Membership website design and development
Members-only content, subscriptions and rewards programmes on WordPress, from a Johannesburg studio in business since 2001.
- Since 2001
25 years - 20+ years
with the same clients - 2025
most recent rebuild for two of them
What is a membership website?
A membership website is a site where some or all of what it offers sits behind a login: content only members can read, a client portal, or a programme where members earn and spend rewards. Some charge a subscription; some are free, by invitation only.
All of them need clear rules about who may see and do what and, where members pay, billing that works unwatched. That is the part of membership website design that has to be right, and it is the kind of platform we have built for GiftBucks, a client since 2003: the white-label reward platforms behind its gift-card business.
Rewards and loyalty programmes
Members earn points or credit and spend them: the white-label reward platforms GiftBucks’ clients run under their own names, Global Choices among them, and the invite-only rewards platform we built for Oxygen Mobile.
Subscriptions and recurring billing
Billing that renews on its own and a site that knows when a payment has failed. Thrive Raw Food For Dogs’ store, built in 2025, has recurring billing, and so does the booking management system we built in 2024 for Mediation in Motion Mediators (MIMM).
Members-only content and client portals
Courses, documents or records that only signed-in members see, such as the learning platform FCRMC’s 2025 rebuild put behind a login.
How we work
- Discovery
Who may join, what members get, and what they pay. A membership that fits the Professional package is quoted on that package before we start. One with its own rules is Custom & Systems work, which starts with a free first discovery. If you go ahead, the build starts with a detailed scoping phase, included in the price. - Build
On WordPress. Your website and its content, the member list included, are yours, and you can move them wherever you like. Custom code we write stays our copyright, and you are licensed to use it on your own site; you may not copy it to other sites or sell it without our consent, and if you need to own it outright, we agree that in writing before the work starts. The join, pay and renew path is tested on staging before launch. - Review
Three rounds of revisions on Professional; for custom work, agreed in discovery. - Launch and look after
Professional includes 60 days of support after launch. After that, a care plan keeps the site updated and monitored, with hosting included.
What it costs
A membership site is one of the four options in the Professional package. All prices in South African Rand (ZAR), incl. VAT.
Business
R15,000 incl. VAT
Up to 8 pages with a custom design on Blocksy. No off-the-shelf template.
Professional
from R25,000 incl. VAT
Everything in Business, up to 20 pages, plus one of: a store, bookings, membership or LMS.
Custom & Systems
from R65,000 incl. VAT
Custom plugins, integrations and business systems, quoted after a free first discovery.
| What you get | Business | Professional | Custom & Systems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pages | Up to 8 | Up to 20 | Set in discovery |
| Store, bookings, membership or LMS | Not included | One of the four | Set in discovery |
| Custom plugin development | Not included | Not included | Included |
| Revision rounds | 2 | 3 | Set in discovery |
| Support after launch | 30 days | 60 days | Set in discovery |
Custom & Systems work starts with a free discovery and quote. If you go ahead, the build begins with a detailed scoping phase, included in the price.
Relationships measured in decades
Three of the clients who have been with us for twenty years or more.
No public access.
Client since before 2005
Network Dynamics
When they became a client they traded as Flower Dynamics.
Logistics management system, now a custom WordPress plugin.
First built in the 2000s, upgraded in 2014, and replaced by a new system in 2026.
Client since 2005
Tin Soldier
Most recently rebuilt in April 2025.
Client since 2005
Something Fab
Formerly ABFAB Online. Most recently rebuilt in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
How can I build a membership website?
Decide who may join, what members get and whether they pay, then build it on a platform you own. On WordPress, a standard membership site is one of the four options in our Professional package: from R25,000 incl. VAT, typically four weeks. One with its own rules is custom work, quoted after discovery.
Can you give me some examples of membership websites?
The white-label reward platforms that the clients of GiftBucks run under their own names, among them Global Choices, where members buy products with earned points or cash; the invite-only rewards platform we built for Oxygen Mobile, which works the same way; and the learning platform behind a login at FCRMC. We also built more than 50 white-label rewards platforms that One Loyalty used for its insurance clients; those have since been retired.
What is the best platform for creating memberships?
The one you own and can change. On a hosted membership service the member list and the rules live on someone else’s system. On WordPress they are yours, and a membership can grow into custom rules without moving platform.
How to build a subscription website?
A subscription website is a membership website where access renews for as long as the member keeps paying, so the billing runs on its own and access ends when a payment fails. The Professional package includes PayFast set up as the gateway; anything beyond a standard membership is scoped in discovery. The store we built for Thrive Raw Food For Dogs in 2025 has recurring billing.
Can you add a members’ area to a website you didn’t build?
Yes, if the site is sound. A members’ area adds logins and payments, so we first look at how it was built and hosted. If it is not worth keeping, we say so and quote a website rebuild.
Related services
What our clients say
I have been working with Claude for over 20 years, and last night he properly pulled a rabbit out of a hat for me! Stunning wordpress site designed and built within two hours. Thank you!!
Google review
Claud from Fyre Interactive recently developed a website for me and did a truly outstanding job. When faced with a challenge he will persist and solve to full customer expectation and satisfaction. It was the best decision to select him as a partner for this project.
Google review
I have worked closed with Claude and the Fyre team and its one of the easiest web developers to work with. He is attentive and responsive to requests at all times whether its email or Whatsapp.
He also does not pad his costs and so the service is value for money. I highly recommend Claude for hosting, web development and other services.
Google review
Read our reviews on Google Review us on Google All our reviews
Tell us who your members are
Tell us who joins, what they get and whether they pay. We’ll reply with questions, a sensible next step and, where the job allows, a fixed price.
Great service deliverables – Supportive, patient, reachable at all times and responsive
Samantha M. · Xscape4u · Google review