Multisite membership site function support?

Hi,

I am looking to create a multisite network with a subdomain install that allows users to pay a monthly fee to create a site on this network. I am interested in utilizing S2Member Pro but need to determine what will work out of the box and what will need additional development.

I am looking to create the following functionality:

1. User/Blog Site signup/site creation. The creation of the new user and new subdomain should happen in a single process involving a multi-step form. I do not want to utilize the built-in wordpress register/create blog after the user has been created. This is too many steps and convoluted for the user. It’s my understanding that S2Member does not support this. Would the whole registration process need to be developed or can we build off the existing S2Member registration forms? The User creation/Blog creation process should operate with the following requirements:
a. User should only be able to create new user accounts that allow access to the newly created blog.
b. User should not be able to do anything on main site as that is mainly just a sales tool and support reference. Does S2Member plugin need to be installled on each subdomain based on a and b?
c. New Blog/subdomain should be copied from a default subdomain that has the theme(s), plugins, CPT’s, etc already installed.
d. User should be created with free trial with full privileges for 30 days, after which they should drop down to Free account with limited access.

2. User Adds Payment Details – A set of pages should exist to guide the user into entering their payment details. Once complete, this should promote the user to a paid member level with full access. User should be able to choose between Monthly/Yearly Recurring Payments. Ideally would like to give a discount (perhaps a month or two discount) if the user submits a yearly payment instead of monthly recurring. This would be built into the form when submitting payment. Is this possible? In addition, payments should also have the following options:
a. Affiliate program – Need to set up affiliate program where certain affiliate codes would give discount to user signing up as well as tracking of sales to that particular affiliate so that % or fixed amount can be paid out.
b. Coupon program – Possibility to enter coupon codes for promotions/discounts.

4. Cancel/Stop payment – A screen from the “My Account screen should allow the user to cancel the service. When the user cancels their account, the recurring payment should automatically be canceled on the payment gateway (Authorize.net or Paypal) and the subdomain/blog as well as the user that was created in Item 1 should drop down to the Free Level.

User Levels:
L0: Free – Limited functionality account where some actions/CPTs/Plugins are restricted on the subdomain/user blog.
L1: Trial – Upon sign-up, user should be allowed to have full access to all functionality for trial period – either 14 or 30 days, after which it drops down to L0 or the user enters payment details, promoting them to L2. Should not require payment details for sign-up. Is this possible?
L2: Paid – Full access based on recurring payments.

Additional Question:
In addition to the scheme described above, is it also possible to do away with the free level and only have a trial period of 30 days, after which the subdomain/site is disabled and the user has to enter payment details to keep it up and running?

Thanks very much for your help!

Hi there.

You can see in the free version of s2Member what the multisite integration is like. s2Member Pro just adds more features, but it doesn’t change the way s2Member works in multisite. So you can already download s2Member and look at what it lets you do. [hilite path]Dashboard -› s2Member® -› Multisite (Config)[/hilite]

You can give trials, no problem. You can sell the subscription with a trial period, at the end of which he’ll be charged. [hilite path]Dashboard -› s2Member® -› PayPal® Buttons -› Shortcode Attributes -> ta, tt, tp[/hilite]

If you have s2Member Pro, you can use a free registration pro-form that lets him register at the higher level without paying, but with an expiration time when the EOT Behavior would happen. [hilite path]Dashboard -› s2Member® -› PayPal® Pro Forms -› Free Registration Forms[/hilite]

You can provide a cancellation button/pro-form in any page you create for the user to manage his subscription. Video » s2Member (Modification/Cancellation Buttons)

When the user cancels his registration, s2Member will be notified by the payment gateway. The default EOT behavior is demotion to level 0 (free user). [hilite path]Dashboard -› s2Member® -› PayPal® Options -› Automatic EOT Behavior[/hilite]

s2Member doesn’t manage plugins. This thread may be useful: http://www.primothemes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1414

I hope that helps! :)

Thanks Cristian! There are a few outstanding questions that you didn’t answer and we need answers in order to determine if S2Member is the right product for us:

a. Is it possible to sign up a new user and create a single blog owned by that user through the registration forms provided by S2Member or does this need to be created custom?
b. when the New Blog/subdomain is created when user signs up the site should be copied from a default subdomain/blog that has the proper theme(s), plugins, CPT’s, etc already installed.
c. If we want to restrict content/functionality/CPT’s on a user blog that the user creates, do we need to install s2member on the subdomain blog as well or can we just include a function in the code that restricts content based on user level so that we don’t need to install the full plugin?
d. Yearly Payment – is there an option to give a discount if the user pays for the full year in advance?
e. Affiliate program – we are interested in setting up an affiliate program, it seems like there are additional plugins that are necessary to achieve this. Is the affiliate plugin only installed on the main site?
f. Coupon program – is it possible to create coupon codes redeemable for discounts?
g. Is it also possible to do away with the free level and only have a trial period of 30 days, after which the subdomain/site is disabled and the user has to enter payment details to keep it up and running?

Ah, sorry I missed those.

a. Is it possible to sign up a new user and create a single blog owned by that user through the registration forms provided by S2Member or does this need to be created custom?

You’d use /wp-signup.php. See: [hilite path]Dashboard -› s2Member® -› Multisite (Config) -> Multisite Registration[/hilite]

b. when the New Blog/subdomain is created when user signs up the site should be copied from a default subdomain/blog that has the proper theme(s), plugins, CPT’s, etc already installed.

s2Member doesn’t handle that. You’ll need other plugins to control the way the new blogs are created. s2Member only manages access.

Here’s a thread related to plugins in multisite, not sure if it’ll help: http://www.primothemes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1414

c. If we want to restrict content/functionality/CPT’s on a user blog that the user creates, do we need to install s2member on the subdomain blog as well or can we just include a function in the code that restricts content based on user level so that we don’t need to install the full plugin?

When you have s2Member in the multisite installation, you can activate it in the child blog and use it there. Users are not shared between network blogs, as far as I understand, though. If you want to manage content access in one blog based on the user’s level in another blog, you’ll need to find how to share users across the network.

d. Yearly Payment – is there an option to give a discount if the user pays for the full year in advance?

Yes, you can create a new button for it with the proper discounted price.

e. Affiliate program – we are interested in setting up an affiliate program, it seems like there are additional plugins that are necessary to achieve this. Is the affiliate plugin only installed on the main site?

s2Member will work with your affiliate program script even if it’s in another site. Video » s2Member (API Tracking/Notifications)

If the affiliate script matters, I’m sure they’ll tell you. If it’s a plugin, then it will have to go in the WP installation, of course, but if it’s a separate one like iDev, it’s independant.

f. Coupon program – is it possible to create coupon codes redeemable for discounts?

s2Member Pro forms have a coupons feature. Here you can see the panel to create them:

g. Is it also possible to do away with the free level and only have a trial period of 30 days, after which the subdomain/site is disabled and the user has to enter payment details to keep it up and running?

You can configure s2Member so Level 0 (free) users don’t have a blog. [hilite path]Dashboard -› s2Member® -› Multisite (Config) -> Multisite Registration -> What Do You Plan To Offer -> Blog Farm -> Level 0[/hilite]

I’m not sure if the existing blog would be deleted when the user gets demoted, or if he’d lose access to its administration… I’ll check with Jason.