Some WP 'Plug in' advice would be great

[neilward2]

Hey Guys,

My designer is just about to start work on my new web design which will be a WP site.

I'm looking for a couple of recommendations please if you would be so kind...

1. The best membership software to use? And do you think this is a good idea? If someone lands on my site, they will no longer just be able to read whatever they want article wise or watch all my videos without first becomming a member of my site. (I have 140+ great dating advice articles and loads of high quality videos are on the way)

2. The best forum software to use? I like this forum software actually that the Steve Pavlina forum is using...

3. A calendar plug-in so that people can book onto my courses without me needing to update the calendar manually all the time. Although, if I get bookings offline, I want to be able to update it manually too.

I really appreciate any help you can give me, thank you as always for your great advice.

[Sbonn]

For the membership site:

I did research for a project for someone I work with and I really like this one.. s2Member Pro for Wordpress


It is a pay for plugin --link to their prices,


link to the demo -I believe this is the pro version of the plugin that comes with a Theme --- this demo has explanations of how the plugin works
It even does sell a page on a page by page basis with a buy it now buttons

Altho others may have other suggestions.

I have not had to deal with a calendar plug in yet so I dont know what to suggest there for you..

I do agree with you about the forum software this forum (SP-PDFSMP) is using..
I like it alot as well

[James81]

Sorry I didn't get to your email. I have had an insane week schoolwise. Since I think these are the same questions I have in my email, I'll just respond here.

1. For membership, I don't think this is a good idea. If you are going to give people free content, then make it free and accessible. Don't give them an extra hoop to jump through just to access your content. If you want to create a membership base, then use it for more in-depth materials (such as your video content). Keep the articles completely accessible for people landing on your site to access. If this is a case of you wanting to screen who is able to read your materials, then I urge you to look internally at why you feel you have to do that.

2. For forum software, vbulletin is KING. K-I-N-G. You're gonna pay for it though, to the tune of $195 for a forum license only. (Here's the link to their pricing guide: https://www.vbulletin.com/order/) I also might mention that vbulletin has CMS software that compliments their forums (called "Publishing Suite" in that link). I bought the publishing suite last year and played around with it and I liked it (although not as much as using wordpress for a CMS). You might look into that, though, as it does sort of do the CMS-forums-mobile website all in one nice little package. And when you use vbulletin, you are installing a MASSIVE MASSIVE MASSIVELY powerful forum softward. vbulletin, in fact, actually has a built in subscription software for the forums where you can create your own subscriptions and input your paypal info and completely automate the subscription process using forums. I played around with that quite a bit a while back and it's wonderful.

On the flip-side, phpbb is another forum software that is awesome (and it's free). If you're going to do free forum software, this is your option. HOWEVER, (and this is a big however), it does not automatically come with all the different facets you get with vbulleting. You CAN mod it to function like a vbulletin site, but, wow, that gets to be a technical pain in the ass when it comes time to update your site.

3. As far as a calendar plugin, I'm not sure exactly what you are wanting that to do. Could you go into a bit more detail about that?

I'm finally out of school for about 10 days, so I would have time to do this this week if you're still needing me. I caution you, though, that by the end of August I'm going to be insanely busy again. (I also can do the installs and setups of the forums for you too if you need that.)

Any other questions, just fire away.

[neilward2]

We really need to speak over Skype, the time involved in going back and forth over messages is just too time consuming and I want to discuss this properly with you buddy. Send me an email when you get a minute...

Cheers mate,

[neilward2]

Ok well I'm really after a 'Booking Calendar' Word Press plugin, nothing complicated like the hotels use! Just something very simple and basic - any recommendations?

[James81]

Check this one out:

Demo | Online Booking Calendar Pro, Premium, Hotel Edition, Multiuser

The one I found in the plugins section of WP is free, but it looks like there are paid versions as well.

If you want to look at it from your dashboard, go to "Add new" under plugins, and type in "booking calendar" as your search term and it will be the first one on the list of results.

[neilward2]

$119 and a hotel booker... seems like overkill for what I want mate.

I've looked into this, a lot of hotels use this to handle their massive booking system, whereas I'm talking about a tiny amount of bookings each month.

This is turning into a nightmare to find a good plugin...

[James81]

Originally Posted by neilward2

$119 and a hotel booker... seems like overkill for what I want mate.

I've looked into this, a lot of hotels use this to handle their massive booking system, whereas I'm talking about a tiny amount of bookings each month.

This is turning into a nightmare to find a good plugin...

I just installed it for free on my website. You don't get it from the website I linked to, just follow the directions I posted....go to "Plugins" and to "Add new" and then search "booking calendar."

What I'm looking at it pretty simple. I have a feeling it's exactly what you are looking for if you just install it and take a look at the settings and stuff.

[neilward2]

Ok cool, thank you for the tips!

I'm going for the VBulletin standard licence $195 - I don't see the point in going any more indepth at this point as I've never had a forum before. Plus you can upgrade at any time and you only pay the difference so it works out well should I ever decide that I need more tools.

I'm not going to go with any membership software at this stage, I'll just use my Awebber capture form for people that want to download my book and video series. Then back up the capture with the forum software.

My template is in with my programmer at the moment, but shouldn't be more than a few days to make all the changes.

What date do you go back to school buddy?

[James81]

I don't start classes until the 31st, but I'll be observing my mentor teacher next Tues, Wed, and Thursday. Other than that, I'm pretty much off until the end of the month.

[Omega]

Hey, for paid membership the best plugin in Optimize Press, but it costs around 97$. Optimize Press | Pro Internet Marketing Tools