How to create a paywall with a clear call to action

Customize the paywall visitors see when they try to access protected WordPress content.

Use the Visual Paywall settings to create a paywall for protected WordPress content. A paywall helps visitors understand what content is protected, what membership includes, and how to subscribe or sign in.

In this help article, we’ll show you how to enable global marketing content, customize your Visual Paywall, control where the paywall appears, and use Custom HTML when you need more control.

Enable global marketing content

Global marketing content lets you create default marketing content for protected WordPress posts, pages, categories, and tags.

In your WordPress dashboard, go to Settings → Memberful, then click Global Paywall.

Check Turn on global marketing content, then select one of the two options:

• Override all marketing content: Marketing content in Memberful’s meta boxes will be replaced in all protected pages and posts.
• Only use the global marketing content when other content doesn’t exist: The global marketing content will only be displayed on protected pages or posts that have an empty Memberful meta box.

Automatically show an excerpt

Check Automatically pull an excerpt from each post if you want Memberful to show the opening paragraphs from protected posts as marketing content for logged-out visitors. Enter the number of paragraphs to show in Paragraphs before paywall.

Your posts must use <p> tags for Memberful to detect which content to show.

If a post contains a Memberful Paywall Divider block, all content above the divider appears instead of the excerpt. This lets you choose exactly where protected content begins within a post or page.

For setup instructions, see Restrict access to a single post or page.

Choose a paywall type

In the Global Paywall settings, choose how you want to build your paywall.

Visual Paywall

Use Memberful’s built-in paywall editor to customize the message, layout, colors, and call to action without writing code.

Custom HTML

Add your own content when you need a fully custom paywall or advanced styling.

Customize the Visual Paywall

Click Visual Paywall to use the built-in editor. The preview updates as you customize the paywall.

Choose a template

Choose one of the available templates:

Inline: Displays within the content flow.

Card: Displays a centered card with a lock icon.

Customize the content

Enter the content visitors should see when they reach protected content.

• Headline: The main message visitors see.
• Description: A short explanation of what members get or why the content is protected.
• What subscribers get: The benefits included with membership.

Click Add benefit to add another benefit. Click x next to a benefit to remove it.

To add a message about the free article allowance on metered posts, check Show the free-view count. Enter the message in Free-view message and use {limit} where you want to display the number of free views.

Customize the design

Use the design settings to match the paywall to your WordPress site.

Choose a button shape

Choose one of the available button shapes:

Square

Rounded

Pill

Choose colors

Choose an Accent color and Background color for the paywall. The accent color is used for elements such as the button, lock icon, and benefit checkmarks.

Click Reset to return a color setting to its default value.

Customize buttons and links

Customize the button labels and choose where each button sends visitors:

• Free registration button: Enter the button label and URL. This button appears instead of the subscribe button when a logged-out visitor reaches the metered limit and free members receive a higher limit. Leave the URL blank to use your Memberful registration page.
• Subscribe button: Enter the button label and URL. Leave the URL blank to use your Memberful registration page if free registration is enabled. Otherwise, enter the URL for your checkout or pricing page.
• Sign-in URL: Enter the page existing members use to sign in, or leave it blank to use your Memberful sign-in link.

Click Save Changes.

Review the visitor experience

After you save your changes, open a protected post or page while logged out to see what visitors will see. Review the teaser content, paywall copy, button label, and sign-in link before sharing the content with your audience.

Use Custom HTML

Click Custom HTML if you need to build your own paywall.

Custom HTML lets you add custom content instead of using the Visual Paywall editor.

This option is best for sites that need:

• custom layouts
• custom code
• advanced styling
• design behavior that is not available in the Visual Paywall settings