How to Create a Website With Membership & User Login
Membership sites give website owners flexibility in controlling their businesses. Requiring a membership and user login allows the owner to control user-generated content and increase profits with email lists generated from member registrations. Unfortunately, most scripts require technical knowledge to set up, making it hard for new website owners to economically create a membership website. However, some services provide an easy fix. Learning how to use these turnkey services allows even novice Web entrepreneurs to easily install a full membership site.
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Instructions
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Instructions
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Choose a host that provides an easy membership solution. Website owners can use the Fantastico De Luxe script installation service to create a membership site with a username and login in mere minutes. Hosts install this on their server, so choose a host from the developer's partial list or from any other host that provides this service.
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Log in to the website control panel. Find the Fantastico De Luxe section from the menu and click on it. The system will display a list of different programs. Click on the PHP-Nuke program. PHP-Nuke is a content management system (CMS) that sets up a membership site. The installation even provides a home page, so there is no need to design a separate one when installing PHP-Nuke. Members who register can do things like participate in the forum and write news items and journals (blogs).
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Click on "New Installation." Decide whether to base the entire website around this membership site or just make the membership site a sub-section of the website. Leave the directory field blank to make the PHP-Nuke main page the home page of the entire site. For example, if the site name is EasyMembershipSetup.com, the PHP-Nuke main page will be set up at http://www.EasyMembershipSetup.com. Otherwise, pick a directory name. For example, picking a directory name of "memsite" will cause the main page to be installed at http://www.EasyMembershipSetup.com/memsite.
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Finish filling out the simple form to prepare the installation. Don't forget to enter an administration username and password. This gives the owner control over the site and all of the members. Click "Install PHP-Nuke" and then "Finish Installation" on the next page. Users can set up membership on the left side of the main page after the installation is complete.
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Modify the main page by at least changing the header graphic. Use the PHP-Nuke online manual for instructions on how to modify and run the site. Change the welcome text on the main page by clicking on "Messages" in the Admin control panel and editing the default welcome message. The owner of the site will now have a fully operational website with membership and user login. Clicking on the various links leads to the other Web pages on the site.
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Tips & Warnings
Provide a list of benefits and sign-up instructions on the main page. Though this script allows non-members to read most of the site, it encourages them to sign up as members to participate in all the features.
Backup your data on a regular basis. Sites have lost their entire membership database and have had to start over from scratch. Consider choosing a Web host that provides a backup service.
