Confused About Memberships...

visioncraft

There are a couple of things about Duda's Memberships that are making me a little confused:

What is the difference between 'Memberships', and the upcoming 'Subscriptions' feature?

In my understanding, both refer to creating repeating payment requests on a certain schedule. Memberships can already be linked to access of specific site areas/pages, so what is it that 'Subscriptions' will bring?

How do sites on a 'Basic' plan - without eCommerce - use Memberships?

The Duda pricing page shows that even sites on a 'Basic' plan have 'Memberships' included - but not paid memberships, apparently. According to the eCommerce pricing table, in order to get paid memberships the site must subscribe to the 'Advanced' eCommerce plan. Does that mean that 'Basic' sites, or sites with only a 'Standard' eCommerce plan, can only offer free membership? Or is there something obvious I'm missing?…

Sharon_Rubinstein

Hey @visioncraft,

My name is Sharon, and I'm the product manager responsible for the existing Membership feature as well as the upcoming Subscriptions feature.

Your questions are insightful; let me provide some clarity:

1. What is the difference between 'Memberships' and the upcoming 'Subscriptions' feature?
   You're right in observing that there's some overlap between memberships and subscriptions since both manage recurring payments. However, there are distinct differences:
   • As you've pointed out, with Memberships, you can restrict access to site pages and charge for access to them.
   • On the other hand, the Subscriptions feature allows you to sell store products on a recurring basis. This enables you to offer options like recurring physical items, a "subscribe and save" selling model, recurring services, recurring donations, and more.
2. How do sites on a 'Basic' plan - without eCommerce - use Memberships?
   Currently, Membership is a paid Duda add-on. You don't need an eCommerce store to utilize the Membership feature on your site. In the future, we plan to integrate Membership into the store's advanced plan as well.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any more questions.

ScottyStrehlow

Hi @visioncraft - great questions! I've reached out to my team for more details and I'll follow up soon.

visioncraft

Thank you so much for the super helpful and insightful response, @Sharon_Rubinstein ! Would I be able to get clarification on a couple of points?

Firstly, in your response to item 1 above you mention some really useful use-cases for the upcoming Subscriptions feature - can't wait! I can really see how it could enhance the functionality of shops offering physical goods, but you also mention "recurring services" and "recurring donations" - which, it seems to me, might be something we may already be able to setup with the current Memberships feature. Am I incorrect? Is there a particular difficulty in setting up, let's say, monthly SEO Services charges, or annual donations via Memberships? Is there something that is currently missing for these use-cases, or that Subscriptions will make easier?

Secondly, in your response to item 2 above, you say that "currently, Membership is a paid Duda add-on." But the current Duda price list shows this:

It seems to show that Membership functionality is included in every plan, i.e., not as an add-on. Am I misreading it?