My Account Pages
Whether your membership takes a one time payment or requires a monthly subscription, the ‘My Account page’ is where you should provide your members with the ability to view and update their personal information in regards to their membership.
The “My Account” page is the one area of your website where you don’t want to be creative. Keep it simple so that members can easily fill out their personal information and spend their time focusing on the content you have created. With that in mind, here are the fundamental features you want to include on the “My Account” page:
Update Password
Generally, you will have a temporary password generated for the user when they first sign up for their membership. You should link new members to the ‘My Account’ page when they first login so that they can set their own password.
Update Email Address
This new email address will be one linked to their membership and they will need to use this email to login.
Update Personal Information
This can vary depending on the information you require for your membership site, but typically includes information in regards to the member’s full name and address.
Monthly Memberships/Subscriptions
If your site offers a monthly membership/subscription, you should also include these features for your members:
Update/Add Credit Card
You should provide two different options here, one that will allow your members to update the existing credit card that is on file and one that will allow them to add a new credit card.
View Past Invoices
A place to allow your members to view their past invoices for the membership/subscription. They should be able to see both paid and unpaid invoices.
View Subscriptions/Cancel
This allows your members to see the type of membership they have, when they joined and the next billing date. You can also include a cancel membership/subscription button in this section.
My Account Page Designs
Below are two designs that are most often used for member account pages. One makes use of anchor links, and the other uses tabs. Regardless of which one you choose for your site, remember to keep all text/buttons on-brand and to test every feature you provide. Click on the external link icon in the bottom right corner of the image to preview a working version of the page in a separate tab.
Using Anchor Links
When using anchor links for the ‘My Account’ page, all personal information related to the user’s membership is displayed on a single page. The anchor links, usually placed at the top of the page, allow members to quickly jump to the section they want to edit.
As you can see in the preview image on the left. The purple buttons at the top are the anchor links and they are named after the various sections of the “My Account” page. Click on the external link to try out the anchor links yourself.
Using Tabs
This is the design we currently use for our client sites. It provides a clean and simple interface for your members to update their personal information on a single page.
Clicking the tabs on the left will display the appropriate section for users to edit. Click on the external link to check out the tabs for yourself.
FAQ
Q: Should I give members the ability to cancel their membership directly on the site?
A: It is good business practice to make it easy for people to cancel their membership/subscription. However, you should have a good follow up and consider using a win-back campaign to get them to rejoin in the future.
Q: What is the back charge function for credit cards and should I use it?
A: Turning back charge on will automatically charge the updated/new credit card with any outstanding amounts owing on the member’s account. If you are on the fence about using back charge, you can always leave it off and send the member a message that they will be charged for unpaid fees at a later date.
Q: How can I make the My Account page experience even better/more personalized for my members?
A: Considering making use of the autofill feature so that fields are automatically populated with member information that is already on file. You can also provide additional ways for members’ to customize their profile, such as allowing them to add a profile picture or creating a user/display name.