Fresh Install

Setting up Meta Membership on a new site is straightforward. This guide walks you through the essential steps from installation to a working membership site.
If you are migrating from an existing membership plugin, see [Migrating from Another Plugin] instead.

If you intend to take payments via Stripe, install and configure Minimal Stripe Wrapper first. Meta Membership will detect it automatically once active.

Install Meta Membership from WordPress.org or upload the plugin zip via Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin. Activate it through the Plugins menu.

For detailed instructions, refer to the official WordPress plugin installation guide:
👉 Installing Plugins in WordPress

Create a new WordPress page and add the [mime_dashboard] shortcode. Publish the page.
Meta Membership will automatically detect this page and use it for member redirects after login, registration, and payment. No further configuration is needed. Detection works with standard WordPress pages and all major page builders including Divi, Elementor, and Beaver Builder.

Note: If no dashboard page is found, a warning notice will appear on Meta Membership admin screens as a reminder. You can also set the dashboard page manually under Meta Membership Settings > General if you prefer not to use auto-detection.

Go to Meta Membership Settings > General and review the system-wide defaults. Key decisions at this stage:

Renewal Mode — choose between:

• Anniversary — membership expires a set period after the join date
• Fixed Expiry — all memberships of this type expire on the same date each year (e.g. 1 April)
• Never Expires — membership does not expire

Registration Policy — choose between:

• Open — anyone can register
• Admin Approval — registrations are held for admin review before activation
• Admin Only — only admins can create member records

Grace Period — the number of days after expiry during which a member retains access while they renew. Defaults to 30 days.

Currency — set your default currency here.

Admin Recipients — the email address(es) that receive admin notifications.

These are system-wide defaults. Each membership type can override them individually.

If you need to collect additional information beyond name and email — address, phone, custom checkboxes, or other fields — go to Meta Membership Settings > Member Meta Fields and define your fields before creating membership types.

Available field types: Text, Text Area, Select, Multi Select, Checkbox Group, Radio Button Group, Phone, URL, Date.

👉 Important: Note the field slug for each field you create. If you plan to import members via CSV, the column headers in your CSV file must match the field slugs exactly.

Go to Memberships > Membership Types and click Add New. Create at least one membership type.

For each type configure:

• Name — this is also used in the CSV import file
• Registration Fee — set to 0 for free membership
• Renewal Fee — set to 0 if same as registration fee.
• Renewal Mode — override the system default if needed
• Fixed Expiry Date — override the system default if needed
• Pro-rata — optionally apply a proportional discount for members joining mid-period (fixed expiry only)
• Grace Period — override the system default if needed
• Registration Policy — override the system default if needed
• Payment Gateways — override the system default if needed
• Meta Fields — assign your custom fields to the Profile and/or Registration forms for this type

Once saved, the Membership Types table displays the registration form shortcode for each type. Use the copy-to-clipboard button to get the exact shortcode.

[mime_registration type="your-membership-type-slug"]

Publish the page and link to it from your site navigation or a call-to-action.

Admin-only membership types do not need a registration page.

Meta Membership has two distinct notification systems:

System Notifications

(Meta Membership Settings > Notifications) are triggered automatically by system events — payment completed, registration approved, password reset, membership onboarding, and more. These come pre-configured with sensible defaults. You can edit the subject and body of each notification but cannot add new trigger types.

Membership Notifications

(Membership > Membership Notifications) are time-based reminders you configure yourself — for example, a reminder 3 weeks before expiry, another 2 weeks before, and a notification on the day of expiry. You can add any number of notifications and target them to specific membership types or all memberships.
Both systems support a Variable Inserter for personalising email content with member name, site name, expiry date, and other dynamic values.

Go to Meta Membership Settings > Payments and enable the gateways you want to offer:

Stripe — via Minimal Stripe Wrapper (must be installed separately)
Manual Payment — for members who pay by bank transfer, cash, or cheque
POLi — NZ internet banking, via Meta Poli Payments add-on (NZ only)

If you are using other plugins that rely on WordPress roles — such as [Ultimate Member] — go to Meta Membership Settings > Role Sync Rules and map membership types and statuses to WordPress roles. This keeps WP roles aligned with membership status automatically.
This step is not required for Meta Membership’s own access control, which works independently of WP roles.

With a dashboard page, at least one membership type, a registration page, and notifications configured, your membership site is functional. Members can register, pay, and manage their membership from the dashboard.