Greetz, I'm seeking some advice. I've been thinking about making some membership sites, and of all the actual scripts I've looked at...all the affordable ones don't look very good...so I started reading around and noticed that some people decided that Drupal was a good way to make a membership site. So, I was hoping some people here have done this before and might be able to give me a few pointers as to which modules are best to use for this. I think I've determined that 'Ubercart' is what I'll need for the actual paid membership portion of the site...but after that, I'm not sure (there are just so many modules, lol...) What I would like the sites to do is offer different levels of membership (different amounts for each site, so not sure how many 'levels' yet). But each level should give access to more products out of the following categories (downloads [ebooks, audio, video, scripts, websites] and forums) I'd like the option for each level to have more downloads, forum access than the level before it. I'd also like to have an email marketing capability if that's at all possible. (opt in for email list, recieve emails/newsletter)...automated would be nice...anything like that for drupal? I'm still in the process of looking around the drupal modules for myself, but like I said, there are so many to check out I thought maybe a little advice as to which direction I should go would be nice.
Drupal could handle this type site pretty well. I did a quick search for "membership" modules and a few showed up.. I'm sure if you tried other keywords you might find a handful that could help you get what you want. http://drupalmodules.com/search/node/membership good luck.
Organic Groups module is a great place to start in your search. In the drupal website search for organic groups and all its associated modules. This article - http://drupal.org/node/111576 - might also give you some ideas. Post also on the Drupal user forums and you will definitely get someone to give you pointers.
We've done a few membership sites with Drupal lately and we really love it. The growth and expandability possibilities are amazing, as you can start small with a little membership site, and then add marketing (promo) blocks, a social network, video feeds, etc. NSCS.org is the last membership site we did with Drupal, which actually uses it's own third party membership service instead of Ubercart, but we made it so it pulls the "members area" into drupal and hosts it in that application.
That site looks great, it's nice to know how much can be done with Drupal Would you mind mentioning what all modules you used for Drupal other than the 3rd party one? And what at the 3rd party one provided? I'm trying to use Drupal at the moment because I don't want to throw too much cash into it at this early point of the game
Here's our blurb on the that project: We designed the NSCS site to offer functionality such as an events calendar, podcasts, member sign-in, live chat with an NSCS member, and an online store, as well as information on careers, graduate schools, and scholarships. The site also provides information on every individual school chapter. This project also involved the integration of partnered technology from ACGI Software to provide an easy and complete way for NSCS to manage memberships. This software smoothly handles organizations with multiple regions, chapters, and/or subgroups. ACGI’s solution completely manages the collection of membership dues and renewals. The application also facilitates communication between chapters and event planning. This functionality is provided within a single sign-in on the NSCS site, and the entire application runs within the Web browser. You could also use CiviCRM for non-profit membership sites: http://drupal.org/project/civicrm
Hey there Stazz, have you made your decision as yet on Drupal? I agree with CommonDavid "the growth and expandability possibilities are amazing" I am currently working on a subscription base niche website myself. I hope you get and find what you need with Drupal Stazz, it's has lots of potentials. Stay in touch and let us know your progress throughout the development. @ CommonDavid you site design is very nice!