime
• Backups
• Firewall and security
• Website and form errors

Learn all you need to know about WordPress maintenance with our detailed guide.

Creating Small Business Websites

So there you have it, our guide to creating a website for your small business.

By using WordPress, the Astra theme and a business template, you can create a professional online presence in no time at all!

It’s probably much easier and cheaper than you might have thought. Anyone, with any level of skill can do it.

Have you created a website for your small business recently? Learn anything you want to share? Have any comments or questions about building websites?

Tell us about it in the comments below!

Small Business Website FAQs

Here are some common questions we see and hear around building small business websites and their answers:

Should I build my website or pay someone else to do it?

Only you can decide whether to build your own website or pay someone else to do it, but we would recommend doing it yourself. You’ll get full creative freedom to build your own way, you’ll learn how everything works which can help keep it running and you’ll save a lot of money. Use WordPress and a theme like Astra and building a website is easy!

Do small businesses need a website?

Yes, small businesses need a website. Without one, how will people know you’re there? Even if you run a brick and mortar store or local business, you still want to attract customers from further afield. Growth is everything and a website delivers everything you need to grow.

Can you run a small business without a website?

You can run a small business without a website but we wouldn’t recommend it. What’s the first place you think to look when you want a service or to buy something? It’s the web. If you’re not there, you won’t attract new customers. It’s as simple as that.

What’s the cheapest way to create a website for a small business?

The cheapest way to create a website for a small business is to use WordPress and the Astra theme. Both are free to use and come with everything you need to build a website. You’ll only need to pay for domain and hosting, which could be as little as $60 per year and everyone has to pay for that. Everything else can be free with premium versions of everything purely optional.

Zapier is very good at what it does, but it can be complicated and very expensive to use.

That’s why we put together this list of low-cost Zapier alternatives.

If you want to automate key WordPress or WooCommerce tasks without the expense or complications of Zapier, read on!

Why Should Zapier Users Look for Alternatives?

If you’re reading a post on Zapier alternatives, chances are you have already tried Zapier and found it wanting.

Let’s be clear up front, Zapier is very good at what it does.

It integrates with thousands of apps and is a very powerful automation platform.

It’s relatively simple to use once you get used to it and has more integrations than most other options.

But Zapier is also:

• Very expensive – There’s a free version but you’ll need to pay to do anything useful. That’s $19.99 per month for two-step zaps and at least $49 per month for more. Don’t even get us started on the cost of addons!
• Hard to edit – Creating a zap is relatively straightforward. Editing it not so much. Sometimes tweaking a zap is simple. Other times it requires you to rebuild from scratch, which isn’t ideal.
• WordPress integration could be better – We’re WordPress people so this is important to us. Zapier does work with WordPress but can occasionally not process zaps and can require paid addons to integrate with some plugins.
• Better for simple automations – Zapier is great for simple one or two step automations. It can be difficult to introduce schedules, delays, paths or conditions though. Want to use multi-step automations? Good luck with that!
• Lots of dependencies – Lots of automations will depend on third-party addons, which is fine when they work and not so fine when they don’t. It’s not like WordPress where you have control over everything either.

We’re sure there are other reasons you might be looking for a Zapier alternative, but you get the idea…

The most common complaint we hear about Zapier is cost.

Even though there’s a free tier, it’s limited to say the least.

The cheapest Starter plan ($19.99 per month billed annually) is still limited to two-step automations.

It’s only when you get to the Professional plan ($49 per month billed annually), that you can begin using advanced settings.

Run a WooCommerce store and want to use Zapier to update stock or orders on a Google Sheet?

You’ll need Zapier and the Tables addon.

That’s an extra $20 per month (plus a Starter or Professional plan) if you need to update more than 100 fields.

Want to offer live chat on your website and automate responses?

You’ll need the Advanced plan at $100 per month if you don’t want it to say, ‘Powered by Zapier’.

10 Affordable Zapier Alternatives

Each of these Zapier alternatives are (mostly) more affordable and easier to use.

We compare each using 6 key criteria:

• Integrations – To be a Zapier alternative, the solution needs to integrate with popular platforms.
• Ease of use – Zapier sets the bar for ease of use but we want more than that. We want intuitive dashboards and automation builders.
• Data manipulation tools – What you put into your automation tool isn’t necessarily what you want out. That’s where formatting and data manipulation come into play.
• APIs and webhooks – The ability to integrate unsupported apps using APIs or webhooks is important to website or online store owners.
• Unique features – If the platform has anything special that makes it stand out, we’ll mention it.
• Pricing – Pricing is the biggest complaint people have about Zapier. Let’s see how these alternatives compare.

Here are the automation apps we’ll be reviewing:

1. SureTriggers

We designed SureTriggers to be all the things Zapier can struggle with, cheap, easy to use and reliable.

There’s less dependency on external platforms too, which is a bonus.

Integrations

SureTriggers has only been around a year but already integrates with over 400 apps.

That number will have increased by the time you read this as more integrations are added all the time.

You’ll find SureTriggers integrates with all your favorites, including Google Sheets, Gmail, Slack, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, Asana, Basecamp, Calendly and many others.

You’ll also find lots of WordPress and WooCommerce integrations too.

We are dedicated to adding as many integrations as possible to make running a website, membership site or online store as easy as possible.

Keep an eye on the integrations page or our Facebook community for new additions.

Ease of Use

We spent a lot of time ensuring SureTriggers was as easy to use as possible without compromising its power.

It uses similar terminology to Zapier and other automation platforms:

• App – The application or platform you want to automate
• Trigger – The event that starts the ball rolling
• Action – What you want SureTriggers to do

What Zapier calls zaps, we call workflows, otherwise the language is the same.

You can build automations easily with a drag and drop builder. All you need to do is select your app, set a trigger, configure an action and your automation is ready.

There are also a number of readymade templates you can use to get up and running quickly. We call them ‘recipes’.

Data Manipulation

SureTriggers offers extensive data manipulation options with all paid plans.

Data manipulation helps format data from one app into usable data in another.

For example, you may want to format dates or currencies from WooCommerce into a Google Sheet or your tax platform.

APIs and Webhooks

SureTriggers is fully compatible with APIs and webhooks and can process data coming from almost any source.

It can also send that data to almost any source too, formatted or unformatted depending on your needs.

Unique Features

SureTriggers has two unique features that make it stand out.

The first is WordPress compatibility. You can build and manage automations from within your WordPress dashboard.

You can also monitor everything to make sure it’s all running smoothly.

Second is the trigger button app. It allows you to add a button anywhere on your WordPress website using a shortcode.

The button can trigger any automation. The button is fully configurable and can be added anywhere, for any reason.

For example, if you sell online courses, you could set a trigger button that enrolls a logged-in user automatically onto a course and send them relevant information via email.

There is literally no limit to what you can do with this button!

Price

Pricing is where SureTriggers really shines. It’s more affordable than Zapier by a significant margin.

The free version is much more usable and includes 1,000 tasks and 5 workflows.

Premium plans cost $9 (Pro) or $19 (Business) per month. There’s also a lifetime option if you prefer a one-off payment over subscription.

SureTriggers Is Great for…

SureTriggers is ideal for WordPress users that want to automate everyday tasks. It could work for those running membership websites, online stores, course websites or sites that require lots of repetitive tasks.

SureTriggers Is Better Than Zapier Because…

We think SureTriggers is better than Zapier because it costs less and is far easier to use.

It’s also much more accessible to those new to automations or who don’t have the time to learn all about them.

2. Make

Make (formerly Integromat) has undergone something of a transformation over the past couple of years.

It has been rebranded, redeveloped and now uses a new platform.

Integrations

Make has over 1,700 integrations at the time of writing. They include popular apps like HubSpot, Calendly, NetSuite, Gmail, Monday, Facebook, Google, Shopify and many more.

Ease of Use

Make works differently to Zapier or SureTriggers but the theory is the same. Select an app, set a trigger and tell it what action you want it to take.

The automation builder looks and feels different but is still easy to use. The naming convention is slightly different too, but it’s easy to get to grips with.

As with all the Zapier alternatives in this list, there’s a knowledge base and lots of documentation to help you along.

Data Manipulation

Make has data manipulation features, called functions. They can be added easily by clicking in the relevant box and selecting from a menu.

Standard functions are included with the free plan while you’ll need to pay for custom functions.

Most of the basics are covered under standard functions, so it’s unlikely you’ll need to pay just for custom ones.

APIs and Webhooks

Make supports webhooks but uses webhook response to handle API requests. There is API support, it just works in a slightly different way.

Both enable you to connect unsupported apps and transfer data through your automations.

Unique Features

Make’s user interface is probably the most unique feature. It has a very friendly feel, with simple controls and intuitive processes.

There’s a bit to learn to truly master it but that’s made easy by documentation and resources.

Price

Make has a free version that includes 1,000 tasks per month.

There are four premium plans, starting with Core at $9 per month paid annually.

More expensive plans increase the number of tasks and add access to extra features such as priority execution and access to the Make API.

Make Is Great for…

Make is great for many types of business. The list of supported apps is large and the uses you can put it to are many.

It isn’t quite as easy to use as SureTriggers but it isn’t far behind. It’s also more affordable than Zapier making it a great alternative.

Make Is Better Than Zapier Because…

We consider Make a better alternative to Zapier because it’s more affordable and the free version is very usable. The number of integrations also works in its favor.

3. Integrately

Integrately is another Zapier alternative worth checking out. The website isn’t as easy to understand as Make or SureTriggers, but the app itself is pretty intuitive.

Integrations

Integrately has over 1,100 integrations covering all our favorites. You can link it with Google Sheets, Elementor Forms, WordPress, Airtable, Discord, Outlook, Brevo and most other apps you’ll use.

Many premium app integrations are locked to paid plans so check carefully before you sign up.

Ease of Use

Integrately is very logical to use. It uses the same if-this-then-that methodology of all Zapier alternatives in this list.

It uses a no-code automation builder and has readymade templates you can use with a single click. Everything is signposted and well laid out too.

Data Manipulation

Integrately uses Data Modifiers to format data. They are restricted to premium plans but can perform a wide range of formatting tasks.

APIs and Webhooks

Integrately supports both APIs and webhooks but you’ll need a premium plan to use them. They are refreshingly simple to set up and use too.

In the unlikely event an app isn’t supported, you can use either an API or a webhook to connect it.

Unique Features

The one-click automation functionality is a great unique feature. It isn’t quite one-click but it’s exceptionally easy to do.

Just select a template, configure the settings to make it work and it can begin right away. That’s about as easy as automation gets!

Price

There’s a free version of Integrately but it’s limited to 100 tasks.

Four premium versions add tasks and support for conditions, branching, filters, premium apps and other features. Plans start at $19.99 per month up to $239 per month.

Integrately Is Great for…

Integrately is useful for small businesses that want to experiment with automations and larger businesses that don’t mind paying for full access.

The WordPress integrations can also be useful to website or online store owners with basic automation requirements.

Integrately Is Better Than Zapier Because…

We think Integrately is better than Zapier because the interface is easier to use and it has more WordPress integrations.

The one-click automation option is also compelling and ideal for busy businesses.

4. Activepieces

Activepieces, like SureTriggers, is a new kid on the block, but is showing the more established players how automation should be done.

It’s an open source platform that’s powerful and easy to use. Yes we know it’s expensive, but most websites or online stores could use the free option for everyday tasks.

Integrations

Activepieces call apps ‘pieces’, hence the name. There are currently a limited number of pieces available as the app is relatively young.

However, those apps that are there are popular, like Amazon S3, Airtable, Calendly, ConvertKit, Discord, Dropbox, DeepL, GitHub and others.

Ease of Use

Activepieces is relatively easy to use and uses a slick automation builder similar to SureTriggers and Zapier.

Select the app you want to automate, set the trigger and the action.

There are no templates like some of these other Zapier alternatives but it’s simple enough to build your own.

Data Manipulation

Activepieces uses the concept of ‘helpers’ to format data. It supports pattern matching, min/max length for strings and custom validation so you’re not short of options.

You’ll have to figure out how to do it manually though.

APIs and Webhooks

Activepieces supports APIs and webhooks and makes them available as pieces. It’s simple enough to set them up too, which is a bonus.

Unique Features

Activepieces is unique in that it’s open source. You can do whatever you want with the code and customize it however you like if you have the skills.

If you don’t mind hosting it yourself, you can use unlimited automations completely free.

Price

If you prefer a hosted version, there’s a free version that gives 1 user 1,000 automations per month. You can add users for $5 each per month.

Two paid plans cost from $249 per month and add a minimum of 50,000 automations.

Activepieces Is Great for…

Activepieces is great for those who embrace open source and have the skills to do whatever they need with it.

The hosted option reduces complexity and adds the canvas builder, which could work for most other businesses.

Activepieces Is Better Than Zapier Because…

We think Activepieces is a better alternative to Zapier because it’s open source. If you have the skills, or skills on staff, you could literally do anything with it.

The hosted version is expensive, but if you don’t mind a little setup, you could easily run your own automation platform.

5. IFTTT

IFTTT has been around forever and is the original automation platform. The logic-based If-This-Then-That system underpins how all automation platforms work.

Integrations

IFTTT integrates with over 900 applications, divided into applets and services.

Most popular apps and services are covered, including Google Sheets, Airtable, Alexa, Amazon Cloud, Constant Contact and many others.

Ease of Use

IFTTT is more challenging to use than most other Zapier alternatives in this list. While the builder canvas looks similar, it’s not drag and drop.

You need to manually type the app, select a trigger and configure the outcome. It’s simple enough once you make the switch, but there is a learning curve.

Fortunately, there are lots of guides, videos and people in the community that can help.

Data Manipulation

IFTTT supports data manipulation but requires some JavaScript to do it. This adds to the complexity but opens up a whole world of options.

Called filter code, you can add filters, change data, add conditions and control schedules. It just takes a little figuring out.

APIs and Webhooks

IFTTT supports APIs and webhooks. There are some readymade API templates ready to go or you can create your own.

Webhooks are also well-supported, with some common apps already covered.

Unique Features

IFTTT is unique in that it has been around since 2010. It’s a little more difficult to use but has a much more knowledgeable community.

It also supports mobile automations so you could create them for iOS and Android, which is a nice touch.

Price

IFTTT has a free plan that includes 2 applets and unlimited runs.

There are two premium plans that cost from $2.92 per month billed annually that add applets, runs and extra features.

IFTTT Is Great for…

IFTTT is great for users who don’t mind enduring a little complexity in return for flexibility. With over 900 applets (apps) supported, there’s a lot of scope to automate a lot of tasks.

The templates can also make short work of automating actions, which makes it useful for a wider range of businesses.

IFTTT Is Better Than Zapier Because…

We consider IFTTT a better Zapier alternative because it’s much more affordable and has fewer limits on the number of runs.

6. Pipedream

Pipedream is for the developers amongst you. It’s a Zapier alternative that helps you with code by automating many processes that connect APIs.

Integrations

Pipedream integrates with over 1,700 apps including many that are popular with developers and project managers.

They include OAuth, Notion, OpenAI, Python, Slack, GitHub, Node.js, Go and many, many others. It integrates with WordPress via an API.

Ease of Use

Pipedream is low code, not no code, so there is a slight learning curve. As this is for developers, the code aspect should be very simple to manage.

The interface looks logical enough, with a windowed canvas view and easy access to apps and triggers.

There are also readymade templates you can use to save even more time.

Data Manipulation

As Pipedream is about code, data manipulation is not really an issue.

APIs and Webhooks

Pipedream is built to help create APIs and webhooks so this is a key feature. You can create by hand, use readymade templates or the built-in AI function for all your API needs.

We’re not programmers so we won’t comment too much here, but our developer team says it’s pretty good!

Unique Features

The main unique feature about Pipedream is that it’s not a generalist automation platform, it’s specifically for developers.

So while it is technically a Zapier alternative, it’s much more niche. That’s good news for developers as it is apparently a very powerful platform.

Price

There’s a free version of Pipedream that includes 3 workflows and 3 connected accounts.

Three premium plans add workflows, accounts and AI features and cost from $19 per month.

Pipedream Is Great for…

Pipedream is great for developers and development companies. It helps automate repetitive tasks and lets you save the automation as a template.

There are also readymade templates you can use right away.

Pipedream Is Better Than Zapier Because…

Pipedream is better than Zapier because it is tightly focused on the needs of developers. While Zapier has elements developers can use, Pipedream does a whole lot more.

7. Pabbly Connect

Pabbly Connect is a more mainstream alternative to Zapier, similar to SureTriggers. It’s designed for everyone and uses a simple workflow builder to create automations.

Integrations

Pabbly Connect boasts 1,500 integrations. All are available with all plans, including the free plan.

Most popular apps are covered, including Asana, Authorize.net, AWeber, Cloudflare, FreshBooks, LinkedIn and WordPress.

Ease of Use

Pabbly Connect uses a straightforward automation builder where you select your app, trigger and action.

It’s easy to use and uses logical steps to create workflows.

The builder will become second nature in just a few minutes and makes short work of creating simple or more complex automations.

Data Manipulation

Pabbly Connect uses a ‘Data Transformer’ to handle most requirements. There’s also the Pabbly Date/Time Formatter should you have specific needs.

Both are included with all plans and have some readymade templates for common tasks, especially date and time reformatting.

APIs and Webhooks

There is both API and webhook support, mainly around customer events, but you can create your own from scratch if you know JSON.

There’s a specific webhooks menu within Pabbly Connect where you can configure, monitor and manage them.

Unique Features

There’s nothing really unique about Pabbly Connect, but that’s not a bad thing. It does all things well and is a solid alternative to Zapier.

Price

Pabbly Connect has a free plan with 100 tasks and limited options. You get access to all integrations though.

Three premium plans add tasks and all resources from $34 per month. Unusually for an automation app, there are one-off lifetime purchase option too.

Pabbly Connect Is Great for…

Pabbly Connect is great as an alternative to Zapier for general use. It has tons of integrations, an intuitive automation builder and over 1,500 apps.

Pabbly Connect Is Better Than Zapier Because…

Pabbly Connect is better than Zapier because it’s more generous. While premium plans are on the expensive side, the cheapest plan includes 24,000 tasks and more resources than a small business could need.

Even medium-sized enterprises could use this tier with no problems.

8. Workato

Workato has a more corporate feel and is designed for medium to larger businesses with more established teams. It’s still a viable Zapier alternative though.

Integrations

Workato integrates with over 1,000 apps and organizes them by business functions such as sales, customer service, HR and so on.

Supported apps include many familiar names like Slack, Zendesk, Hubspot, Jira, Zoom, Adobe, Xero and more.

There is no WordPress app integration so you’ll need to use an API or webhook for that.

Ease of Use

Workato looks and feels a lot like Pabbly Connect. The dashboard is well designed and uses the familiar app, trigger, action format.

You can use the builder to create complex automations with conditional logic and built-in tools.

Data Manipulation

Workato supports data manipulation using formula mode. You can use it to change all types of data using formulas similar to Excel or Google Sheets.

It’s relatively simple to do and the screen changes color once you enter formula mode to help keep you oriented. It’s a small thing, but very useful.

APIs and Webhooks

There is extensive API and webhook support so you could automate almost any task you like using either.

The API dashboard is as straightforward as the rest of the system to use and uses a simple click to select a builder to help you create workflows.

Unique Features

Workato supports AI within automations that can help you refine workflows and get insights from the data you’re using.

The AI can also help with workflow creation which could be useful for more complex automations.

Price

Pricing is where Workato lets us down slightly. We are always suspicious of platforms that aren’t transparent about how much they cost and that’s the case here.

Whenever you look for pricing, you’re met with a ‘Talk to Sales’ button.

Workato Is Great for…

Workato is great for larger or more established businesses with a definite need for automations. While unconfirmed, pricing seems to be on the steep side but the power it offers could be worth it.

Workato Is Better Than Zapier Because…

We think Workato is better than Zapier because it’s much easier to use and seems capable of more complex automations.

It may not be more affordable, but it’s easier to use and the workflows are much easier to understand. Plus, having AI input into automation building can save a lot of time!

9. Parabola

Parabola is a Zapier alternative worth checking out if you’re looking to make sense of data.

It’s an automation tool designed to make spreadsheet life easier and the data they contain more usable and accessible.

Integrations

Parabola integrates with over 1,000 applications and has a request system where you can ask for an app to be added.

There’s also an inbound email option for unsupported apps.

Integrations include Slack, amazon, Box, Airtable, Calendly, Dropbox, Excel, FTP, Google Analytics, Excel and many more.

WordPress integration will need to use an API.

Ease of Use

Parabola is relatively simple to use. It has an automation builder where you can add your apps, triggers and actions and link them.

You can also create multi-step automations, add conditions, schedules and other intelligence to workflows.

Data Manipulation

As you would expect with an automation platform that specializes in data, there is lots of support for formatting and manipulation.

You can add, remove or change formatted data, configure how reports are displayed and use AI prompts to format information in a custom way.

APIs and Webhooks

Parabola supports two types of API, REST API and GraphQL API. Both offer a lot of flexibility in how you connect unsupported apps and gather data from them.

There is some complexity in setting them up but there is a lot of documentation and some video guides to help you along.

Unique Features

Parabola specializes in managing data and is heavily geared towards data-intensive tasks. This gives it a specialist niche that few other Zapier alternatives venture into.

If you want to collect, collate, format and display lots of data from any source, Parabola is probably your best option.

Price

Parabola has a free version that includes 3 flows with up to 25 steps. There is no limitation on runs though.

There are also three premium options, starting at $80 per month for unlimited flows. This is more expensive than Zapier but could be worth it for data-intensive tasks.

Parabola Is Great for…

We think Parabola is great for managing and making sense of data. It makes short work of collection and data handling and supports automations up to 25 steps long.

Parabola Is Better Than Zapier Because…

Parabola is better than Zapier because the free version could help you get a lot done and the data handling is superior to every other option out there.

10. Microsoft Power Automate

Microsoft Power Automate (formerly Microsoft Flow) is similar in nature to IFTTT and integrates with other Microsoft platforms, as you would expect.

If your organization uses a lot of Microsoft products, this could be another useful app to add to the list.

Integrations

Microsoft Power Automate integrates with over 1,000 apps, called ‘connectors’. There is also RPA support for unsupported apps.

All compatible Microsoft applications are supported as well as Dropbox, Google Calendar, Hubspot, Adobe, Ethereum, Buffer and WordPress.

Ease of Use

If you know Microsoft apps already, you’ll find your way around Power Automate easily. It uses an Office 365 type dashboard where you can build workflows and join everything together.

The platform supports multi-step workflows and each item has a series of options accessible from individual settings applets.

Data Manipulation

Microsoft Power Automate supports data manipulation, called data operations. You can perform a range of tasks, from combining data to parsing JSON.

The process is simple enough, add a Join card to the workflow and use operators to configure the what, where and how.

APIs and Webhooks

Microsoft Power Automate supports both APIs and webhooks but requires a premium account to use fully.

In typical Microsoft fashion, it isn’t exactly intuitive. Rather than selecting a webhook card, you would select a ‘When a http request is received’ card.

It’s simple enough once you get the hang of it though.

Unique Features

Microsoft Power Automate has a uniquely close integration with other Microsoft products such as Azure, Office 365 and others. If you’re a heavy MS user, this is a big advantage.

There’s also AI assistance for workflows similar to Workato. It can help you build and refine workflows and generally do a better job.

Price

Microsoft Power Automate has a free version that’s more of a 30-day trial than a true free option.

The two premium plans cost from $15 per user per month and include unlimited flows. There are data storage and AI builder credit limits though.

Microsoft Power Automate Is Great for…

We think Microsoft Power Automate is a great Zapier alternative for businesses that already use Microsoft products.

It looks and feels familiar, has lots of automations for MS products and integrates with lots of external apps too.

Microsoft Power Automate Is Better Than Zapier Because…

Microsoft Power Automate is better than Zapier because of that tight integration with other MS products. It’s also easier to use, has AI to help build workflows and works out more affordable too.

Did You Find a Zapier Alternative?

Zapier is good at what it does and could be a complete automation solution for some. But the pricing is ambitious to say the least and can work out very expensive.

That’s why we curated this list of 5 Zapier alternatives.

Each delivers ease of use, app compatibility, just at a much lower price.

Which will you try first?

Each of these 10 Zapier alternatives are worth checking out, but three stand out:

• If you’re a WordPress user, SureTriggersd is designed just for you.
• If you’re a developer and want to automate code tasks, check out Pipedream.
• If you want to make sense of big data, try Parabola

Do you use any of these Zapier alternatives? Have any others to recommend? Tell us about it below if you do!

Try SureTriggers for free here!

Zapier Alternative FAQs

What is the best Zapier alternative?

We think the best Zapier alternative is SureTriggers but Make, Integrately, Activepieces and IFTTT come a close second. All are much more cost-effective than Zapier while offering the same, sometimes more, features, ease of use, automation templates and customization options.

Who is Zapier’s competition?

There’s a lot of competition for Zapier. Automation is as popular as AI right now so everyone wants in on the action. Main competition includes SureTriggers, Make, Integrately, Activepieces and IFTTT. There are lots of others, but we particularly like these 5.

How to automate without Zapier?

You can automate without Zapier using SureTriggers or another Zapier alternative. You don’t have to use automation software but your automations won’t be as efficient or as intelligent. Email auto replies will only get you so far in business nowadays!

What is the Microsoft equivalent of Zapier?

The Microsoft equivalent to Zapier is called Power Automate. As you would expect from Microsoft, the overall platform is good but is difficult to use, unintuitive and doesn’t have a drag and drop automation builder. It’s also expensive, around $15 up to $100 per month, which is almost as expensive as Zapier. SureTriggers is a much more affordable option and is easy to use too!

Create a booking website with WordPress!

It’s simple, cost-effective and scalable.

Whether you manage a salon, clinic or consultancy, this is the ultimate way to maximize your bookings.

In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through each step and make it easy to create a booking website in no time.

We’ll discuss:

• Essential features of booking websites
• The ingredients you need to create a compelling booking site
• The steps to build a booking website the right way

Let’s begin our journey!

Essential Features of a Booking Website

We think a great booking website needs:

If you’re curious to see an example of the booking website we’ll be building, check out this video for a closer look.

3 Best Tools to Create Your Booking Site

To build a solid booking website, you need tools that are sturdy, flexible, and packed with features.

For instance, if you rely on Google Calendar for appointments, you’ll want a booking system that seamlessly integrates with it.

There are a number of good WordPress booking plugins out there but we’ll pick the cream of the crop.

Here’s all you need to create a reliable booking system:

• Astra theme
• Spectra page builder
• LatePoint booking plugin

Let’s quickly discuss a few things about these awesome tools.

LatePoint: This awesome booking plugin is used by more than 20,000 businesses.

We love it because it’s simple to use, packed with modern features, integrates smoothly, and has clean code.

With this plugin, handling everything from choosing a service to making a payment and getting appointment confirmations is super easy.

Customers get their own dashboard where they can manage bookings and chat with your team whenever they need to.

The plugin is fully supported too. You can look forward to continuous developments and improvements and seamless integration with popular products.

Want to know more? Check out our full LatePoint review.

Get LatePoint

The Astra theme: Astra is a fantastic multipurpose WordPress theme perfect for any website.

Astra is light, responsive, and easy to customize. It gives you full control over how you want to design your website.

One of the things that we like about this WordPress theme is its vast collection of starter templates. This is an easy way for beginners to build websites quickly and easily.

Just pick the template that suits your needs and Astra will take care of the rest.

What sets Astra apart is its compatibility with popular plugins and services. You can literally run your website at any scale you want!

While the free version is fantastic, we recommend going pro for the ultimate experience.

Get Astra

Spectra website builder: If you’re looking for a lightning-fast website builder that provides total design freedom, Spectra is the way to go.

What’s cool about Spectra is that it’s built to integrate into the WordPress native block system.

Spectra is known for its readymade templates and blocks that makes it easy to create stunning pages.

You can design pro level homepages with Spectra without touching a line of code.

Spectra is also available in both free and premium versions.

Want to know what more Spectra Pro can do for you? Here’s a review worth reading.

Get Spectra

Let’s use these tools to create an amazing booking website.

Create a Booking Website in 3 Steps

In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through setting up a website for a hair salon. You can use the same steps to build a site for any kind of business.

We’ll use Astra, LatePoint, Spectra and a new AI website builder called ZipWP.

Here are the steps:

1. Build your website with ZipWP (in just 60 seconds!)
2. Publish your website
3. Set up LatePoint to automate appointments

Let’s begin!

1. Build Your Website With ZipWP

The ZipWP website builder is an awesome tool that helps you create a website using the power of AI.

You can design, tweak, and test your website however you want before launching it.

All it takes is a quick sign-up and tell ZipWP a few details about your business.

If you want to see every step of building your website and personalize it to match your brand, watch this video.

Did you notice how simple it was to create your website?

2. Publish Your Booking Website

When you log in to your website on ZipWP for the first time, you’ll see a notification about your site’s temporary status.

Just follow the instructions, and the system will guide you to your booking site.

Remember, this is just a temporary website and will disappear after 24 hours. It’s best to move it to your permanent hosting account.

If you’re not familiar with hosting or web hosts, don’t worry. Here’s what a web host does typically:

• It hosts your website on its server
• It keeps your website in a folder
• Then it links your website with the domain name

This arrangement allows people to access your website through their browsers.

For example: we just made a website using ZipWP as our temporary host. It lets us access the site and do what we need to do.

But if you look at the URL, it’s just a bunch of random characters. You can’t use that for commercial purposes.

To publish your site, you need a domain name and a proper web host.

Companies like Hostinger, SiteGround, or GreenGeeks provide a free domain when you sign up for hosting.

For example, with Hostinger, each plan includes a free domain for the first year.

All you have to do is pick a hosting plan and use the setup wizard to register your domain and set up WordPress.

Pro Tip:

You only have to install WordPress. No need to pick a theme or tweak your site yet. We’ll swap it out soon with the website we made earlier during the migration process.

If you want more details on how to register a domain and get your site up and running, check out this tutorial. It covers everything you need to know.

Migrate Your Website

After you’ve finished setting up your chosen web host and installing WordPress, you can begin the migration.

We’ll use a migration plugin to transfer our entire website to the live site.

Check out this video for a detailed explanation of website migration.

Migration will move everything you created earlier on ZipWP to your new hosting plan.

Once complete, you should see a fully working version of the site you created earlier.

Now, we’ll focus on setting up our booking system on our live site.

3. Install and Set Up LatePoint

Here’s a comprehensive video that explains how to install and set up LatePoint properly.

Like most premium WordPress plugins, you can access the LatePoint [.zip] file from the customer dashboard.

LatePoint offers two plans: Basic and Pro. Choose whichever suits your needs best.

Pro Tip:

If you want to try LatePoint before buying, there’s a 7-day sandbox trial available so you can test it out.

You can install LatePoint just like any other plugin.

Simply go to the Plugin menu in your WordPress admin area, click on Add New Plugin and upload the plugin file from your computer.

Once uploaded, install and activate the plugin.

After activation, LatePoint will load a setup wizard to get you started.

Note

While you can skip this step and configure everything later, we recommend using the wizard for a quick setup, especially for beginners.

In the first step, you can create agents who will provide your services.

In our case, these agents are hairstylists.

Just enter their name, phone number, email, and upload their picture, then click Save.

Next, you’ll see the option to Add Agent. You can repeat this process to add as many agents as you need for your company.

Click Next to move to step 2.

In step 2, you can add the services you want to offer, like hair cutting, hairstyling, dying, or foot massage.

Enter the service name, set the duration, upload a relevant image, and select the agent.

If multiple agents can provide the same service, you can choose them here.

Press the Save button to proceed. You can add more services by clicking the Add Service button.

When you’re ready to move on, click Next to go to step 3.

In the final step, you’ll set your weekly schedule.

By default, all days of the week are selected as working days, but you can uncheck the ones you don’t want to work.

You can also change the working hours and add breaks as needed.

Click the small pencil icon to edit the timings for a specific day.

After you finish setting up the weekly schedule, click Next to complete setup.

On the last screen, you’ll see a [latepoint_book_button] shortcode. This lets you add a booking button to any page on your site.

Alternatively, you can use the Booking Button WordPress block.

Click the Open Dashboard link to access the LatePoint admin area.

The LatePoint dashboard has a unique style different from the usual WordPress interface.

You’ll find all options upfront on a white background that provides a great user experience.

We’ll cover how to effectively use the dashboard later in this tutorial.

But first, something important!

We recommend activating LatePoint with your license key to unlock advanced features from the start.

To activate the license, go to Settings > System.

Enter your name, license key, and email address used for purchasing the plugin, then click Activate License Key.

3.1. Add Resources (Agents and Services)

Let’s demonstrate how LatePoint operates by adding some sample data and guiding you through the process.

We’ll begin by adding agents who can provide services, also referred to as resources.

Adding Agents

To add an agent, go to the Agents menu in the LatePoint dashboard and select Create New Agent.

The page is divided into different sections:

• General information: Add name, picture, email address or phone number
• Additional contact information: Add email and phone number of additional resources who you want to notify for appointments
• Extra information: Brief bio of the agent to inform customers about their experience
• Agent highlights: Quickly inform customers about the achievement of the agents
• Offered services: List of services a particular agent provides
• Agent schedule: Optional custom schedule for agents that may differ from your general schedule

Provide relevant details to help your clients choose the right agent for their services.

Adding Services

Next, we’ll list the services our salon provides. To do this, click on the Services menu item in the left sidebar.

This will take you to the page where you can add services, categories, and service extras.

Categories are useful when you offer multiple services.

Service extras are additional services your clients may want to add to their primary service.

For instance, if you offer foot massages during haircuts, clients can select it during booking.

The service extras tab will appear once you add the addon for it. We’ll show you how to do that shortly.

Similar to adding agents, the Add New Service page is divided into different sections, including:

• General information: Name your service, categorize it, set its visibility and style it
• Media: Upload an image to represent your service
• Service duration and price: Set the duration of the service and the price you’ll charge
• Display price: Minimum and maximum price as visible to customers for marketing purposes
• Other settings: Set a buffer time before and after the service session. Also override the default service status
• Agents who offer this service: Choose the agents who will offer the service
• Service schedule: Customize a schedule and make it available on defined days
• Days with custom schedules: Take service schedules to an advanced level. Pick specific days and times of the year to offer this service
• Holidays and days off: Mark specific days of the year as off such as the 4th of July or Christmas
• Service extras: Choose extra services you want to make available when someone chooses the main service
• Restrictions on service extras: Restrict extras with a minimum or maximum value

Although the services page offers a lot of advanced options, you don’t need to fill in each of them to start working.

You can always set up a basic service and tweak later.

3.2. Activate Addons

LatePoint comes with 26 addons designed for various purposes like communication, marketing, payment, and more.

For instance, you can add extra payment options including Stripe, PayPal, Paystack, Square, Razorpay, Braintree, and others.

These are purely optional but can be useful.

Let’s install a few essential addons to enable the features we need for our booking website.

To install an addon, go to the Add-ons menu in the WordPress sidebar. You’ll see all available addons categorized in different tabs.

Each addon has an Install Now button. Click it to activate the addon.

Here’s a list of addons we activated:

Now we’ve activated some addons, let’s dive into the settings to customize our booking module.

3.3. Explore Settings

LatePoint provides an extensive settings area that controls the entire plugin.

It’s organized into different subpages that makes it easy for users of all skill levels to manage.

When you activate an addon, its options will appear in a relevant subpage.

For example, if you haven’t activated the Taxes addon yet, the tax subpage will display a message saying Install Taxes add-on.

General

The General subpage has the most options, divided into multiple sections.

In the Appointment Settings section, you can set the Default Status field value to Approved if you want to accept every booking.

You can also use different preset values based on different conditions.

If you want to add custom statuses, you can use the Additional Statuses field to enter values of your choice.

Note:

Don’t forget to save and refresh the page after adding a custom status.

Next, you can adjust options related to date and time, such as the time system, date format, interval between sessions, and more.

In the Restrictions section, you can decide how early customers can book appointments with the Earliest Possible Booking field.

For instance, setting it to +1 day means customers can book a slot starting from the next day.

Similarly, you can use the Latest Possible Booking field to restrict future bookings.

For instance, setting it to +60 days means customers can’t book appointments beyond 60 days from today.

In the Customer Settings section, you can allow customers to reschedule or cancel bookings.

You can also set restrictions on how early they can reschedule from the appointment date.

If you want to accept these changes immediately, you can enable the option in the same section.

Additionally, you can give customers the option to set a password for their dashboard.

You can also allow them to login with their social media accounts, like Google and Facebook.

Payments

An important section to pay attention to is Payments. It’s where you can activate the payment methods provided by LatePoint.

In this tutorial on creating a booking website, we activated Stripe for payments.

If you already have a Stripe account, simply enter your API Keys, Publishable Key, and Webhook URL to enable it.

When you first install LatePoint on your website, it’s wise to test your environment before going live.

On the Payments subpage, scroll down to find the Other Settings section.

Use the Environment field to choose the value you prefer.

3.4. Integrations

The integrations page lets you add Google Calendar, Google Meet, and MailChimp email marketing tools to your website.

For example, to integrate Google Calendar, go to the Integrations page in the left sidebar and toggle on the Google Calendar button under the Calendar subpage.

If you’re new to this, you might need some assistance setting up Google Calendar.

But don’t worry, LatePoint has a detailed knowledge base that explains everything about the plugin in an easy-to-understand manner.

3.5. Form Fields

We’ve also set up some custom fields. This feature comes in handy when you need more details from customers.

For instance, at our salon, we ask customers about their hair type during the booking process.

Hair stylists often find this information helpful for understanding the customer’s needs better.

You can access this feature from the Form Fields page.

Just go to the Booking Fields subpage and add your desired custom field.

These are some essential options in LatePoint to help you get started.

Now, let’s explore how the LatePoint dashboard area helps you monitor bookings.

3.6. LatePoint DashBoard

As a manager or booking agent, this is where you’ll likely spend a significant amount of time. It helps you gather information on your upcoming bookings, revenue, and agent schedules.

The dashboard is divided into three main sections: Performance, Upcoming, and Day Preview.

Let’s explore each of them.

Performance

This section offers a summary of your overall business activity. You can see how many appointments you’ve booked within a specific timeframe.

You can apply filters to refine the information. Choosing a date helps you select the desired period.

Use the agent filter to view the performance of a specific agent.

This allows you to track how much a particular agent has generated during the month, how many hours they’ve worked, and the ratio of new vs. returning customers.

You can use this data to monitor their efforts.

You can also use the service filter to assess the performance of your most popular service.

This is particularly useful for identifying areas for improvement or devising marketing strategies.

Upcoming

This widget provides a quick overview of your upcoming appointments for the week and month. Appointments are listed in chronological order.

If you have multiple staff members, you can use the agent filter to see each worker’s upcoming appointments.

Similarly, the service filter helps you anticipate the frequency of specific services.

Clicking on an appointment reveals more details in a popup sidebar. You can update the appointment as needed.

If you want to view the activity log for a particular appointment, click the View Log button to see all related events.

Day Preview

This widget displays daily appointments for all agents. You can refine your search by date, location, or service.

Hovering over a specific appointment slot reveals a tooltip with a summary, and clicking on it provides more details.

Chat Notifications

In the top-right corner, there are several buttons and icons. The first one is for chat notifications.

Whenever a customer sends a message through their dashboard, a notification appears. Each new message increases the count.

Next to chat notifications is the activity log button, which provides information on events triggered by LatePoint.

For instance, when someone books an appointment, LatePoint notifies both the administrator and customer via email. This helps ensure everything is running smoothly.

Similar to other sections, there are filters to refine the information.

The next button displays pending bookings.

And finally, there’s a large button labeled + New Booking that allows you to create a new booking directly from the dashboard.

That’s all you need to know to get started with LatePoint. It’s also enough to start accepting appointments for any business.

There’s a lot more to explore within LatePoint but we’ll leave that to you.

Now that we’ve tweaked our demo booking site and activated some key features, let’s take a look at how its various sections appear.

Home Page

Home page after pressing Book Now button

Home and booking pages on mobile devices

Conclusion

When you create a booking website with WordPress, you have limitless options.

The most critical decision is to choose the right tools for your booking setup.

After all, you want to give your customers one-click access to the booking system, built-in payment, coupons, appointment management, quick notifications, and more.

Above all, the entire process of making a booking website should be a breeze.

This tutorial uses the most reliable tools to do the job in 3 easy steps. The rest is now up to you!

What type of booking website are you planning to build? We’re eager to hear from you in the comments!