A few weeks ago, I disabled comments (and talked about it a little bit) in preparation for the upcoming re-design and membership feature (or features?) of what I hope to accomplish with the site.

Members Only with Restrict Content Pro

Arguably the best way to setup a Members Only site in WordPress.

Though it’s still a little bit of time before September (which is when I’m planning to launch it all), I thought it might be a good idea to go ahead and cover how the site will function, what it’ll include for members only, what it’ll include for everyone and all of that fun stuff.

Members Only (But What Do You Get?)

Above all else, the purpose of the redesign is to provide useful, tailored content for regular readers while also offering long form content for those looking to up their skills in programming and even blogging.

Secondary to that, I want the site to support itself through memberships and relevant partners and sponsors. I believe that advertising is slowly going the way of the buffalo and this is the next best way to prepare for that.

Memberships and More

Every member will get a complimentary Members Only jacket. 😏

So with that said, here’s a short rundown of what you can expect:

  • object-oriented programming from the ground-up,
  • updated content from Start Here (which was previously The First Version),
  • in-depth posts on various WordPress programming techniques and related software, tools, and practices,
  • commenting and conversation, fewer advertisements, and coupons or discounts of useful software for implementers and programmers,
  • topics related to blogging practices (doing so more regularly, looking for how to start and manage your own, etc.),
  • and more.

One of the goals is to decrease the frequency with which I post (which I’ve already been doing lately) for the casual reader and to decrease the length of those posts.

How members are going to chat with the rest of us.

How members are going to chat with the rest of us.

Simultaneously, I’d like to provide longer content and a better commenting experience for the non-casual reader.

Why?

Ultimately, I’d like to increase the length and quality of the posts that I’m writing for those who are either looking to get into WordPress development, looking to get into blogging regularly, or looking to get into a more professional workflow with what they are doing.

And, in my experience, the best way to do that is via long-form content. The challenge is that we move in such a fast-paced industry (and social media doesn’t help that) that it’s hard to sit and consume said content.

But I also know from personal experience that if you’re serious about upping your game in whatever it is that you’re doing, then it helps to be supporting the very thing that you’re aiming to learn.

At this point, I don’t have specific notes on pricing or anything like that, but I’m looking at trying to make it as affordable as possible on a per year basis.

Further, I’m looking to make sure that you only pay for the type of content you want to read. That is, if you just want development-oriented material, you only pay for that. If you want, say, both development and blog-oriented material, that’s what you pay for, as well.

Anyway, I’ll have more of those details later. For now, I thought it worth providing an update to something I’ve been talking about vaguely for some time now.