What is membership software?
Wednesday 23rd July 2008
A discussion with Neil Skirrow, the original developer of Locked Area and OpenCrypt and Managing Director of ionix Limited covering the basics of what user management and membership software is and how it can be beneficial to your project.
What is user management and membership software?
'User management' and 'membership software' are simple terms used to refer to software which is used to manage a user-base, this could be for any purpose. For example, a hotel or club may use user management and membership software to keep track of their customers. The terms apply to any type of user management software, whether used offline for example in a shop, or online on an Internet web site.
OpenCrypt is user management software designed for use on Internet web sites. It provides facilities for creating and managing user accounts, and gives a convenient system for organising and tracking payments from individual users. The software can also be used as a convenient method for organising data and information provided by your users, immediately offering you facilities to search and review the data.
OpenCrypt also offers facilities for securing web site content, this enables you to setup a secure section on your web site which can only be viewed by users who have registered. This can be used to keep track of who is viewing your content, or OpenCrypt can be used to charge users before they can access the secure content.
Who uses user management/membership software?
User management and membership software is used by organisations and individuals who need to keep records of and track their customers.
For example, OpenCrypt.com maintains a member's area for customers who have purchased the OpenCrypt membership software, this includes the software download which can only be accessed by customers who have registered and purchased the software. The system instantly provides an automated system for selling the OpenCrypt membership software, and for automatically providing customers with the product. The system also provides all the facilities for our staff to manage customer accounts and to monitor web site and sales statistics.
What type of businesses use user management and membership software?
Membership software is used by all different kinds of web sites, charities and businesses for a wide range of purposes; from online shopping stores to private customer areas. Some simply choose to use the software to maintain a customer base, whether for marketing and newsletters facilities or simply to track individual customer purchases. Other common uses include using the software to secure private customers area, as we do on OpenCrypt.com.
Most popular websites include some form of user management and login system including all popular search engine and purchasing web sites such as Amazon, eBay, Google, PayPal and Yahoo and many major Fortune 100 and 500 websites.
Other notable uses include sporting resource, social networking and adult content web sites. One more innovative use I came across was a customer using Locked Area to secure access to an online garden, the customer had setup a small garden at home with webcams for visitors to view the progress of the garden, registered users could login to water the garden. The software was used to limit how many times a user could water the garden to prevent flooding by malicious visitors!
How can user management and membership software be beneficial to your project?
If you have products or services which users use regularly then some form of user management software is essential. For example, if you offer a service which has a recurring fee then it is critical you maintain an account for your user so you can track what the user has paid and should pay. Membership software is also useful for tracking repeat custom, a user may return to your web site to purchase an entirely separate product on their second visit, but the ability to identify the user as an existing customer can be very useful, for example you could offer discounts for existing customers.
Membership software can also be useful when there are no commercial products or charges involved, for example we use the OpenCrypt membership software on DirectoryPass.com to maintain a newsletter, users register when downloading the product which enables us to keep track of which users would like to receive notifications in the future. OpenCrypt also gives us comprehensive facilities to send newsletters and to monitor web site statistics.
However, it is important to identify when registration for a product is appropriate, for example we require registration when a user purchases OpenCrypt, but registration is optional for DirectoryPass. This is because DirectoryPass is free, we do not need to maintain records of who can access it and often requiring registration can discourage occasional downloads. OpenCrypt is a commercial product, since we charge for the product it is critical we maintain records of who has paid. It is important to identify when it is and isn't appropriate to require registration to access your products/services.
What are the differences between DirectoryPass, Locked Area Lite and Pro and OpenCrypt?
Our original product was Locked Area, this is intended as an entry-level solution for user management. Locked Area provides an online registration form for web site visitors to register to access secure content - what secure content Locked Area protects is up to you, it can protect any type of file. Locked Area also provides tools for registered users to manage their account, for example to change their password and registered email address, the software also provides management tools for the web site owner or administrator enabling them to easily search and manage accounts within the system.
Locked Area Pro advances upon this with additional features such as improved statistics. Locked Area Pro also offers two key features for the registration process which are 'Email Activation' and 'Administrator Validation'. The email activation feature when enabled will send an email to the user during registration, the user must then select a link in the email in order to complete the registration process - this is done to ensure the email address entered is valid. Administrator validation if enabled will mean the system does not automatically activate accounts and the web site owner or administrator must login to the Locked Area administration panel and approve each registration before each user may access the secure content - this process is used if the web site owner would like to manually verify who can view the secure content.
Locked Area Pro also offers basic PayPal integration, PayPal is an online payments processor who enable individuals to accept credit card payments online - a service normally only available to corporations. Using Locked Area Pro and PayPal the web site owner can charge a recurring fee to access the secure content which is a fantastic method of generating revenue from a web site.
DirectoryPass was developed as an alternative to Locked Area for web site owners who did not want to provide an online registration form, and simply require a simple tool for managing a secure area on their web site.
OpenCrypt was developed as an advanced alternative to Locked Area and is currently one of the most sophisticated and comprehensive user management systems available. The software advances from Locked Area to offer endless additional features such as the ability to integrate with third-party products, comprehensive statistics and e-commerce facilities and the ability to secure multiple content areas across multiple web sites. The software also supports subscription tiers, enabling the web site owner to offer varying membership products which provide access to different combinations of the secure content.
OpenCrypt also offers various add-ons including a helpdesk, affiliate system and picture gallery/online shop which all add extended functionality to the software.
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<- Login form designs and inspiration
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AJAX Tree Menu with PHP - Revisited ->
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Usenet Free Trial |
10 out of 10 |
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Great idea, but will this work over the long run?
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Filme Runterladen |
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Sometimes it's really that simple, isn't it? I feel a little stupid for not thinking of this myself/earlier, though.
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bopdilly |
10 out of 10 |
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Excellent blog! Interesting article and very informative!
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Average Rating: 9.84 out of 10 (193 Votes)
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