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I've just started using s2Member plugin and it looks mighty, but I have a question regarding the sequence of events. At the moment, the sequence seems to be:

1 Go to Signup page with PayPal link
2 Go to Paypal and pay your fee
3 Come back to the site and enter your user details
4 Activate your account (via email link)

That doesn't seem consistent with the way most payment systems work, so is it possible to do things in this order:

1 Go to a Registration Page and create your user details
2 Click on PayPal link
3 Go to PayPal and pay your fee
4 Activate your account (via an email link)

I realise there could be emails flying around, but I've shortened the steps for ease of understanding. If the payment is accepted at Step 3 here, that's when s2Member would send the activation email - no payment, no email.

Any help or advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Jim

quickest way right now:
1. User signs up using Free Registration
Once they decide to access premium content they upgrade/signup via paypal (must be logged in as current free user - so that they dont have to register again)

excerpt out of the manual:
"*Also Works For Free Subscribers* Although a Free Subscriber does not have an existing PayPal® Subscription, s2Member is capable of adapting to this scenario gracefully. Just make sure that your existing Free Subscribers ( the ones who wish to upgrade ) pay for their Membership through a Modification Button generated by s2Member. That will allow them to continue using their existing account with you. In other words, they can keep their existing Username ( and anything already associated with that Username ), rather than being forced to re-register after checkout."

Jason mentioned that a custom installation was created for Jim.
If anyone else requires this, please send Jason and email:
http://www.primothemes.com/support/

I'm interested in it too
also how can i add upload photo in register page?

weepingtiger wrote:I've just started using s2Member plugin and it looks mighty, but I have a question regarding the sequence of events. At the moment, the sequence seems to be:

1 Go to Signup page with PayPal link
2 Go to Paypal and pay your fee
3 Come back to the site and enter your user details
4 Activate your account (via email link)

That doesn't seem consistent with the way most payment systems work, so is it possible to do things in this order:

1 Go to a Registration Page and create your user details
2 Click on PayPal link
3 Go to PayPal and pay your fee
4 Activate your account (via an email link)

I realise there could be emails flying around, but I've shortened the steps for ease of understanding. If the payment is accepted at Step 3 here, that's when s2Member would send the activation email - no payment, no email.

Any help or advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Jim

Hi Jim. This is now VERY possible with the s2Member Pro Module.

I have a similar problem as Jim.

We plan to have users choose between a free or paid account during registration… if they choose paid, it forwards them to Paypal and goes through the payment process; otherwise, their account is just activated.

I already have a registration hook made to determine if they selected a subscription. What I need to know is how I can get s2Member to play nice with the registration process. The account being paid for already exists… Ideally, the new rank and Paypal token would be applied automatically after payment.

If the s2Member Pro module is the solution, how so?

Hi Ryan. Thanks for the great question.

If you're using the PayPal Button Shortcode ( even in the free version ), s2Member will automatically update an existing account, rather than creating a new one... so long as the Customer is logged into their account before you have them complete the checkout process. s2Member handles this automatically, through the use of these two variables, which are passed through to PayPal by s2Member automatically.

Code: Select all

<!-- Identifies/Updates An Existing Member After Checkout -->
<input type="hidden" name="on0" value="<?php echo S2MEMBER_CURRENT_USER_VALUE_FOR_PP_ON0; ?>" />
<input type="hidden" name="os0" value="<?php echo S2MEMBER_CURRENT_USER_VALUE_FOR_PP_OS0; ?>" />

Which evaluates automatically, to:

Code: Select all

<!-- Identifies/Updates An Existing Member After Checkout -->
<input type="hidden" name="on0" value="Updating Subscr. ID" />
<input type="hidden" name="os0" value="[An existing Subscr. ID, or a WP User ID]" />

You'll see these variables in the full Button Code after you generate your PayPal Button in s2Member, under: s2Member -> PayPal Buttons.

The on0 & os0 parameters are received by s2Member after the checkout process at PayPal. When s2Member's IPN processor receives these variables, it uses them in the following way:

If on0 contains the word "Updating", or "Upgrading", and the os0 variable contains an existing PayPal Subscription ID, or a valid WordPress User ID, matching an existing User in the system, s2Member will update an existing account matching that ID.

This works the same way in s2Member Pro, only it's handled automatically by the s2Member Pro Forms, through connections to the PayPal API; as opposed to using PayPal Buttons.

In either case, the trick is that you need existing Customers to be logged in, before you have them start a new checkout process. This will even work for Free Subscribers that are upgrading to a paid account. Just make sure the Free Subscriber is logged in before they start the checkout process.

In other words, an upgrade button on their Login Welcome Page, is the best way. In s2Member Pro, you can generate PayPal Pro Modification Forms, that handle all of this automatically. s2Member will force the Customer to login before the checkout process begins; just to remove any doubt.

Please let me know if anything here is unclear. ~Thanks.

Thank you, Jason; that was very helpful. I think that answers all my questions.


I was going to ask whether supplying the user ID from another source would be a substitute for them actually being logged in, but I realized they don't actually have a user ID at all until they activate. I guess I'll need to figure out another way to work that.

Well, on the topic of "Register first, then pay"...

Using s2Member Pro, you can generate custom "Free Registration" forms.
So you could have Users register first, then once they're logged in, hit them with a checkout screen; using a PayPal Pro Form. That way they have an ID.

Actually, you could also do this with the free version of s2Member.
See: s2Member -> General Options -> Open Registration
You'll need s2Member v3.0.6+.

I should also note this:
The s2Member Pro Module makes it possible for s2Member to use PayPal® Pro Forms ( instead of standard PayPal® Buttons ). PayPal® Pro Forms integrate seamlessly with WordPress® Shortcodes. This allows you to keep Customers on your site at all times, and it consolidates the Checkout / Registration steps into a single form that you can dress up just the way you like. [ s2Member Pro ]