The table below contains a list terms and definitions related to membership websites. If you have any other terms you’d like me to include, or would like more written on a particular term, then please add a comment at the bottom of this table.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| Dashboard | Used to describe the main navigation page providing a subscriber with access to a membership site's content. This is usually presented in combination with sidebar navigation links. |
| Subscriber | Someone who is a member of a subscription-only website. Also called a "member". |
| Publisher Model | Probably the most common membership model. All content within a particular membership level is available to subscribers. |
| Membership Level | Governs the content and privileges accessible to a member of that level. Examples might be Silver, Gold and Platinum levels, with ascending privileges and quality / quantity of content. |
| UPS Model | A membership model in which packages of content (posted and/or downloadable) are delivered at intervals. |
| Posted Content | Content that is made available for consumption online. Can be text (with or without images), streaming audio or streaming video. |
| Downloadable Content | Content that is accessed by downloading files to the subscriber's personal computer. |
| Continuity Model | A model which specifically provides new content at intervals with the objective of retaining subscribers. Particular examples are Modular Course, Micro-Continuity and UPS. |
| WishList Member | Online membership site software. Installed as a WordPress plugin. In my opinion, the very best membership software there is (I am an affiliate as well as a builder of WishList Member sites). |
| Modular Course | A membership model in which chunks of content are delivered at intervals. As the name suggests, this is normally course-type material and the course administrator might set tests or exams for the subscribers to take to prove that they have absorbed the information in the current module before moving on to the next. |
| Micro-Continuity Model | A fixed-term membership with chunks of content made available at set intervals. Differs from the Modular Course model in that the chunks are added to the existing content rather than replacing it. |
| Protected Download | An innovative way of using a membership site to deliver downloadable products to purchasers instead of using specialised download protection scripts and services. In this method, a very short term membership is granted to the pages containing download links and the page addresses are "scrambled" to prevent address sharing. |
| Project Management | "A discipline of combining systems, techniques and people to complete a project within established goals of time, budget and quality." You could add caveats such as "deliverables and project goals will frequently change" and "it will always take longer than you think". |
| Project Management Model | A membership model that uses the idea of people (project team members) having membership of particular groups so that you can manage remote teams. If you were launching an information product, for example, you might have separate groups responsible for product creation, promotion, after-sales support, etc. People could belong to more than one group if their responsibilities required it, while there would be a project manager or co-ordinator who would have access to all of the groups' content. |
| Community Centre Model | A membership model in which membership involves a shared interest in a particular topic. Community members share their ideas and knowledge and contribute actively to the content available to all members. Typically, this sort of model would be non-profit, with free membership. |
| Private Members Area | A membership model in which you must be a member to access online content or downloads that are provided by its members. Content can be free, paid for or a mix. Membership may or may not be charged for. |
| Coaching Site Model | A membership model with common resources shared by all coaching subscribers plus private areas for individual subscribers. The only person having access to (membership of) all content is the coach. |
| Combo Model | A membership site that incorporates two or more of the other membership models. |
