Paywall and Memberships are two of the best ways to get your customers to pay to access paid content. Fortunately, there are many solutions to provide both options.
In this article, we will explain the meaning of the Paywall feature and the various payment models that you can use on your site, we will also discuss the use of memberships, explaining when the latter is a better option, and finally, we will provide you with the best solutions to set up both options.
What is Paywall?
Google defines Paywall as a system that prevents users from accessing a page on the Internet without having a paid subscription, technically it can be defined by blocking the content of your site in general. Although most sites provide the ability to visit, browse and read publications for free, the payment feature allows to prevent access to people who do not have the appropriate credits.
Of course, some fees are charged for obtaining the required access authorization, which is what the "Pay" part of the word "Paywall" indicates. Many popular news sites such as the Wall Street Journal are using paid access to generate revenue.
Pros and cons of using paid access
Adopting the payment option on your website provides you with income from visitors who want to access your site. Doing this may seem to you a great way to get some additional income, but your view changes when you realize that your content must be very exceptional and/or Too much wanted by someone to pay just to see it.
One of the advantages of using paid access, especially if you are an AdSense user, is that you get a higher value of profit per view (revenue per-view) compared to traditional advertising methods. On the other hand, imposing a tariff in order to access your site is a good marketing strategy as it is implied that you are offering exceptional and exclusive content.
Among the disadvantages of paid access is that you should not expect any financial return if your site's content is substandard, otherwise, using this option adds other programs that must be maintained or new variables that must be taken into account depending on your choice of a local solution or that based on Cloud-based solution.