Paid Member Subscriptions plugin review and common issues

Stripe recurring payment failures are logged in both your Stripe Dashboard → Events and in WordPress. Go to Stripe Dashboard → Events → filter by “invoice.payment_failed” to see which renewals failed and the failure reason. Common causes: (1) customer’s card expired — Stripe can attempt dunning (retry emails) configured in Stripe settings; (2) insufficient funds; (3) card issuer blocking the recurring charge — some banks block subscription charges without 3D Secure. In Paid Member Subscriptions → Settings → Payment Gateways → Stripe, ensure webhook handling is configured so Stripe can notify WordPress of failed payments and update subscription status accordingly.

Check the restriction is applied in the correct location: (1) for post-level restriction, open the post in the editor and look for the Paid Member Subscriptions meta box — verify the access restriction is set and the correct subscription plan is selected; (2) for global content restriction (all posts of a type), check Paid Member Subscriptions → Content Restriction → Global Restrictions; (3) test in an incognito browser while not logged in — if content is visible, the restriction is not applied; (4) clear all caches — caching plugins can serve the restricted content to non-members if pages are cached without authentication context.

Content dripping in Paid Member Subscriptions calculates access based on the member’s subscription start date. If content is not unlocking: (1) verify the drip rule specifies the correct number of days after subscription start (not days after content creation); (2) check the member’s subscription start date in Paid Member Subscriptions → Members → [member] — if the date is incorrect, the drip calculation will be off; (3) clear caches after the drip date passes — cached pages may show the locked state even after access is granted; (4) WP-Cron must be running for time-based drip checks — verify cron is functional using WP Crontrol.

In the WooCommerce product editor, the Paid Member Subscriptions meta box allows restricting product visibility and purchasing to specific subscription plans. Options include: hiding the product entirely from non-members, showing the product but blocking Add to Cart for non-members, and displaying member-only pricing (discounted prices for subscribers). This creates a members-only shop section within WooCommerce without the need for a separate WooCommerce Memberships plugin. Configure which subscription plans have access per product.

In Paid Member Subscriptions → Subscription Plans → Edit [plan], look for the Trial Period settings. Set the trial duration (e.g., 7 days or 14 days) and trial price (typically $0 for a free trial or a discounted introductory rate). After the trial period expires, the subscriber is automatically billed at the regular recurring rate. Configure the trial in combination with Stripe recurring billing (Pro feature) for automatic billing after trial completion. PayPal Standard does not support trial periods — Stripe is required for trial-to-paid conversions.

MemberPress is more established, has deeper LMS integrations (MemberPress Courses), broader automation and email marketing connections, and a more comprehensive rule system for complex membership sites. Paid Member Subscriptions is simpler to set up, integrates cleanly with WooCommerce, and offers proration for plan changes — a feature MemberPress does not include natively. For simple content membership sites, Paid Member Subscriptions is easier and often sufficient. For complex membership businesses with courses, automation, and affiliate programs, MemberPress provides more depth.

Yes — Paid Member Subscriptions can restrict LearnDash course pages as custom post type content. Configure a Global Restriction or individual post restriction to require a specific subscription plan for LearnDash courses. However, for tighter integration (automatic LearnDash enrollment when a subscription is purchased, automatic unenrollment when it expires), a direct Paid Member Subscriptions → LearnDash integration or a bridge plugin is recommended. Alternatively, MemberPress has a native LearnDash integration that handles enrollment and unenrollment automatically based on membership status.

Yes, that can happen, especially on older sites with many plugins. This usually happens when the plugin, theme, and add-ons are updated out of sequence. In most cases, testing on staging catches the issue before it reaches the live site. From experience, backups and changelog reviews save a lot of cleanup time.

Start by checking whether another plugin already does the same job. In most cases, overlap is what creates avoidable conflicts and performance issues. A common issue is installing a plugin because it looks convenient without checking the stack first. From experience, a short compatibility review avoids most of the pain later.