You’ve been coaching clients one-on-one and have now built a system you’re ready to teach in a group program. You’ve spent hours writing course content, emails, and blog posts to promote your program, and connecting with potential customers. Now you need to decide how to deliver your content. Sure, you could send Word docs as PDFs via email, but once you move beyond a first beta round, you want your program to look as professional as the content inside it.
A membership site solves this. You can use it for subscriptions (monthly or annual fees), group programs, courses, or other digital products with a one-off fee. Whether you call it a program site, course site, or community platform, it works the same way. Membership site is just the most common term.
What is a membership site?
A membership site is a gated area where only logged-in members can access exclusive content. This is why they’re perfect for group programs and courses.
Your exclusive content can be written lessons, videos, workbooks, downloadable templates, and anything else you want to share. Members see it all in one place once they log in, which creates a professional, unified experience for your program.
How do membership sites work?
The flow is simple:
1. Members log in. They enter their username and password to access the site.
Disclaimer: I did not design these sites
2. They see a dashboard. After login, members land on a dashboard where they can see what’s available, what’s coming next, and where to go.
Disclaimer: I did not design these sites
3. They navigate to content. Clicking through takes them to a course module or lesson. A single module can contain text, videos, worksheets, or any combination of content types.
Design for Jasna Burza’s Purpose Compass Formula program by me.
4. You can drip content. Many membership platforms let you control when content becomes available. Instead of releasing everything at once, you can set lessons to unlock on specific dates. This prevents members from feeling overwhelmed and helps them stay engaged throughout the program.
If your platform doesn’t have built-in dripping, you can still signal that content is coming by:
- Adding the titles for upcoming lessons and marking them “coming soon”
- Using faded or disabled links for lessons that aren’t available yet
- Using grayscale versions of images for modules that aren’t active yet
Membership site ideas for coaches and course creators
Not sure what to actually put inside a membership? Here are a few formats that work well for coaches and course creators:
- A resource library: templates, worksheets, and guides added monthly, built around one theme at a time
- A monthly workshop or training drop, with a short live Q&A to go with it
- A community-only space for accountability, alongside a lighter content stream
- A hybrid of course content plus ongoing coaching, for clients who want structure and support together
- A done-with-you implementation membership, where each month covers one piece of a bigger project
- An alumni or continuation membership for people who’ve finished your course and want ongoing access to you
The right format depends on how much new content you want to create each month, and how much of the value comes from you being present versus the resources doing the work on their own. Whichever you choose, the platform comparison below will help you figure out which one supports it best.
How to choose a membership site platform
There are several dedicated platforms where you can host your course separate from your main website. Many let you point a subdomain (like courses.yourdomain.com) to the platform you choose.
Kajabi
An all-in-one platform that covers course hosting, email marketing, landing pages, and affiliate management. Kajabi is more expensive than course-only platforms, but you get everything in one place. Good for established course creators who want to consolidate tools.
Teachable
Course-focused platform with simple course setup and drag-and-drop building. You can customize colors and fonts to match your branding, though the underlying design is limited compared to custom-built sites. Teachable powers a lot of courses and knows what student experience works well. The platform handles hosting, payment processing, and student management.
Thinkific
Similar to Teachable with a free plan option, making it good for testing before you commit budget. Offers customizable design within platform limitations, course bundling, and community features. Good for creators starting out or with smaller audiences.
MemberVault
Lower-cost alternative designed specifically for small course creators and membership programs. Simpler interface than Kajabi or Teachable, with good content dripping and member management features. Good if you want affordability and simple course delivery without extra marketing features.
ThriveCart Learn
If you already use ThriveCart for your sales page and checkout, ThriveCart Learn integrates directly with it. No separate platform, fewer integrations to manage. Best for creators already in the ThriveCart ecosystem.
WordPress with a membership plugin
For maximum design control, you can create a membership site in WordPress. I recommend setting up a separate WordPress installation on a subdomain (like courses.yourdomain.com) for both security and easier management.
The trade-off: WordPress requires more technical knowledge. You’ll need to choose a membership plugin. Avoid free plugins because they often lack support, don’t get regular updates, and can cause broken layouts, content display issues, and security vulnerabilities. Paid plugins typically come with ongoing support and maintenance. The wrong plugin can lead to technical problems, frustrated students, and a poor experience.
WordPress is infinitely more customizable than hosted platforms, but this flexibility comes with more responsibility. Most course creators are better served by a hosted platform.
All platforms have customization limits
Whether you choose Kajabi, Teachable, Thinkific, MemberVault, or ThriveCart Learn, customization is limited compared to a fully built site. Colors, fonts, and some imagery can reflect your branding, but you’ll recognize the platform’s underlying design.
This isn’t a weakness. These platforms host thousands of courses and understand what works for student experience. You can reinforce your brand through workbooks, presentation slides, and the quality of your content itself.
Disclaimer: I did not design anything for the left and middle ones. While I did design the sales page for the course on the right, the course creator DIY-ed her course site and materials.
How to pick the right platform for you
Try before you decide. All major platforms offer free trials. Test both the backend (what you see as a course creator) and the student experience (what your members see).
Look at the student experience first. Log in as a student and move through a demo course. Is it intuitive? Do modules load quickly? Can you download resources easily? The platform you choose directly affects whether students stick with your program.
Think about ongoing costs. Some platforms charge a flat monthly fee. Others take a percentage of your revenue. Calculate the cost at different revenue levels to see which pricing structure makes sense for your program.
Consider your technical comfort. Hosted platforms like Kajabi, Teachable, and Thinkific handle servers, backups, and updates. WordPress requires more hands-on technical work, even with a paid plugin.
Want your platform set up for you?
Choosing the right platform is one piece of getting your course ready to sell. You also need your content uploaded and formatted, a checkout that works, and an automated delivery email so students get access the moment they buy.
If you have the content but not the setup, my Course Tech Setup Sprint handles all of that in one week: course platform with your branding, content uploaded and formatted, checkout, automated delivery email, and welcome sequence, all set up together. Supported platforms include Kajabi, Teachable, Thinkific, MemberVault, and ThriveCart. One fixed price. Submit your content on Friday, everything’s ready to sell by the next Friday.
Not sure which platform is the right fit?
If you’re still weighing up the options and want to talk it through before booking the Sprint, a free Steady Sales Roadmap call is a good place to start. We’ll look at your program, your audience, and your goals, and figure out which platform will actually work for your specific setup.
