Memberstack 2.0 - Is it worth switching?
Should you switch from Memberstack 1.0 to 2.0? What do you need to keep in mind when migrating to 2.0? And are there are any better alternatives for creating membership sites in Webflow?
Memberstack 1.0 vs Memberstack 2.0
Memberstack 2.0 is going to have a lot of exciting new features that Memberstack 1.0 didn't offer.
Socials Logins
One of the most requested features in 1.0 was social logins. This is now going to be available in Memberstack 2.0. If you want your customers to sign up or login with the Facebook or Google account, you can simply configure the authentication provider and allow them to sign in with their tools of choice. This is going to be a huge plus for conversions on Memberstack sites.
Multiple memberships at the same time
In the past, a member on your Memberstack site could only have one plan at any given time. That was a roadblock for a lot of use cases where you might want to upsell a second membership or you want to have multiple different types of members on your site. Memberstack 2.0 solves this by allowing you to have multiple different plans at the same time. Really excited about this one.
More flexibility and component library
My overall impression of Memberstack 2.0 is that it is signficantly more flexible. You will be able to account for a lot of use cases and scenarios that required a lot of hacking in Memberstack 1.0. Besides given you added flexibility with membership rules and redirects, you will also get access to a bunch of awesome little features like a component library for membership sites or also an in-built email verification tool.
Migrating complex 1.0 sites to 2.0
A big concern that I had a migrating sites like Unicorn Factory from 1.0 to 2.0 was how complex it would be? Would I have to change all my data attributes? How easy it to import my members to 2.0? What will have to do?
I am going to be making an in-depth review of how I migrated Unicorn Factory Canada from Memberstack 1.0 to 2.0. The TDLR answer is that it easier than I thought, but it requires planning in advanced.
There are few key building blocks you will need to account for:
- You will need to import all your plans and gated content types to Memberstack 2.0. If you add them exactly like in 1.0, you luckily won't have to redo all data attributes, which was honestly my biggest concern!
- You will need to import all your members from Memberstack 1.0. Memberstack has created a handy member import tool, so this part is a lot more straight forward than you would think. Simply export a CSV file with all your members and then import to 2.0 with their import tool.
- You will need to rebuild all workflows you might have in Zapier, Airtable Automations or Make. Unfortunately, there is no way around this. Memberstack 2.0 is a brand new app and that means that it gets a new Zapier/make.com. It also has completely different API endpoints, so even if you are using code, you will not be spared.
- You will need to rewrite any custom code you are using to pull attributes from Memberstack on your Webflow sites. Memberstack is actually working on some pretty cool attribute libraries, which will make this easier, but if you relying on custom code to show and hide content, then you will have to rewrite it.
Overall, it is very doable. I thought it was going to be harder than it turned out being. The secret to making the transition as smooth as possible is to ensure that you plan out everything with the Memberstack provided checklist.
How does Memberstack stack up against Wized and Webflow Memberships?
Since Memberstack has started working on 2.0 some really interesting have appeared on the market. The two that caught my eye was Webflow Memberships and Wized.
I will be doing some in-depth reviews for each tool, because I can already see some fantastic use cases for each, but for now I am going to stick with Memberstack. Here is why?
- Webflow Memberships is still a bit early. Unfortunately there are some pretty crucial things missing that I would need in order to consider migrating Unicorn Factory to Webflow memberships. One of the key ones for me is that I can't actually hide content on public sites depending on whether or not a member is logged in or not. I use data attributes a lot with Memberstack, so I will need to wait for Memberships to catch up before considering it as an alternative.
- On the other hand, I do think that Memberships is going to solve some pretty great use cases. Digital downloads or simple gated content like blogs will be doable in Webflow Memberships and I think anyone who is just getting into Webflow will love this, especially because Webflow isn't charging for user accounts.
- Wized is super powerful. All of the things you can do with Memberstack 2.0 you can build with Wized. Wized will also provide a few additional features that Memberstack simply doesn't offer like the ability to import member-specific content that might sit in Airtable. I was considering Wized for a while, but ultimately decided to stick with Memberstack, because I already have most of it set up with my data attributes. If I had to rewrite my data attributes it may have been a different story.
- For as powerful Wized is, it is also a lot harder to learn. If you are a complete beginner to Webflow or no-code in general, I would highly recommend getting a good understanding of databases and workflows first. Wized is definitely closer to low-code than no-code, so that is something to factor in.
User accounts in Webflow is going to the next level, and instead of just having one good option, we have THREE! I am super pumped to see what new features each tool will launch over the next year.
