Costs of membership website development

Introduction

In today’s digital world, a website is essential for any membership organisation, serving as the first point of contact for potential members and a vital tool for community engagement. Without a website, your membership platform can feel inaccessible and difficult to manage, limiting users’ ability to connect, access content, and interact with like-minded individuals.

A website also ensures global accessibility, allowing members to engage with your courses, events, and forums from anywhere, at any time. However, building an effective membership site can be challenging without experience. Free website builders often come with limitations and may require using a domain that doesn’t reflect your brand. Without the right skills, you risk making errors that could drive away potential members.

But what about existing off-the-shelf products versus developing a bespoke solution for your membership organisation? The cost considerations will vary greatly. While here at BrightMinded we can help you explore both options, the following cost breakdown focuses on bespoke approaches. 

Some mistakes that are easily made

• Bad design: Low-quality images, too many ads, outdated design, weird colour combinations, wall of text, and unclear Call-To-Actions.
• Poor usability: Complicated registration forms, contact information that is difficult to find, bad coding, incompatibility across different platforms and devices.
• Slow loading: Members don’t have a lot of time to wait around for your website, if it loads slowly they may leave before reaching the information that are looking for.
• Not effectively communicating your business purpose: If members are unsure of what your business is trying to communicate, they may conclude it’s not for them.

Statistics can also demonstrate the importance of avoiding common mistakes in user experience design. Many companies focus too much on desktop accessibility, neglecting mobile users, with 52% avoiding brands after a poor mobile experience. Additionally, 74% of users leave sites with 404 errors (Page not found) caused by broken links and images. These issues contribute to declining retention, as seen in a 22% drop in membership renewals in 2023 and a 21% decrease in total membership for 2024 (Source: The 2024 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report). To maintain retention and engagement, it’s essential to eliminate these errors from your membership site, so that your platform doesn’t sit at the wrong end of those statistics.

If you feel you lack the knowledge or experience in web development, or are concerned about making mistakes, hiring a professional software agency may be the best decision. This ensures you achieve the best results with a website designed to drive conversions rather than cause early drop-offs.

Membership platforms require features such as user portals, gated content, event bookings, and more which can be challenging to develop to a high standard using a free website builder, or on your own if you lack the right digital skills.

But what are the costs of hiring a professional to build it for you? In this article, we break down the different features necessary to create a membership site, the associated costs, and the reasons behind these expenses, whether it is add-ons, or extra support.

What models can you use?

Membership sites aren’t just an all-in-one package. While they may all appear to serve the same purpose, there are various models, each designed for different objectives. Therefore, the type of site you want to build will require different specific features and varying levels of support and customisation.

First, you need to clearly define the purpose of your business and your goals to determine how your website should be built for you. Does it include elearning or ecommerce features, does it offer professional services, is it a community group; understanding your business type is crucial. Once you have identified this, you can choose the appropriate website model based on the specific requirements needed to effectively reach your target audience.

Different models you may want to use for your website

• Content drip model: Offers fresh and updated content to users regularly, but visitors are first provided limited access to content, with the rest being gated behind a paywall.
• Coaching model: Offers mentoring and personal coaching from professionals.

• Online courses: Often used by elearning sites to create modules and courses for users. Normally members (and sometimes non-members) can either pay for unlimited access to a bundle of courses, or take a singular course to gain a certificate.

• Product based model: Offers exclusive goods only to website members.

• Community model: Works as a club to meet like-minded people. Communication and exchanging information around similar interests and experiences are the major selling points for this model.

• Content library model: For websites that have a collection of digital assets, they offer members access to an existing database, charging them for access via a subscription plan.

• Professional services: Services can be offered either online or in-person, like beauty treatments or psychotherapy.

• ‘All-in’ Membership: Gives access to everything straight away.

• Fixed Term Membership: Has a fixed membership period. Payment is usually monthly for the length of the period, like partaking in an online course for a year.
• Hybrid Model: Mixing models together.

Once you’ve selected the appropriate model for your website, a skilled developer can identify and implement the features that best suit your needs, whether by adhering to a single model, combining elements from multiple models, or creating a customised solution. Regardless of your business type, a clear understanding of your needs will enable the developer to craft a website tailored specifically to your goals.

The different features of a membership website

Most membership sites typically include essential features to effectively communicate their brand message. These are for example, blogs and the ability to manage page information such as their content and their about us information. While these core features are crucial, additional functionalities may be necessary depending on the specific model or category of your membership site. Custom features or add-ons can be tailored to meet your business needs and the specific requirements you provide to your software agency.

Other features that could be added to your website

Members portal

A members portal is the place where members can manage their membership efficiently. It allows members to update their information, cancel or renew their subscription, adjust their communication preferences, and so on. Including a members portal is important, as it meets users’ expectations for self-service, giving them the control and flexibility they need to manage their membership experience.

Costs?

You can expect to pay £5k – £30k for a member portal being built in the UK with the range depending on the complexity of your member data, the CRM being used and the number of integrations. There are also Software as a Service (SaaS) offerings that can give you similar functionality to the above but the integration with your website may vary. 

Event listings

Event listings keep your members informed about company activities and opportunities that they can get involved in. They are important for driving engagement on your membership platform, ensuring that members feel their investment is worthwhile and are more likely to remain active. Also, event listings can attract potential new members by showcasing the nature of your membership organisation and the value you offer.

Costs?

You should expect to pay £3k – £10k  to have event listings integrated to your membership site. It will depend on the need to have payment integrations and the exact functionality you need.

Email campaigns

Encouraging your members to subscribe to a newsletter enables you to send a variety of updates that keep your members informed and engaged with what is going on. Through newsletters, you can share details about upcoming events, enhancements to their membership, and ongoing developments within your business. This keeps members actively involved and up-to-date with what’s happening, without needing to navigate the entire website.

Costs?

To use a third party tool to send out email campaigns to members you should expect to pay £1k – £5k per year. There are certain CRMs like CiviCRM that have this functionality built in, so in some cases it might be included.

Blogs

Blogs offer valuable insights and updates, keeping your members informed and engaged with your latest developments. They can also attract new members as readers who find your content interesting and relevant may be inspired to join your community and become part of what your organisation is working towards.

Costs?

You should expect this to be included in the standard build costs.

Member log-in

An essential feature of the member portal is a secure login area for a separate part of the website. By using a gated section, it ensures that only registered members can access the exclusive content held behind the paywall. Additionally, the login process helps the website identify each user’s account and preferences, ensuring they receive tailored information relevant to their subscription level or membership status.

Costs?

You should expect this to be included as part of the Member portal. 

Community engagement (Threads, forums)

Leveraging threads and forums for member interactions is an excellent way to foster community engagement. Members often share similar interests and needs, allowing them to support one another and engage in meaningful discussions with like-minded individuals. This not only strengthens the sense of community but also enhances overall engagement with your membership site, encouraging users to stay actively involved if they value the connections and discussions taking place.

Costs?

To build community engagement functionalities like forums or similar, you could expect to pay anywhere from £3k – £10k. 

How to keep your website live 

Features of a membership website aren’t the only aspect that can contribute towards development costs though. Additional expenses can include ongoing support and maintenance provided by a software agency, which are crucial for keeping your site updated, functional, and in optimal condition over time.

Ongoing maintenance

A web development company can offer ongoing maintenance services for your website. This ensures that if there are any issues or necessary upgrades for your website, then they can promptly fix the problem. This continuous support keeps your website functioning smoothly, up-to-date with the latest software, and free from technical problems, ensuring it remains current and effective.

Costs?

You should expect ongoing maintenance to range from £1k to up to £5k per year.

Support and training

Support and training are additional factors that can influence web development costs. These services are valuable for guiding you and your team in using the software effectively. Training sessions can be provided to both you and your staff, ensuring that everyone who needs to access or update the website is well-equipped to do so.

Costs?

Whilst training is often included as standard, if you would like your web development agency to help you manage your site then you should expect to pay a fee ranging from £3k – £10k per year.

Hosting

Often a web development agency may offer services for hosting your website, which can be particularly beneficial if they use sustainable hosting solutions. This ensures that your website remains eco-friendly, aligning with green practices while maintaining its online presence.

As a business, it is crucial to ensure that all aspects of your website are effectively managed, whether by the original developer or an external supplier. However, opting for the original developer’s services often produces better results, as they possess the deepest understanding of the software and requirements necessary for optimal functioning. Additionally, if you’re interested in green hosting and sustainable web practices, which is important not only for attracting a broader clientele but also for protecting the environment and reducing future pollution, then you could have a read of another article that explores how to make your website more sustainable.

Costs?

Hosting costs depend on the amount of traffic you get to your membership site and the amount of data you store, but you could estimate this to be £1k – £5k per year. 

Hire a professional, or do it yourself?

Hopefully, this article has clarified the range of services a web development company can offer to achieve the best possible results for your membership website. If you are still questioning whether you want to hire a professional software agency or do it yourself, consider weighing the pros and cons of hiring a web development company versus handling the project independently.

Hiring a professional web development company

• Brings expert knowledge and extensive experience in web development, enabling them to understand your needs and deliver the best possible results.
• Frees you and your team up to focus on growing and running your business.
• Can offer innovative solutions to various challenges, leveraging their experience with a wide range of websites and technologies to choose the most effective strategies.
• Often supported by a skilled team, ensuring faster and more efficient project execution.
• Can provide ongoing support and maintenance to keep your website performing optimally.
• Services can seem costly, but this should reflect the high level of quality and expertise they offer.

Doing it yourself

• May seem more affordable than hiring a software agency as you are investing only your own or your team’s time.
• Allows you to update your website quickly, without waiting for a developer to implement changes.
• Lack of coding skills or technical knowledge might limit your ability to build a website from scratch.
• If you’re unfamiliar with website builders, you may risk making mistakes or inputting incorrect content.
• Free DIY builders have restrictions to the extent at which they can be customised.

While building your website yourself can seem more cost-effective and allow for quick updates without waiting for a web development company, it’s not always the best solution. There are plenty of CMS (Content Management System) options a software development company, like BrightMinded, can offer which allow users to make quick updates without needing the help of a developer. Before diving into a DIY approach, ensure you can effectively meet the requirements of your organisation. If a free DIY builder satisfies your needs, it might be a suitable option. However, if you aim for a more polished, professional appearance or a highly personalised user experience, hiring a professional may be the better choice.

Conclusion

Website development is an important factor to consider when establishing your membership organisations online presence. You can greatly improve your retention rates and member engagement, beyond what would be possible without a well designed, and up to date website.

If you’re looking for a custom built membership website in the UK you should expect to pay from £40k – £250k depending on your requirements. 

After reading this article, you should have a clearer understanding of whether hiring a web development company is the right choice for you or your business. It should also offer insight into the potential costs and help you determine if it fits within your budget. If you still have questions or need more information about the process and what to expect, feel free to contact us. We are happy to provide further details about what you’ll receive, whether you choose to work with us or another company.