Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to common questions about SocietyPress.
General
What is SocietyPress?
SocietyPress is a free, open-source platform built specifically for genealogical and historical societies. It provides membership management, event publishing, surname databases, a page builder, and a visual design system — all in one package.
Who is SocietyPress for?
It's designed for the administrators of local genealogical and historical societies — the volunteers who manage the membership roster, organize monthly meetings, and maintain the society's website. The goal is to make their job easier with tools that actually fit how societies work.
How much does it cost?
Nothing. SocietyPress is completely free. There are no paid tiers, no premium features, no subscriptions. The only cost is your own web hosting, which typically runs $5–15/month on a standard shared plan.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. SocietyPress is designed for non-technical users. Everything from site design to member management happens through point-and-click admin screens. If you can use email and a web browser, you can run SocietyPress.
Can I use SocietyPress for a historical society (not genealogical)?
Absolutely. While the genealogy-specific tools (surname databases, GEDCOM import) are tailored for genealogical societies, the core features — membership management, event publishing, page builder, design system — work for any small membership organization.
Technical
What are the server requirements?
PHP 8.1+, WordPress 6.0+, and MySQL 8.0+ (or MariaDB 10.6+). Any current shared-hosting plan that supports WordPress will work. See the full requirements page for details.
How do I install SocietyPress?
The easiest path is the one-click installer: upload
sp-installer.php to a fresh WordPress site, visit
yoursite.com/sp-installer.php, and it handles the
rest. If you'd rather do it by hand, download the .zip from the
download page,
upload the plugin and each theme folder through your WordPress
admin, activate the plugin first, then your chosen theme. Either
way you'll land on the 3-step setup wizard.
Can I use SocietyPress with my existing WordPress theme?
The SocietyPress plugin and theme are designed to work together. The theme renders pages built with the page builder and responds to the design system settings. Using a different theme means you'd lose those integrations. We recommend using the included theme for the best experience.
How do I migrate my existing member data?
SocietyPress includes a CSV import tool with smart duplicate detection. Export your existing member list as a CSV file, map the columns to SocietyPress fields, and import. The system automatically detects organizational members based on name patterns.
Will SocietyPress slow down my site?
No. The entire download is about 8 MB and there are no external API calls, CDN dependencies, or bloated JavaScript libraries. The theme uses vanilla JS — no jQuery. It's built to be fast on cheap shared hosting.
How are payments handled?
Stripe and PayPal are both supported out of the box for dues, event registrations, and donations. You connect your own Stripe and/or PayPal accounts from the settings panel — no middleman takes a cut, and no payment data ever touches the SocietyPress project. Sandbox mode is supported for testing before you go live.
How is sensitive member data protected?
Sensitive fields (phone numbers, street addresses, dates of birth) are encrypted at rest using XChaCha20-Poly1305 via libsodium — the same modern cipher used by Signal and WireGuard. Every admin page and AJAX endpoint verifies a nonce and capability check. Email addresses on public pages are obfuscated against scraping bots.
Does SocietyPress handle GDPR export and erasure?
Yes. SocietyPress plugs into WordPress's built-in personal-data export and erasure tools. Members, event registrations, library loans, newsletter access, and volunteer records all flow through the standard Tools > Export Personal Data and Tools > Erase Personal Data screens. Donations coverage is on the roadmap.
Can I give different volunteers different levels of access?
Yes. SocietyPress ships with 8 role templates (President, Membership Chair, Events Coordinator, Librarian, Editor, etc.) across 10 access areas. You can assign a template with one click, or toggle individual permissions per person. The Membership Chair can manage members without seeing the donation ledger; the Librarian can run the catalog without touching events.
Can I back up and restore the entire site?
Yes. Settings > Export & Backup produces a single .zip containing a SQL dump of every SocietyPress table, a decrypted member export, and a README. Every byte your society put in comes back out. Your host's backup system handles the WordPress files and database — SocietyPress doesn't replace that, but it does make sure nothing important is trapped in a proprietary format.
Will renewal and event emails actually land in inboxes?
Email deliverability is a WordPress-level concern, not
SocietyPress-specific. For reliable delivery, install a free
SMTP plugin (WP Mail SMTP, FluentSMTP) and point it at a
transactional email service — Amazon SES, Postmark, or
Mailgun all have free tiers that comfortably cover a society's
volume. SocietyPress sends through
wp_mail(), so any SMTP plugin works.
I'm moving from EasyNetSites (ENS). How does migration work?
SocietyPress was designed with ENS societies in mind. Export your members as a CSV from ENS (SocietyPress supports the standard 73-field ENS export format directly), upload it through Members > Import, and the importer maps fields automatically, detects organizational members, and handles duplicates. Events, surname research, and library catalogs all have CSV importers too. See the ENS migration guide for the full walkthrough.
Licensing
What license is SocietyPress released under?
The GNU General Public License v2 (GPL v2). This means you can use, modify, and distribute SocietyPress freely. The full license text is included in the download.
Can I modify SocietyPress for my society's needs?
Yes. The GPL license explicitly allows modification. If you have a developer who wants to customize SocietyPress for your society, they're free to do so. The code is yours to inspect and customize as needed.
Will there ever be a paid version?
No. SocietyPress will always be free. There are no plans for premium tiers, paid add-ons, or "Pro" versions. The project is sustained by voluntary donations from societies that find it useful.
Still have questions?
Reach out through the community or check the documentation for more detailed information.