Site Membership Management Software

"How can I allow visitors to pay via credit card to become members and gain access to password-protected sections of my website? What software would enable me to manage member accounts?" -- Maher Moghrabi

Several lower-cost tools can manage site memberships:

SiteInteractive.com Account Manager Pro (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/acctmgrpro.htm), US $149, is a Perl CGI program that installs on a Unix or NT server. It provides automated member signup, automatic addition or deletion to password files, sends a confirmation e-mail, and allows you to search members by username, first name, or last name. The program can use several payment gateways: Authorize.net, PayPal (without the Instant Payment Notification feature), WorldPay, and ECX, and iBill.

Verotel Billing Systems (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/verotel.htm) offers a hosted payment system, manages passwords, and provides and affiliate program for sites that want to sell content. Payment is made on Verotel's site, which contacts a Perl script on your site that add a new member or expires a non-renewing member. There is no start-up fee or monthly minimum and no merchant account is required. Verotel charges 13.5% of the transaction for subscriptions and 15% for recurring billing. Limited to a payment maximum of $75 per transaction.

Mollyguard Access (www.wilsonweb.com/afd/mollyaccess.htm)