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WP-Members™ is designed to run "out-of-the-box" with no modifications to your WP installation necessary. Please follow the installation instructions below. We have found that most of the support issues that arise are a result of improper installation or simply not reading/following directions.

Basic Install:

We recommend following the instructions in the Quick Start Guide. There is also a complete Users Guide available that covers all of the plugin's features in depth.

1. Upload the /wp-members/ directory and its contents to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress®

You are ready to begin using WP-Members™. Now follow the instructions titled "Locking down your site" below.

NOTE: Please follow instructions for installation. We have found that the vast majority of people that have marked the plugin as "broken" in the plugin compatibility form simply did not read/follow installation instructions. If something is unclear, ask for assistance.

Locking down your site:

• To begin restricting posts, you will need to be using the <!--more--> link in your posts. Content above to the "more" split will display on summary pages (home, archive, category) but the user will be required to login to view the entire post.
• To begin restricting pages, change the plugin default setting for pages to be blocked. The <!--more--> link is not necessary in the blocking of pages, but must be used if you have the "show excerpts" setting turned on.
• To protect comments, we recommend setting "Users must be registered and logged in to comment" under Settings > Discussion
• Also on the page Settings > General, we recommend making sure "Anyone can register" is unchecked. Although not required, this will prevent WP's native registration from colliding with WP-Members™, especially if you are using any of the WP-Members™ additional registration fields.
• Under Settings > Reading, we recommend that "For each article in a feed, show" is set to "Summary." WordPress® installs with full feed settings by default. If you don't change this, your feeds will show full content.

Additional Settings and Information

A full Users Guide is available at the plugin's homepage. The guide outlines the installation process, and also documents how to use all of the settings.

Special and Optional Shortcode Pages

• If you want to have your users be able to edit their login information, add a new page (not a post) and in the body of this page, place the shortcode [wp-members page="members-area"] where you want WP-Members™ to display its content. This page will allow registered members to edit their information or change their password, and will display the registration form for new members. This page also handles forgotten password reset for users who are not logged in. (If you are using the default permalinks, i.e. http://yoursite.com/?p=123, then you must be certain this page title is "Members Area". Check Settings > Permalinks to see your settings.)
• If you would like to have a page to direct users for registrations, you can set up a registration page. (A registration page is not required as the the default settings for the plugin offer user registration in place of restricted content.) Similar to the "members area" page setup, create a new page (not a post) and in the body of the page, put the shortcode [wp-members page="register"] (Just like the members area, if you are using default permalinks, you must title this page "Register".)
• In order to display a "forgot password" and "register" link in the login form (and sidebar widget), specify the location of the members area and register pages in the plugin options.

Note: the above shortcodes CANNOT be used on the same page!