Questions before purchasing Pro version

Hi, I’m strongly considering purchasing the Pro version of S2 Membership, and I’d like to know if it can do the following things, or if these can be done using the basic framework:

1. Rather than cumulative membership categories, can I create membership categories that are mutually exclusive? That is, Members at Level 3 see different content than Members at Level 1 without getting access to Level 1 content?
2. If a member’s subscription is purchased this month (April), can I control whether or not they can access content from last month (March)? That is, I’d like to selectively control how content expires for Members without Archival access.
3. Can I send temporary or time-limited invitation codes, or discounted promo codes that allow selective access? That is, partial access to content that would otherwise be available if a person is a full member?

I’d really appreciate it if you can tell me if it’s possible to accomplish any of the above tasks with the free framework, or if I’d have to get the Pro version, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

Hi Basem,

Please see my replies below:

1. Rather than cumulative membership categories, can I create membership categories that are mutually exclusive? That is, Members at Level 3 see different content than Members at Level 1 without getting access to Level 1 content?

If you require memberships that have mutually exclusive access to different content (i.e., non-cumulative), then we recommend using Custom Capabilities with one Level. Each type of membership would get its own custom capability, but they would all use the same level (e.g., Level 1). You would then restrict content by Custom Capability, thereby restricting various membership to specific content.

This is the recommended way of handling this scenario, whether you’re using s2Member Framework or s2Member Pro. You can learn more about Custom Capabilities by watching this video.

2. If a member’s subscription is purchased this month (April), can I control whether or not they can access content from last month (March)? That is, I’d like to selectively control how content expires for Members without Archival access.

s2Member does not have any features for controlling date-based access for specific users, however you can use the Content Dripping features to give users access to specific content based upon the length of time they’ve been registered.

3. Can I send temporary or time-limited invitation codes, or discounted promo codes that allow selective access? That is, partial access to content that would otherwise be available if a person is a full member?

s2Member Pro comes with a feature called Pro Coupons, which allows you to create coupons that can be used on the s2Member Pro-Forms. These coupons can be set to expire and can be used to offer a percentage or fixed discount off a subscription or specific post/page buy now form.

The discount amount cannot be lower than $0.01 (i.e., if you want to offer a “free membership coupon”, you’ll need to use another method) and the Pro Coupons do not allow you to define selective access to specific content.

Thanks for the reply. It’s most helpful. I’ve got one more question: I’m currently using WP-Affiliates. I read that S2 works with affiliate programs. Is it compatible with WP-Affiliates, or would I have to use a different affiliates package?

You’re most welcome! :)

s2Member currently integrates with iDevAffiliate and ShareASale. It is possible to integrate with other affiliate programs (see Dashboard -› s2Member® -› API / Tracking -› Other Tracking Methods), but the integration would be up to you.

Cool. Thanks for your most helpful reply. I’ll look into those other packages. I’ve got one more question relating to importing users. I read your great article “How to Migrate to s2Member Pro from Other Software.” I’ve got a bunch of paid users in a csv file, listing their date of registration for 6-month and 12-month memberships. How can I import them and preserve their correct date of registration? Should I ask them to re-register, or would it be better to use S2MemberPro’s import feature?

The documentation suggests that all registration and subscription dates are tracked by Paypal. I don’t think I’ve got paypal information for these users. Would it be possible to import these users and modify their registration dates? Does S2Member use wordpress’s user registration database field, or is it tracked somewhere else? If we decide to ask existing users to re-register on our site, is there a way to send them a coupon code or some other method to exempt them from paying again? But then we’d need some way to retroactively set their original registration dates and designate which users are 6-month or 12-month subscribers. Is getting the Pro version a necessary precondition for mass-importing, or can I mass-import using another plugin (like http://www.happynuclear.com/sandbox/amu/add-multiple-users-for-wordpress.php) or MysQl commands?

When you import users into s2Member, you can specify in the CSV file an Automatic EOT Date. This is the date that s2Member will automatically end their membership (exactly what happens is determined in Dashboard -› s2Member® -› PayPal® Options -› Automatic EOT Behavior). If you don’t currently have Automatic EOT Dates for those users but you do have their registration date and their term, then you can calculate their EOT dates using that information (e.g., if a member registered on January 1st, 2012 and has a 12-month term, their Automatic EOT Date would be January 1st, 2013).

s2Member uses the WordPress users database, so all information is stored there.

If you want to create a free registration form, you can do so in Dashboard -› s2Member® -› PayPal® Pro Forms -› Free Registration Forms (requires s2Member Pro).

If you want to create a coupon code to provide a discount on a signup form, you can do so in Dashboard -› s2Member® -› Pro Coupon Codes (required s2Member Pro). To create a coupon code for a free registration, please see Knowledge Base » Offering a Free Coupon Code (100% Discount).

The s2Member import features require s2Member Pro. If you wish to utilize the importation of s2Member-specific features, such as Automatic EOT Times, you most likely won’t be able to use a 3rd-party plugin.