Tip #36: Should You Build Your Membership Site on a Separate Domain on Not?
January 1, 2015 
1 Comment
We get this question many times… “Should I build my membership site on the same domain as my blog / website or should I build it on a separate domain?”
We think that the answer is not unambiguous, but there are some important factors to consider before making a decision.
Here are our pros and cons to building your membership site on a separate domain:
Pros (To Separate)
A Membership site usually requires more resources and can slow down your website if you build it on the same domain as your blog / website. For example: if you want to add a closed forum for the members, dedicated plugins etc.
More flexibility to designing your membership site differently and using a different theme. If you are using OptimizePress though, you can install the plugin version and use it to create a separate theme for the membership site only.
If you are aiming for a big membership site and planning on having hundreds and thousands of members, then it is best that you separate it, as in these numbers it is very likely to effect your site’s performance.
If you choose to build your membership site on a sub domain, Google will not always give the sub domain the same authority as to the main domain (this is not always correct, but it is a thing you might want to consider).
Cons (Not to Separate)
Having the membership site on the same domain can help you get more traffic, as some of the content will be available for the search engines crawlers.
You will need to manage another website, but we don’t really consider this a very big disadvantage, because if you are maintaining several websites then you can use a multiple WordPress management software such as: InfiniteWP which we are using to manage our websites.
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If you have any other pros and cons or insights regarding whether of not to separate your membership site from your main site, please share them in the comment section as it may help other membership site owners make the best choice for them.
Access the Complete Wishlist Member Tips Series
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“Just wanted to let you know that the plugin is working great and incomplete registrations have gone to zero! I’m definitely going to do a review of the plugin and get it for my own site.” MaAnna Stephenson BlogAid.net
“Bob Tolbert’s Wish List Member plugins have made life easier on us by automating processes that would normally eat up a ton of admin time. I especially appreciate Bob’s quick response time and customer service. Fact is, our membership website would not function without these plug ins.” Michael Burwell TheHangoutHelper.com
“This plugin is the best way to supercharge your membership signups. I was especially impressed by the developers prompt customer service!” Stan Smith PushingSocial.com
“The Wishlist Auto Registration plugin is really great, I love it! And the support you guy’s deliver are really outstanding! Thank you so much!” Johan Skalberg kalisikaran.info
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