How to Finish Your MembershipWorks Setup (When You’re Stuck)

Many organizations and nonprofits start setting up MembershipWorks themselves and they make great progress, until they reach the point where everything needs to be connected to their website.

That’s usually when things get confusing and possibly frustrating, especially if you don’t regularly work with WordPress or Squarespace website content creation.

If you’re searching for help implementing MembershipWorks or trying to figure out why your pages aren’t displaying correctly, you’re in the right place.

I mostly help clients from the get-go and do all the planning with them. However, I also work with clients who have done most of the setup but get stuck when it comes to creating pages, adding shortcodes, and making sure everything works together correctly. If that sounds familiar, I can help.

Where Most People Get Stuck

By the time clients reach out to me, they may have already:

• Created their MembershipWorks account
• Set up membership levels
• Started adding events
• Made their sign-up form
• Customized their member directory

But then they hit a wall with their website.

Common issues include:

• Thinking that adding the WordPress plugin for MembershipWorks is all you need to do
• Not knowing how or where to add MembershipWorks shortcode
• Pages not displaying on their website
• Login or registration forms not working as expected
• Events not showing up on the Calendar
• Confusion between what happens in MembershipWorks vs. WordPress or Squarespace

This part of the process can feel frustrating because everything almost works, but not quite. Even though you have done the work in MembershipWorks, you can’t “see” your forms, calendar, and directory on your site until you do the final steps within your website.

Why This Part Is More Complicated Than It Looks

At first glance, it seems simple: copy a shortcode and paste it onto a page.

But in reality, it’s about:

• Setting up the correct page structure
• Placing the right shortcode in the right place (especially for members only pages)
• Possibly adding a special menu for member only content
• Testing the full user experience from start to finish

Small setup issues can cause things to break or not look the way you expected, which is why you might feel stuck and need some help. I’d love to talk about where you are now and how I might be able to assist you or your website developer.

How I Help You Get Across the Finish Line

This is when I step in and help my clients move from “almost done” to a new, fully functional membership website they can be proud to share with their membership.

Instead of spending hours troubleshooting, I help you:

• Set up your MembershipWorks completely (by reviewing what you’ve done so far)
• Connect your new membership system to your website
• Test the full user experience (signup, login, events, payments)
• Fix any issues quickly and efficiently

And I’m also available for ongoing help when you need it, now or in the future.

Most of my clients don’t want to keep struggling with setup, they just want it done so they can move forward. I get it. The staff at MembershipWorks offers great support and suggestions but they don’t “do the work” for you. That’s the part I love… let’s get it done! Let me know if you need help setting up MembershipWorks.

“Michelle is an amazing asset to any organisation hoping to build a membership platform. She stepped in after I had procrastinated for months trying to figure out how to get started and got everything up and running within a few short weeks, and to a tight timescale of a significant date for my company. She is clear, efficient, professional and patient. Michelle worked beautifully with my team to support them in building their knowledge and project-managed the whole process. Her communication is clear and the workbooks she provides are outstanding. We were working across very different time zones as we are UK-based, and yet the service was prompt and seamless. Michelle came highly recommended to me and I am delighted to ‘pay it forward’ she is the best.” ~Karen Foy, thecoachtribe.com

Need Help Implementing MembershipWorks?

If you’re stuck and need help implementing MembershipWorks, I can help you get everything set up and functioning the way it should. MembershipWorks is meant to be a time-saver, improving accuracy and being a big benefit to your members and your admins or staff.

In many cases, I help clients get everything fully set up and working within a short timeframe once I review what’s already been done.

Learn more about my MembershipWorks implementation services or reach out to me directly to get started. We can chat via phone or Zoom, whichever you prefer.

Michelle Aspelin
MembershipWorks Implementation Specialist
Mindshare Marketing & Implementation Services LLC