Easy Workarounds for Squarespace Member Area
This is the Part Two of my series on the brand new Member Areas in Squarespace. Click here to read Part One, which is all about its features and setup.
In the previous blog post, we talked about how the Squarespace Member Areas and its basic features. It's a good match for you if you're looking for a simpler option to handle your exclusive content within your very own site.
While this add-on isn't as robust as other LMS like Teachable or Kajabi, it doesn't have to be. Let's talk about these limitations, along with some of my secret hacks for (1) transaction fees, (2) affiliate marketing and bundling, and (3) sidebar navigation.
Kindly watch the video below for a STEP bY STEP walkthrough ON
HOW TO Address known member area limitations.
What are the limitations of Squarespace Member Areas?
1. Fewer LMS functions
Admittedly, this first item on our list is the one thing that doesn't have a workaround for now. All users, regardless of plan, would be limited to 10 member areas at most. That means if you're offering a lot more courses than that, then this might not be the option for you.
It also has no video hosting feature, so your videos would have to be hosted elsewhere. I recommend Vimeo, which allows for high-quality videos and various embed options, but that comes with an additional cost of $20 per month.
Squarespace doesn't provide a progress tracker and other similar analytics, either. Then again, this won't be too much of a letdown if your focus is on community-building.
To hide the join button, add the snippet below to Settings> Code Injection > Footer
2. Less flexible checkout options
Using the native Squarespace checkout has its downsides as well.
For one, each transaction made through this checkout comes with a 1% commission fee on top of the Stripe and PayPal fees, even if we subscribe to the Pro plan. If you're offering a high-ticket program or expecting a lot of transactions soon, this could be a significant chunk of your income.
We can't offer installment payment plans via Squarespace checkout, either. Customers would only be able to choose between one-time payment and subscription.
Bundling is not yet possible here, since each member area corresponds to only one fee structure. And while discounts are available, then can only be applied site-wide.
Not to worry, though—we'll discuss how to work around these limitations later.
3. Limited workflow automation
The Squarespace API is not yet publicly available as of now, so it's not yet possible to create automations using Zapier. We'd have to manually upload members to our email extension, unless we're using Squarespace Email Campaigns.
The affiliate system is also not built-in, so there's no way to automate this using the Squarespace checkout. But again, there's a way to bypass these limitations.
4. Default navigation styles
Though we did discuss how we'd have a lot of control over the branding of Member Areas, this unfortunately doesn't extend to our navigation. The only styles available for this purpose are automatically generated by Squarespace.
However, using CSS and JavaScript could help us create and customize a custom side navigation if we want to make our design stand out.
Payment gateway workaround
Majority of the limitations of Member Areas center around the lack of functions in their native checkout feature. That means we can effectively overcome these problems by working with a third-party payment gateway.
To set up your third-party payment gateway, here are the simple steps you can follow:
1. Set up a free member area... and hide the join button
If you're going to use the Squarespace Member Areas, it's best to set up a free membership space so that you won't have to use its native checkout feature. Still, we'd have to work on safeguarding your premium content by adjusting the settings.
Whenever a person clicks on your member area without an account, they'll be redirected to an Access Denied screen, where they'd be prompted to join if they haven't yet. You'd have to hide this default member sign-up block using CSS and JavaScript so they can't bypass the payment gateway.
All you have to do is add the snippet below to Settings> Code Injection > Footer.
<!--Squarestylist Snippet to Hide Join Button--> <script> var sqelem= document.querySelector('#sqs-member-access-page-root .sqs-editable-button'); sqelem.remove(); </script> <!--END SQSTYLIST JOIN BUTTON-->
Also, don't forget add this code snippet to Custom CSS. Press Cmd+Ctrl + ↓ to immediately get to the very end of your panel.
#sqs-member-access-page-root .sqs-editable-button {
display:none;
}2. Create a post-purchase page
Next, we need to build out a post-purchase page where we could place the member sign-up block for new members. Just add a blank page under the Not Linked section of your Squarespace site.
You can briefly thank the user for purchasing your course before adding your member sign-up block below it. "Create a new account" could be a good call to action for the button.
Head to Page Settings > SEO to hide this page from search results. This is very important.
In addition, make sure that your URL slug is complicated enough so that people won't be able to guess your post-purchase page. You can insert a random string of alphanumeric characters for this purpose.
3. Set up a third-party payment gateway
You can use Samcart or Dubsado for this step, but I do recommend Thrivecart, which is what I use for my own digital products. I've been using their product for months now, and I really love how powerful and promising its features are.
Split payments
More recurring fee options
No transaction fees
Integrated with Authorize.net
Great affiliate program
Upsell/downsell options
Bundling option available
Most importantly, their customer support is truly superb. If you're interested, you can start using Thrivecart after making a one-time payment through my affiliate link.
Once you're in, you can create a new digital product (a.k.a. your course or membership), choose pricing options (even calculate sales tax), add a bump offer to upsell, then set up your affiliate system. Make sure you add your support email and send them to your post-purchase page via URL.
Please note that membership cancellations won't be automatically processed. Inform your customers that they'd have to email you to cancel their membership.
Watch the video above if you'd like to see a more comprehensive walkthrough of this process.
Navigation style workaround
Want to learn how to create the custom sidebar per member area?
To elevate your membership site, you have the option to recreate this custom side navigation, which your members can open or close anytime. Click the button below to check out this stylish section designed for Squarespace Member Areas.
Pin this post
