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Simple Membership Software

By Will Bontrager

You have one, several, or many pages on your web site that you want to make available only to those who sign up for your membership. The web pages are not restricted to certain directories. They can be anywhere on your domain where browsers could normally get web pages.

It's not a paid membership. In exchange for providing the restricted web pages, you get their email addresses so you can stay in touch with them. Maybe you will let them know when pages have been updated or pages have been added.

As an example, suppose you have a freebie download site. Members probably want to know when more freebies are available.

The point is, you get a list of addresses and, in exchange, you make certain special web pages available.

Simple.

How the Simple Membership Software Works

People sign up. Optionally, they must confirm their email address by clicking on a link.

Once signed up, they log in to get a cookie set in their browser.

So long as their browser has that special cookie, they can view the members only content, wherever on your domain those pages might be. The presence of the cookie can be checked with PHP or with JavaScript.

If the browser doesn't have the cookie, it gets kicked back to the login page.

Simple membership software.

The Simple Membership Software Control Panel

This is straight-forward.

You provide the URLs of the log-in and sign-up pages. Specify how long the cookie lasts. Provide some information about the email address confirmation, if you indeed want to require confirmation. And a few other items. Nothing hard at all.

The control panel can also be used to manually add or remove email addresses (or other access codes). Only the access codes on your list can be used to log in and get the membership cookie.

Truly, simple membership software.

Simple Membership Lite

Simple Membership Lite has all the features mentioned above. The software will be given away to Possibilities ezine subscribers this week. Simple Membership Lite itself will be used to limit access to the download page.

Only those who are on the subscription list when the ezine is mailed this Monday evening or Tuesday morning are entitled to the free download. The download link will be available only for a short period.

We're giving away this software during this short and special period for two reasons, (1) to celebrate the ninth anniversary of Possibilities ezine and (2) to reward those who are on the subscription list at the anniversary and read Possibilities for no incentive other than the content.

And no, if you subscribe after the ezine is mailed then you will not be able to log in for the download, even if you subscribe before the download period ends. You must already be on the subscription list when the ezine is mailed.

That gives you only a few hours. Get that subscription in. A subscription form is in the left navigation area.

Simple software. But good.

Simple Membership WS

Simple Membership WS is the WebSite's Secret version, exclusively for WS members.

(Members: The software is listed in the "WebSite Features" section.)

The "WS" version has the ability to send subscription information to third-party software — autoresponders, for example, when a person signs up for membership.

Good. And simple.

License

The license for Simple Membership Lite is the Bontrager Connection, LLC Multi-Domain Software License Agreement and the license for Simple Membership WS is the same license as all WebSites's Secret exclusive software (link in the members area).

Simple.

Prerequisite

PHP 5.0+

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July 27, 2008

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