How to Plan a Membership Website on Squarespace
A membership website gives people a reason to join, a way to pay, and a place to go once they’re in. Squarespace can handle all of that. The work that makes it go well happens before anyone builds a page.
I built the Griz Football Players Association website this way. GFPA brings former University of Montana football players back together, and it has grown to more than 150 members as of September 2026. You can read how that project came together here. This post covers the planning steps I use on projects like it.
Start with who is joining and why
Write down who your members are and what they want from joining. A professional association, an alumni group, a studio, and a nonprofit all want different things.
For GFPA, members wanted to reconnect with teammates, support the association, and stay involved. That shaped everything else, from the membership levels to the photos on the homepage.
If you can say in one sentence why someone would join, the rest of the plan gets easier.
Decide on your membership levels
Most groups do well with a few clear options. GFPA has four, starting with a free level and going up to a lifetime membership.
For each level, write down:
What it costs, and whether it renews monthly, yearly, or never
What a member gets at that level
Whether members can move up to a higher level later
Keep the names simple. People can tell the difference between levels at a glance.
Decide what members get
This is easy to skip, and it is what members notice most. Common benefits include:
Pages or resources only members can see
Event registration or member pricing
A way to see and update their own account
Recognition, like a list of members on the site
Pick the benefits you can keep up with. A members page that never changes can do more harm than good.
Choose a membership tool
Squarespace has its own option, called Member Sites. It supports free memberships, one-time payments, and subscriptions, and it puts members-only pages behind a sign-in. For many groups, that is enough.
Some groups need more. GFPA uses Outseta, which handles memberships, payments, member records, and email in one place, and connects to Squarespace with a script added to the site. That gave the board one place to see who had joined and at what level.
A few questions help you choose:
Do you need several membership levels, with upgrades between them?
Who on your team needs to see member information, and where will they look?
Do you want to email members from the same place you manage them?
What will each option cost once you count payment fees?
Check current pricing and fees before you decide. They change, and they add up as a group grows.
Plan a page for members
Give members somewhere to land after they sign in. A simple members page can show their membership level, link to their account settings, and point to what is new.
On the GFPA site, this members page solved a real problem. Members wanted an easy way to see their level and move up.
Get the details ready before launch
Before the site goes live, gather:
Your membership levels, prices, and benefits in writing
Photos and logos
Your welcome email and payment receipts
A short test plan: sign up, pay, sign in, upgrade, and cancel
Test every level yourself. Then ask a board member or a friend to try it without help. Where they get stuck is where your members will get stuck.
Plan for after launch
A membership website keeps changing. New events come up, new levels make sense, and members ask for things you did not expect.
GFPA and I are still working together a year later. Having the design and page structure in place makes most new requests quick to finish.
Want help with yours?
I’m a Squarespace Platinum Partner based in Missoula, Montana. Tell me about your group and what you need, and I’ll help you figure out the setup and give you a clear idea of what it would take.
