How to Offer an Ad-Free Version of Your WordPress Site to Subscribers

We’ve seen firsthand how ads can help monetize a website, but also offering visitors an ad-free experience can create an additional revenue stream. Many successful sites charge a premium for subscribers to view content without interruptions from ads.

Over the years, we’ve found that this strategy works well, providing a better experience for loyal readers while still generating income. Offering an ad-free version can set your site apart and keep your audience engaged.

In this guide, we will walk you through how to create an ad-free version of your WordPress site specifically for subscribers. This will help you provide extra value to your audience and increase your site’s overall appeal.

Why Create an Ad-Free Version of Your WordPress Site for Subscribers?

We have found that running ads is one of the easiest ways to make money online. However, we’ve noticed that many users prefer to browse content, watch videos, or explore sites without constant interruptions from ads.

While ads are great for generating revenue, offering an ad-free experience can significantly improve user satisfaction. Over the years, we’ve seen how removing ads for premium subscribers keeps loyal readers engaged and encourages long-term commitment.

To strike a balance, you can create a subscription plan where users pay for an ad-free experience on your WordPress website. We’ve used this approach to provide readers with the option to enjoy content uninterrupted while still monetizing the site through regular visitors.

A great example of this is Tumblr, which offers ad-free browsing for users who subscribe to one of their paid plans.

This model also allows sites like YouTube to earn ad revenue from regular visitors while giving premium subscribers an ad-free experience.

Other platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and Hulu have successfully offered ad-free versions in exchange for a small subscription fee, and we’ve seen firsthand how this model can be applied to WordPress sites.

Similarly, you can turn your WordPress site into a Patreon alternative, allowing members to support your content by purchasing an ad-free experience.

This is also useful if you plan to offer exclusive subscriber-only content or sell pay-per-view content on your site.

Now, let’s look at how you can set up a subscription plan and offer an ad-free version of your website.

Creating Ad-Free Subscription Plans in WordPress

The best way to create a subscription in WordPress is to use MemberPress. This membership plugin allows you to restrict content based on different user roles.

Why we recommend MemberPress:

• Easy Setup: Quickly create subscription plans for ad-free content without technical skills.
• Recurring Payments: It supports multiple payment services to automatically charge recurring payments.
• Seamless Integration: Works with most WordPress themes and plugins without disruptions.
• Comprehensive Analytics: Track your ad-free subscribers and monitor performance easily.

We use MemberPress on our WordPress Video course website. It has been incredibly useful for managing access, creating premium content like courses, and making it all easy to manage.

See our complete MemberPress review to learn more.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the MemberPress plugin. For more details, please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Tip💡: If you’re just starting a subscription-based website, please see our ultimate guide to creating a WordPress membership site.

Once MemberPress is active, you can go to the MemberPress » Settings to configure the plugin and add a payment gateway.

Simply switch to the ‘Payments’ tab and click the ‘+ Add Payment method’ button.

MemberPress works out of the box with PayPal Standard, Stripe, Offline Payment, and Authorize.net.

We recommend using Stripe. You can follow the onscreen instructions to set up your preferred method.

After setting up a payment service, the next step is to add a membership level.

Simply go to the MemberPress » Memberships page and click the ‘Add New’ button.

After that, you can enter a name and description for your subscription plan at the top.

MemberPress also lets you select the pricing and expiration of your membership plan. For instance, you can offer a one-time subscription or recurring payments.

Next, you’ll need to scroll down to the Membership Options section.

Here, MemberPress lets you edit the registration settings, change permission, customize the price box, and more. Simply head to the ‘Advanced’ tab and enable the ‘Unser Roles for this Membership’ option.

From here, you can select which WordPress user roles can access your membership level. For instance, we’ll choose the ‘Subscriber’ role for this tutorial.

Go ahead and click the ‘Publish’ button once you’ve made changes to your membership level.

You can now repeat this step and create as many membership levels as you like. Using the plugin, you can also set up different rules and restrict content on your site based on user roles, capabilities, and more.

Create a Pricing Page to Show Subscription Plans

Next, you’ll need to set up a pricing page for your subscription plans. To start, go to MemberPress » Groups and then click the ‘Add New’ button.

After that, you can enter a title for your pricing page, which will also be used as a URL for the page.

From here, scroll down to the ‘Group Options’ section and select which pricing plans to show on the page.

You can click the ‘+’ button to add different memberships and use the drag & drop functionality to arrange their order.

MemberPress comes with different pre-built themes for your pricing page. You can also add custom CSS to style your pricing table.

When you’ve made the changes, go ahead and publish your page. You can now visit your website to see the pricing page in action.

Now, let’s see how you can add ads to your WordPress site.

Inserting Ads in Your WordPress Website

The easiest way to manage ads on your website is to use the AdSanity plugin. It is the best ad management plugin for WordPress.

Using the plugin, you can easily insert and manage your banner ads in WordPress. Plus, it offers a ‘User Role Ad Visibility’ addon that allows you to hide ads from different WordPress user roles.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the AdSanity plugin. For more details, please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once the plugin is active, you can go to the Adsanity » Settings page and switch to the ‘Licenses’ tab.

Next, enter the key and click the ‘Activate License’ button. You can easily find the license key in your account area.

Don’t forget to click the ‘Save Changes’ button when you’re done.

After that, you can head to Adsanity » Create Ad from your WordPress dashboard and set up an ad.

AdSanity lets you create all types of ads. You can set up a self-hosted ad and manually add banners and graphics.

On the other hand, you can also add ads from external networks like Google AdSense. The plugin also lets you schedule ads, set a specific time frame to display them, or run them indefinitely.

When you’re done, click the ‘Publish’ button.

You can now insert your ads anywhere on your website using the AdSanity widget block or shortcodes.

It is one of the best places to show banner ads on your website sidebar. This increases the visibility of your ads and helps you get more clicks.

Simply go to Appearance » Widgets from the WordPress admin panel. Next, click the ‘+’ button and add the ‘AdSanity Single Ad’ widget block.

Go ahead and click the ‘Update’ button to show ads in your website sidebar or another widget-ready area.

For more details, please see our guide on how to sell ads on your WordPress blog.

How to Hide Ads for Members in WordPress

Next, you can hide your ads for subscribers in WordPress using the AdSanity User Role Ad Visibility addon.

First, you will need to head to AdSanity » Add-Ons from your WordPress admin.

After that, scroll down to the User Role Ad Visibility addon and click the ‘More Info’ button.

You can now subscribe to the addon on the AdSanity website. Simply click the ‘Checkout’ button to purchase the addon.

Next, you can download and install the addon on your website. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once the add-on is active, you can go to AdSanity » Settings from your WordPress dashboard and head to the Licenses tab.

From here, enter the key under the ‘AdSanity User Role Ad Visibility’ headline and click the ‘Activate License’ button.

You can find the license key in your AdSanity account area. When you’re done, don’t forget to click the ‘Save Changes’ button.

Next, you’ll need to switch to the ‘Add-Ons’ tab in AdSanity Settings.

Here, you can hide ads from different user roles on your website.

For instance, let’s select the ‘Subscriber’ role. This way, users who subscribe to a paid membership plan will not see ads on your website.

Once you’re done, click the ‘Save Changes’ button.

Bonus Resources

We are often asked by users about different ways to monetize their WordPress content. Here are some useful resources for diversifying your website’s revenue streams:

• The Ultimate Affiliate Marketing Guide for Beginners
• How to Build Trust and Make Money With Ethical Affiliate Marketing
• Best Blogging Niche – 7 That Will Make Money (Easily)
• How to Raise Money with Crowdfunding in WordPress (2 Easy Ways)

We hope this article helped you learn how to create an ad-free version of your WordPress site for subscribers. You may also want to see our guide on how to start an online store or our expert pick of must-have WordPress plugins for business.

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