Written by Admin on 2025-05-06

How to Create a WordPress Members Download Area

If you want to create a members-only download area on your WordPress site, you're in luck — it's a lot easier than you might think. By adding a few plugins and making some simple modifications, you can create a secure and user-friendly members download area in no time.

Step 1: Create a Membership Site

The first step is to create a membership site. There are a lot of membership plugins available for WordPress, but one of the most popular is MemberPress. With MemberPress, you can create a membership site that's fully customizable, with different levels of access and different payment options.

Once you've installed and configured MemberPress, you should have a fully functional membership site that's ready to be populated with content.

Step 2: Add a Download Manager

The next step is to add a download manager plugin. There are many download manager plugins available, but one of the most popular is Easy Digital Downloads (EDD). EDD enables you to manage, track, and sell downloads on your WordPress site.

After you've installed and configured EDD, you'll need to create a few “downloadable” files that your members can access. This can include any number of things, from eBooks and video tutorials to software and audio files.

Step 3: Protect Your Downloads

Now that you have a membership site and a download manager, you need to protect your downloads. By default, EDD allows anyone to download your files if they have the link to the file. To prevent unauthorized downloads, you'll need to add some protection to your downloads.

One way to do this is to use the MemberPress plugin to protect your downloads based on membership status. This means that only members who are logged in and have the right membership level can access your files.

Step 4: Create a Members Download Page

Finally, you need to create a members download page so that your members can easily access all of the files that are available to them. To create a members download page, you simply need to create a new page in WordPress and add a [download] shortcode to the page.

The [download] shortcode tells EDD to display all of the downloadable files that are available to the members who have access to that page. You can customize the appearance of the download page by using a variety of different EDD shortcodes and widgets.

Conclusion

Creating a WordPress members download area is a great way to provide exclusive content to your members, and it's surprisingly easy to do. By following these four simple steps, you can create a secure and user-friendly download area that your members will love. Best of luck!