How do I upload Pro version to WordPress?

I just bought the pro version, and I’m trying to upload the S2member Pro to my site. How do I do that?

Hey, Elan –

The first time you do this, there’s some manual gymnastics that you have to go through, but once it’s installed all updates will occur semi-automatically from your WP dashboard. When an update is available, you will update the base framework like any other plugin, then there will be the option to update the Pro piece by providing your S2Member account login and password, which are also saved on that page for the future.

The first time you want to set up Pro, here’s what you need to do:

1. First, ensure that the S2Member standard framework is loaded and activated on your site.
2. Download the ZIP archive from the S2Member website from this page: http://www.s2member.com/pro/ – look for the “Premium Download” box in the upper right.
3. Unzip/extract the archive on your computer; you will see a new folder called “s2member-pro” with another “s2member-pro” folder inside of that one, with the pro files under that.
4. Using your FTP program, upload the second (inner) “s2member-pro” folder onto your site so that the file “pro-module.php” shows up at the path: [..yoursite..]/wp-content/plugins/s2member-pro/pro-module.php

Where many people have trouble is in accidentally loading the first (outer) “s2member-pro” folder so that a second one appears on your website. Don’t do that.

You can get these instructions and more at: http://www.s2member.com/pro/ – click on the “Install/Update” tab.

Thank you so much! Is there any way you can go through step 4? I don’t have an FTP Program, or I don’t know how to use it if I have one.

Thank you for your time, Randy!

Yes, absolutely. I can give you the basic steps but, as you will see, some of what you do depends on who your hosting provider is and how/where they keep the FTP credentials for your domain, and where things are stored.

Whatever the situation, you will surely want to learn to navigate with an FTP client; it is essential for working on your WordPress site. Check out this YouTube video for how to use the Filezilla FTP client: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ag3SqfADs

1. Get the (free) Filezilla FTP client from http://filezilla-project.org/ and install it on your computer.

2. Depending on your hosting provider, you will need to figure out how to get the FTP Username and Password to your site. For example, on Dreamhost, when you set up your domain, you get to choose the name of the user and the password, or you can go to the domain’s page and look it up.

3. Once you have the FTP user/password, configure Filezilla to connect to that site by selecting the menu “File/Site Manager…” – you will add a new site (name it something you’ll recognize) then put in its Username and Password and save that configuration.

4. Once configured, you can select to open FTP access to your site with Filezilla and again, depending on your hosting provider, you may connect to the top-level directory or one above it. For example, if your site is http://www.MyDomain.com, when you connect with the FTP client, you may see a folder called “MyDomain.com” or you may see your WordPress files (e.g., the file “wp-config.php” will be in that folder).

5. When you are in the folder where “wp-config.php” is present, you are at the top level of your WordPress site. It is from here that you navigate first to “wp-content” then to “plugins” – and it is THIS folder where you install the “s2member-pro” folder that we discussed in the first reply.

6. To upload the “s2member-pro” folder, in the “local” window of your FTP client, navigate to the folder where you have extracted the s2member pro files, then right-click on the folder and select “Upload” from the pop-up menu. Again, BE SURE you are uploading the second (inner) “s2member-pro” folder.

This may seem like a lot to digest, but I strongly encourage you to learn to navigate with an FTP client and to get to know how your hosting provider works; it will save you a lot of frustration. The video at the top of this reply will get you started, and there’s tons more help out there – just Google it.

If this is just all too overwhelming, which it certainly can be if you’re new to all this, you may want to get someone to help you or do it for you! There’s no shame in not knowing the ins and outs of everything involved with this stuff. :)

@User: RandyKing

Your account has been upgraded at no charge to an Unlimited Site License of s2Member® Pro — for dedication to helping others in the s2Member® Forums. Thank you Randy!

Also awarded forum badges: Helpful, Advanced

Wow, Jason – thank you, that’s really great. And I enjoy pitching in when I have knowledge to share that’s pertinent.