Why is s2Member Better?

[Axman1413]

Ok folks...so I've been using s2M for a couple of months now. Love it and have an affiliate link up. NOW I am working with a new team of people to create a new membership site.

This membership has the potential for growth of anywhere from 200 members to 1000 members within this year alone. Why is S2Member's upgraded versions (either the Unlimited Site License $129 version or the $679 Network version something that we should consider over a service like...let's say...MemberGate?

Again, i have 4 other people that I need to convince that s2Member will carry the load of our membership down the road. I don't know a whole lot about any of the other programs from a back end view. I am personally sold on s2M, but i have to show the rest of the Team that we will be able to support our site with this service.

Also, if we get started with the $69 pro version, and the site grows to justify an upgrade to the max version, is that transition relatively seamless?

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for the excellent questions.
~ and thanks for bringing this to my attention Cristián.

This membership has the potential for growth of anywhere from 200 members to 1000 members within this year alone. Why is S2Member's upgraded versions (either the Unlimited Site License $129 version or the $679 Network version something that we should consider over a service like...let's say...MemberGate?

WordPress®, that really says it all in my opinion. If you're a fan of WordPress, comfortable with WordPress, and you like the growing community that stands behind WordPress as a great channel for support, this is the number one reason to choose a plugin that integrates with your publishing platform. After all, it's your publishing platform that provides your Members with the content they're paying you for. So it just makes sense to have a membership system that integrates with your content.
That's where s2Member and s2Member Pro come in.

Now, choosing the "right" plugin to empower your WordPress site with membership functionality is the most important step you'll take in building an offering to the public. While there are many reasons to choose s2Member, I think the number one reason is this...

s2Member is free. It's open source. This means it's been stress tested against MANY widget/plugin/theme combinations all over the web. In other words, it's not just being used by a select few customers that paid for it, it's used by thousands of people all over the world. That's one of the great things about open source projects. Even the s2Member Pro module comes with full source code, and although it's a paid upgrade, it is powered entirely by the s2Member Framework ( i.e. the free version ). And, as you can see here in our forums, there is a growing community of people here to support s2Member.

Also, if we get started with the $69 pro version, and the site grows to justify an upgrade to the max version, is that transition relatively seamless?

I would suggest starting with s2Member Pro if you're going to grow a large userbase. But that's it. There is no difference in functionality from the $69 version to the others. The only difference is in how many domains you can install s2Member Pro on. You might want to watch this video intro to s2Member Pro.

The reason I recommend s2Member Pro for a large userbase, is this. With a large site, you're probably going to want more versatility ( i.e. Pro Forms, the ability to modify Pro Form templates, a Pro Login Widget, Import/Export tools, priority support, Coupon Codes, Custom Return URLs, tax configurations, etc. ).

If you're going to take advantage of PayPal® Pro integration, you'll want to integrate Pro Forms right from the beginning. Just saves time that way. Better to start out the way you're going to end up. In other words, instead of starting with PayPal Buttons, start with PayPal Pro Forms. This makes everything easier to deal with whenever a seamless checkout experience is the goal.

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s2Member and s2Member Pro, regardless of which license you purchase, both support Multisite Networking. As for the Network Support Package for "Blog Farms", that is something else entirely. That's only for cases where you're planning to sell "Blogs", and not just Membership. Our Network Support Package for "Blog Farms" includes additional documentation and licensing for that type of usage.

[Axman1413]

Well One thing for sure is I am amazed at the features offered in the FREE version. And I'm not concerned about purchasing the Pro version, it is after all, very affordable.

I am already using the Free version on one of my sites that will be shifting its membership to the New Site when it's ready. The teams main concern is that the Membership "software" we use will be able to carry the load of any number of members. I believe s2Members can do that.

One of the arguments brought up was the adage, "You get what you pay for." We know of the other services that cost much more that even the s2Members Pro version. How can I navigate around that argument? Why is such a powerful system like s2Members Pro offered at such a low cost? Not that I'm complaining...LOL

And remember, you are not convincing me. I'm convinced. You are helping me to convince my other team members. One of my other huge selling points is the wonderful customer service, even just through this forum. We are all forum savvy and strong customer service oriented people. So that means a great deal to us.

And NO...this won't be a Blog site. It will been a site much like the one I have now at FanPageFanatics.net. It's a business model learning platform, for helping people to create their online presence for their online and offline businesses.

All my best,

Johnny

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for the follow-up.

The teams main concern is that the Membership "software" we use will be able to carry the load of any number of members. I believe s2Members can do that.

As much as I would like to say "no problem", that's not realistic. At the heart of the WordPress CMS is your database. In the case of WordPress, that's usually a MySQL database. In theory, you're only limited by what your database can deal with. On a modern dedicated server with around 2GB of RAM, my experience shows that you'd be capable of dealing with about 1 million Users/Members without issue.

That being said, there are other "real world" scenarios that must be taken into consideration. For instance, on a server with 2GB of RAM, your database might be able to deal with data storage and database queries. But, then you have other important issues to consider; related to Apache connections and overall processing power. So in a case where you're going to have a HUGE number of Users/Members ( I'd say 10k+ ), I recommend a dedicated server for MySQL queries, and a Cloud Computing model for HTTP connections. Something like the Rackspace Cloud, or Amazon EC2 instances.

I can tell you that s2Member is structured to support an unlimited number of Users/Members, as is WordPress. However, I really can't toss out any hard numbers, because s2Member IS a "plugin", it's not a full application. In other words, the number of Users/Members you can support depends on a multitude of factors, including your theme, other plugins that you're running, your hosting platform, etc.

One of the arguments brought up was the adage, "You get what you pay for."
How can I navigate around that argument? Why is such a powerful system like s2Members Pro offered at such a low cost? Not that I'm complaining...LOL

I hear ya. Thanks for bringing that up.

s2Member Pro is cheaper because our goal is to reach a larger audience.
And, as is the case with most open source projects; we have less expense, because we have an entire community helping us to find problems and fix bugs. We spend less ( i.e. very little ) time marketing, and more time working on the software itself ( new features, bug fixes, and documentation ).

One of the arguments brought up was the adage, "You get what you pay for."

My opinion of that argument, is that it's incorrect. When you look around in society today, we can all see that's just not the case; at least, not always the case. And I would venture to say that open source software and the communities that support open source software might be leading the way to revolutionizing that train of thought.

For instance,
IE ( proprietary ) vs. Firefox.
Which is better, and why?

Some other free / open source projects that come to mind:

Linux, FreeBSD, Apache, Perl, PHP, PuTTY, FileZilla, OpenOffice, WordPress, Magento, Eclipse, NetBeans, Thunderbird, 7Zip, ClamAV.

"You get what you pay for."

I would rebut that argument with a common sense approach aimed at the misconceptions of what open source software really is. Perhaps reminding them that many of the software applications that we use today are open source. For instance, as I'm typing this message, I'm using Firefox ( free, open source ). And I'm replying to you through a software application called phpBB ( also free, open source ).

I think Red Hat developers put it best:
http://www.redhat.com/about/whyopensource/

Why Open Source?

All software has source code. Open source software grants every user access to that code. Freedom means choice. Choice means power.

That's why we believe open source is inevitable. It returns control to the customer. You can see the code, change it, learn from it. Bugs are found and fixed quickly. And when customers are unhappy with one vendor, they can choose another without overhauling their entire infrastructure. No more technology lock-in. No more monopolies.

We believe open source simply creates better software. Everyone collaborates, the best technology wins. Not just within one company, but among an Internet-connected, worldwide community. New ideas and code travel the world in an instant.

As a result, the open source model often builds higher quality, more secure, more easily integrated software. And it does it at a vastly accelerated pace and often at a lower cost.

In the proprietary model, development occurs within one company. Programmers write code, hide it behind binaries, and charge customers to use the software--then charge them more to fix it when it breaks. The problem worsens when you become tied to a company's architecture, protocols, and file formats. Bruce Perens calls this the addiction model of software procurement. And we think a model that puts customers at such a fundamental disadvantage is conceptually broken.

Open source is not nameless, faceless, and it's not charity. Nor is it solely a community effort. What you see today is a technology revolution driven by market demand.

And the revolution is being recognized. Red Hat has teamed up with the Georgia Institute of Technology to look into the causes and the worldwide growth of open source. They created the Open Source Index to better measure its progress.

Imagine if all past knowledge was kept hidden or its use was restricted to only those who are willing to pay for it. Education and research would suffer. Publishing books or sharing information of any sort would become difficult. Yet this is the mentality behind the proprietary software model. In the same way shared knowledge propels the whole of society forward, open technology development can drive innovation for an entire industry.

Of course, anyone researching software applications absolutely MUST take into account their available feature set, and compare one application to another. So I'm not suggesting that anyone choose any software application ( including s2Member ) based solely on the fact that it's open source.

What I am saying is that less expensive software is not always of a lower quality. In my experience, the highest quality software is the software more people are using. The more people use a piece of software ( particularly one that exposes its source code ), the better it becomes. Many large corporations today use WordPress®, and not because it's free; they use it because it's better.
See: http://wordpress.org/showcase/tag/fortune-500/

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For the benefit of other readers, please feel free to compare s2Member and s2Member Pro to other software applications. You'll find all of the information related to s2Member by trying it for yourself ( available through WordPress.org ), and s2Member Pro on our website here.

Although this list is a bit outdated right now, it does provide links to other software packages that compete with s2Member. I think you'll find that s2Member and s2Member Pro are among the most powerful solutions available. http://tomuse.com/wordpress-membership- ... chart.html

Of course, we expect people to compare the features of each software application for themselves, and choose one that meets all of their current needs; and, one that is very extensible for future development, as your site matures and your userbase grows. We hope s2Member fits that bill for you.

[Axman1413]

Wow...thank you so much for providing such an in depth and well thought out response. all of my (and the Team's) questions have been more than answered. And as far as the load, I think we are in good shape.

We plan on getting a Dedicated server once the membership provides for that justification. Believe me, if we have over 1000 members, we will be far passed the ability to upgrade to the services necessary to uphold the site.

And other than those outside elements, I think I'm confident enough to recommend s2Member Pro for our new endeavor.

Thanks again for all the information and attention to my inquiries.

Johnny