Online courses are really gaining trust in today’s community and it is one of the great ways to make a living. Using WordPress you can design and run courses online. So I thought why not compare WP Courseware vs MemberPress, to see which one triumphs over the other?
WP Courseware is a plugin that can be installed in WordPress so that you can easily organize the content and navigate easily through the course.MemberPress plugin aids you in creating a paid membership program and helps build a sustainable business online.
Bottom Line Upfront: MemberPress is a WordPress membership site plugin that can make it easy for you to charge your users for access to content and digital products such as software and e-books. MemberPress gives you the ability to confidently create, manage, and analyze membership subscriptions and digital products. WP Courseware is a similar tool but MemberPress has the edge so I recommend you try MemberPress and see the results yourself.
In this article, I will be taking a comprehensive look at these popular WordPress plugins that I’ve used time and again so that you can select the one that is best suited for your website. Let’s dive right in, without further ado!
WP Courseware vs MemberPress: Overview
WP Courseware Overview
WP Courseware can turn your WordPress page into an online course. For me, the best part was that you can add management, tracking progress, fun activities, questionnaires, and more options for the students.
Since the courses are WordPress posts anything like text, videos, or pdfs can be posted there. This is best suited for education institutes and training departments. Also, many small-scale operations are carried out through WP Courseware.
MemberPress Overview
MemberPress has gained a lot of love from its customers since it is easy to use and the setup is easy to understand. Using MemberPress I was able to create different courses, content drip, community forums, and many more.
It is very robust, integrates with the existing WordPress account. MemberPress is a powerful plugin trusted by many businesses. I would say that MemberPress is best suited for all sized businesses who would like to roll out a Membership.
Unique features Comparison
MemberPress
- Comprehensive analytics: MemberPress will provide you a comprehensive analysis of the overall performance. They use charts and image representation to convey the report simply and understandably.
- Integrates with the existing WordPress account: unlike other plugins, MemberPress can be integrated with the existing WordPress account. This feature saved me loads of precious time. The whole process of transferring the data and setting up the basic profile is so easy.
WP Courseware
- Multiple site licenses: even the basic plan of WP Courseware will give you access to a minimum of two sites. The number will increase with updates and higher price ranges.
- All features are available with the lowest plan: most of the plugins will only give you very few features with the lowest plan. You will have to pay extra or upgrade to use the rest of the features.
The WP Courseware is breaking all the rules by giving you access to all their features with the lowest plan. With upgrades, you can increase the number of sites where it can be used or there are other benefits, but all the basics are already covered.
WP Courseware vs MemberPress Common features comparison
Customizable coupons
MemberPress
Completely customizable coupons are another great feature of MemberPress. Do you want to promote an offer? Create coupons with expiry dates? Customize the codes used? Or override the existing membership offers and create brand new coupons?
The available options are endless. You can really get creative and go crazy, just like I experimented and found the right one for me!
WP Courseware
WP Courseware also provides you with customizable coupons. The options are not as variable as that of MemberPress. But within the layouts and options, you can create so many coupons.
Subscription management
MemberPress
The automatic email system provided by MemberPress is really good. You can choose to add features like welcome mail to your members when they buy your membership. Also, there are options to follow up with your subscribers.
You can opt to send them emails when they choose to abandon the sign up halfway. Also, I was able to notify them when their subscription renewal is due or when the credit card is due. All these are highly customizable and you can totally choose not to do any of these.
WP Courseware
WP Courseware’s subscription management is not as good as that of MemberPress. The automatic email system will send the notification upon signing up and similar events but are not very customizable.
One good system is that the student’s dashboard will be updated with the next unit topics as they finish one unit.
Unlimited memberships
MemberPress
With unlimited memberships, you can expect to gain more profits, a tried and tested method by me.
WP Courseware
WP Courseware also allows unlimited students to sign in.
Content dripping
MemberPress
I found content dripping to be a very helpful feature. You can drip content through the date of registration or till a fixed date. By doing this the members can register as soon as they make the purchase.
There are options to set the expiry date. After this expiry date, you can choose to erase the access to certain contents.
WP Courseware
Content dripping is the method WP Courseware uses to keep the students motivated. as soon as you are done with one unit, the new unit’s contents are available to you.
Customizable features
MemberPress
With MemberPress you can allow non-members to access your website for a short amount of time. You can customize which content they will be able to access or what kind of changes they can make by choosing the right content; you can induce interest in the people and increase your sign-up rates.
WP Courseware
WP Courseware is highly customizable. It stands out from all other similar plugins as it allows a variety of methods to teach. You can opt to teach through different methods like videos, PDFs, or other methods.
Customer services
MemberPress
MemberPress has excellent customer service. Customer support is available 24*7. You can contact them through a phone call, email, or chat are really competent. What I really like about their support system is the speed with which they will respond.
WP Courseware
WP Courseware customer support is said to be very agile and eager to help. But it took them days to give a solution to my problem.
I tried contacting them through the email service and it was disappointing. Their FAQ section is good and will answer the basic questions.
WP Courseware vs MemberPress Pricing
MemberPress
MemberPress offers the following basic plans, which I honestly found quite affordable.
Basic MemberPress Plan
The Basic MemberPress plan will cost you $149 for the first year and $248 for the following years. This is good for beginners who are just starting with their membership site. This can only be used on one site.
It offers you unlimited members and content. It is really helpful to beginners as they have an excellent support system and there are more than 15 add-ons available. For one year you will get free updates. It works with PayPal and Stripe.
MemberPress Plus Plan
The Plus plan is available for $249 for the first year and you can renew it at $399 per year. It includes all the basic features. It can be used for 2 sites. All the 15 add-ons are available and there are additional add-ons and integrations available.
It works with Authorize.net. With Zapier over 1000 custom integrations will be available to you.
MemberPress Pro Plan
The Pro plan is available for $349 the first year and can be renewed at $549. This plan is particularly useful for the pros and advanced sites. This can be used on up to 5 sites. There are many exclusive add-ons available to you.
WP Courseware
WP Courseware offers three pricing plans.
Teacher Pricing Plan:
The teacher plan is originally $ 250 per year. But now it is available for $124 a year. It allows you to use the WP Courseware on two different sites.
Professor Pricing Plan
The Professor plan is now available for $150 a year which earlier would have cost you $299 a year. This can be used for up to ten sites.
Guru Pricing Plan
The Guru plan was originally priced at $400 and is now available for you at $200 per year. This can be used in up to 25 sites.
WP Courseware vs MemberPress Pros and Cons
MemberPress
Pros
- Great customer support is one of the biggest pros MemberPress has. Even if you have zero technical knowledge you can still use this plug-in with ease. The 24*7 customer support will help you with any problems.
- Since it is a plug and play plugin it is super easy to use. The option to add more subs packages as your business progresses is another one of the pros.
- Another great feature is its ability to connect with the existing WordPress account. This would save the time required to create a whole new profile and transfer the data.
- Since there are customized layouts available you don’t have to spend your precious time choosing between different options. If you are a technically minded person, the code under the hood includes WordPress plugins, filters, add-ons, and many more so you can use them to create what you need.
Cons:
- The integration is a bit confusing. Many of its users find it hard to find out how to get all the options to work properly at first.
- Many customer complaints say that the plug-in is not working with Stipe or Apple pay even though they claim it is. I didn’t find any problems with PayPal. Well, the problems may occur after long term use. So just be cautious.
- The absence of any restriction on per page visit may lead to clutters in the end.
- And the autofill options are still under development so it may be too much manual work.
WP Courseware
Pros
- The top feature WP Courseware has is how professional it looks with the minimum effort. It has a very nice interface.
- It is very easy to use with customizable features. You customize everything from the welcome message to the quizzes. There are opportunities for a lot of documentation like emails.
- The content dripping and unlimited coupon creation are other great features it has. Multiple instructors and drip feed lessons are great features.
- Since course material is highly variable you can attract customers with out of the box teaching ideas.
Cons
- WP Courseware doesn’t have built-in forum capacity. And importing courses from sources other than WordPress may be tedious and time-consuming even though building courses within WordPress is easy.
- WP Courseware has limited ability to customize registration profiles. Until you integrate your WP Courseware with an e-commerce system you can’t sell your courses online. This may add complexity to the website.
- I think if they had a built-in integration with membership platforms to sell the courses it would be better. Right now you will have to use another membership plugin to do the work. It just adds the burden on you.
- Another one problem with WP Courseware is the long list of units and modules. If there were an option to add small icons to represent the unit, it would be far easier to find what you are looking for rather than scrolling through the list.
WP Courseware vs MemberPress Testimonials
MemberPress Customer Review
WP Courseware Customer Review
Once the plugin is activated, the usual WordPress dashboard will have only two visible additions – Course Units & Training Courses.
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FAQs On WP Courseware vs MemberPress
👉What types of quiz features does WP Courseware offer?
You can opt from many options like true or false, multiple choices, upload image, text, etc. you can set passing scores and minimum marks to be attained to get access to the next unit.
👉What is MemberPress in a nutshell?
It is a WordPress plugin using which you can charge your members for access to your content. You can create, analyze, and manage all your memberships.
👉Can I charge for my courses on WP Courseware?
Of course, you can charge for your courses. It has different payment options like PayPal or Stripe.
Conclusion: WP Courseware vs MemberPress 2021
To sum up, I found that both of these platforms helped me create and sell resources digitally, without the use of any complex coding. Though I personally prefer MemberPress, it is up to you to decide the final outcome!
WP Courseware had a better interface in my opinion, whereas MemberPress had more extensive and advanced features, which helped me get the work done fast, and keep up to date.
The final choice lies with you, and I hope I have helped you make the right decision, with my review!
