Hi everyone! I’m new here, I hope it’s ok to make this post.
I manage an educational resources website that has been haphazardly built over the course of many years. I’m trying to clean it up as cheaply as possible and make sure that I can track well how it’s being used.
We offer some content for free but some downloads are restricted unless you provide information about yourself. Currently, each download has a simple form to fill out with an email and a category (parent, teacher, student) prior to downloading but this creates friction and it’s not a super pleasant user experience. I am seeking a way to easily prompt users to create a free user account so that they can access restricted content.
My hope is that by asking users to create an account, I can create a more seamless experience for the user by not having to provide information prior to each download and also track what they are using on the page and what they are downloading.
I am hoping some of you can provide some plugin (or otherwise) recommendations for me.
Summarized, I need to be able to effectively:
1. Restrict access to certain downloads unless you are logged in to your account
2. Track usage of each page (resrtricted or otherwise) in as much detail as possible without creating more roadblocks for the user
3. Track downloads and what kind of visitor is downloading them (parents, teachers, students)
4. We do not intend to charge users for any of the content, we are merely trying to keep track of how it’s used and create an email database for future communications.
I am looking for simple plugins that are free or inexpensive and that aren’t too difficult to use, as I eventually will have to pass the baton of this page to someone else and they are not terribly tech-savvy. But I am open to evaluating options myself if you can provide some recommendations of tried and true methods.
Happy to answer questions if required!
Thank you so much.