First of all, Im not a webdeveloper, but Im looking for some suggestions on how to create a website/system.
The basic ideas is that the user can sign up/pay for the service from a webpage, then he will be a member/subscribers and will be charged automatically each month. Off course there should be all the functionalities, like sending/creating username/password automatically after payment.
The site should containt a client portal, from where the user can login and administer his account and from where his service will be available.
There should also be a complete administration module, for admins of the website.
The import thing of the website is getting the functionality of the payment module/automatic subscribtion, which will probably require some coding.
I was thinking that this could be done with a wordpress module using the ecommerce plugins, etc.
I would be happy to get any ideas on how to build the system and how to get offers.
How would you guys do it? Programme it from scratch or build it on top of a standardsystem ?
Short Answer: Yes, assuming you knew nothing and are unable to hire a developer, you can do everything you asked with WordPress in fairly short order as long as you’re OK with the defaults provided.
Unless you’re willing to hire a developer, your best bet is to go with what’s called “managed WordPress hosting”. Here’s how I would go about doing it, assuming I knew nothing:
Get an account with WPEngine. For 30 bucks a month they take care of installing WordPress, they have a setup where backups are made anytime you install a plugin/theme, and their phone support is top notch and they genuinely want to help. There are codes online to get 3 months free if you’re unsure.
Install a theme (feel free to ask how, or just call them, once you get to this point). You can find some great themes at ThemeForest.net
Depending on what services you’d like to go with, you can install WooCommerce for products or S2Member for on-site, membership only services. There are others, but those are the ones I’ve used the most for my clients. (Definitely look/ask around for something other than S2Member if you go that route though as it’s not user friendly at all.)
If you follow that, you can get up and running fairly quickly (as in, by the end of the weekend if you’re OK with everything being stock for now).
As for what WordPress comes with out of the box:
User management (password reset etc)
“User Portal” to administer their account
Admin tools for user/site management
The plugins listed also contain their own administrative screens
Of course, all this can be improved by using other plugins.
Thank a lot for your reply.
Actually I am going to hire a developer, but I would definately prefer to use standard systems as much as possible.
What about the monthly subscribtion, integrating with the payment gateway, other special functions… Would any programmer be able to integrate this with the wordpress installation somehow?