Connecting Peers, People &
Experiences

Membership management platforms help organizations track members, manage tiered benefits, automate renewals, and engage audiences through events and campaigns. NextWave is an all-in-one membership management platform built as a WordPress plugin that goes beyond traditional member tracking. It combines member profiles, tiered memberships, digital wallet passes, QR campaigns, live event engagement tools, venue check-ins, and guest feedback into a single self-hosted solution — giving organizations full ownership of their data while eliminating the need to stitch together multiple disconnected tools. Install the free plan to see the full platform in action.

NextWave requires WordPress 6.0 or higher and PHP 8.0 or higher — the same baseline as most modern WordPress plugins. It runs on any standard WordPress hosting provider including shared hosting, VPS, and managed WordPress hosts. The plugin creates its own database tables automatically on activation, so there is no manual database setup, no migration scripts, and no DevOps overhead. If your site runs WordPress, you can run NextWave.

Installing NextWave follows the standard WordPress plugin workflow: upload through the admin dashboard or add from the plugin directory. On activation, all database tables are created automatically. Configuration takes three steps: set up your membership tiers and benefits, add your venues, and connect your payment and email integrations. The entire process works through the WordPress admin interface with no coding required. Start with the free plan to explore the full platform before upgrading.

Yes. NextWave offers a permanent free plan with no credit card required. The free plan includes up to 100 members, 3 membership tiers, benefit tracking with usage limits, 1 venue, the full admin dashboard, and REST API access. This gives organizations a complete working membership system to evaluate before considering paid features like digital wallet passes, QR campaigns, and live engagement tools. Install the free plan and start building your membership program today.

Membership management encompasses the full lifecycle of a member’s relationship with an organization — from initial signup through renewals, benefit tracking, and ongoing engagement. NextWave handles this entire lifecycle: member profiles with custom fields, tiered memberships with configurable durations including lifetime options, benefit definitions with period-based usage limits (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or lifetime), automatic expiration tracking, and renewal reminders. Administrators manage everything through a centralized WordPress dashboard with sortable list tables, search, filters, and bulk actions.

Digital wallet passes let members carry their membership credentials on their phone through Apple Wallet or Google Wallet — no separate app download required. NextWave generates these passes automatically for each member, displaying their name, tier, and membership details. When a membership status changes — renewal, upgrade, downgrade, or revocation — the pass updates in real time on the member’s device. This eliminates physical membership cards and ensures members always have current, verifiable proof of membership at their fingertips.

QR campaigns turn a simple scan into a data-rich interaction. Organizations print or display a QR code, and when scanned, guests land on a branded mobile page tailored to a specific goal. NextWave supports three campaign types: Membership Signup campaigns for member acquisition where each scan leads to a branded signup form, Fishbowl Drawing campaigns where every scan enters a prize giveaway, and Ratings and Feedback campaigns for collecting instant guest sentiment with star ratings. Each campaign generates its own branded landing page, unique trackable QR code, and real-time scan analytics.

Explore QR campaigns→

Live experience blocks are interactive tools that turn passive audiences into active participants during events. Hosts and emcees control them from a fullscreen controller while the audience sees animated visuals on the big screen and participates from their phones. NextWave includes three experience blocks: Opportunity Drawing with four animated drawing modes where names cycle on screen before a winner is revealed with confetti, Celebration Set for recognizing birthdays and milestones, and Would You Rather for real-time audience voting where every phone becomes a voting button and results race across the screen live. Try the interactive demos on the experiences page to see exactly what your audience will experience.

Try the interactive demos→

Venue check-ins give organizations a real-time record of who is present and when. Members check in by scanning a QR code, tapping an NFC card, or using the companion app. NextWave logs each check-in with a timestamp and uses that data three ways: building drawing pools for live prize drawings so only present members are eligible, generating attendance analytics to track visit patterns across time and locations, and verifying benefit redemption eligibility tied to venue presence. Multi-venue organizations can compare attendance across all their locations from a single dashboard.

Membership tiers let organizations segment their members by level — for example, Bronze, Silver, and Gold — each with its own pricing, duration, and set of benefits. NextWave supports unlimited tiers on paid plans and 3 tiers on the free plan. Each tier can have its own name, price, duration (set in months or configured as a lifetime membership with no expiration), display color, and set of assigned benefits with independent usage limits. Tiers are reorderable by display priority, and each tier automatically calculates a monthly price equivalent so administrators and members can easily compare value across levels.

NextWave offers four pricing tiers to match organizations of different sizes. The Free plan includes up to 100 members, 3 tiers, and 1 venue. Surf at $99 per month unlocks unlimited members and tiers, 5 venues, digital wallet passes, QR campaigns, live engagement tools, and email marketing integrations. Pipeline at $299 per month adds 25 venues, Stripe payment webhooks, the companion mobile app, white-label branding, full REST API access, and priority support. Custom pricing is available for large organizations needing 50 or more venues, dedicated onboarding, custom integrations, and SLA support. Every organization can start free and upgrade when ready.

Yes. Paid plans include a free trial period so organizations can evaluate the full feature set with their real data before committing. The free plan is also available permanently with no credit card required — install NextWave, create your membership tiers, add members, and see how the platform works for your organization. When you’re ready for advanced features like digital wallets, QR campaigns, or live engagement tools, upgrade and try them with a free trial.

Yes. Organizations can upgrade or downgrade their NextWave plan at any time. Membership data, tier configurations, campaign history, check-in records, and all other data are preserved across plan changes. If you downgrade, features exclusive to higher tiers become inactive but your data remains intact in your database — everything reactivates immediately if you upgrade again later.

Payment processor integration automates the connection between financial transactions and membership status — when a member pays, their membership should update without manual intervention. NextWave integrates with Stripe through webhook listeners that automatically update the member’s status, tier assignment, and expiration date when a payment is confirmed. Payment events are logged for financial reconciliation. This works for both monthly subscriptions and one-time donations, eliminating the administrative burden of manually updating memberships after each transaction.

Explore payment integrations→

Email marketing integration keeps your membership database and email lists in sync automatically, so your segments always reflect current membership data without manual list management. NextWave integrates with Mailchimp, HubSpot, and Constant Contact out of the box. When members are created, updated, change tiers, or change status, their information syncs to your email platform with opt-in and opt-out tracking built in. The pluggable adapter architecture also makes it straightforward for developers to add support for additional email providers.

Explore email integrations→

Yes. Digital wallet integration lets members carry their membership credentials natively in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet — the same apps they use for boarding passes and payment cards. NextWave generates standard wallet passes for every member, displaying their name, tier level, and key membership details. When membership status changes — renewal, upgrade, downgrade, or revocation — the pass updates automatically on the member’s device. Members never need to download a separate app or check a website to verify their current status.

Yes. A REST API allows external applications, custom dashboards, mobile apps, and third-party services to interact with your membership data programmatically. NextWave exposes a full REST API under the WordPress REST namespace (nwp/v1) supporting CRUD operations for members, tiers, benefits, venues, redemptions, and campaigns. The API uses WordPress’s built-in authentication and capability system for access control. Available on Pipeline and Custom plans, the API enables developers to build custom member portals, kiosk check-in screens, reporting dashboards, and integrations with any system that can make HTTP requests.

You own your membership data completely. NextWave is a self-hosted WordPress plugin, which means all data lives in your own database on your own server. NextWave never transmits member data to external servers and has no access to your database outside your WordPress installation. You have full export capability, direct database access, and your data persists independently of the plugin. This is fundamentally different from SaaS membership platforms where the vendor hosts — and ultimately controls — your data.

NextWave follows WordPress security best practices throughout its codebase: all database queries use parameterized statements through WordPress’s $wpdb abstraction to prevent SQL injection, all output is escaped to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS), all form submissions validate WordPress nonces for CSRF protection, and the REST API enforces WordPress’s built-in authentication and capability system for access control. Since NextWave runs on your own server, your overall security posture also depends on your hosting environment, SSL configuration, and WordPress maintenance practices.

Yes. All NextWave data — membership records, campaign analytics, check-in history, redemption logs, and configuration — can be exported at any time. Because data resides in standard WordPress database tables on your server, you also have direct SQL access for custom exports, business intelligence reporting, or migration to other systems. Your data is never trapped in a proprietary format or behind an API paywall.

White-labeling means removing all vendor branding so the platform appears to be your own proprietary system. On Pipeline and Custom plans, NextWave operates as a fully white-label platform. Your members see your brand name, your colors, and your domain across every touchpoint — campaign landing pages, digital wallet passes, the companion app, QR code pages, and email integrations. NextWave runs entirely in the background. Your members never see the NextWave name.

Yes. Every QR campaign in NextWave generates its own mobile-optimized branded landing page. These pages are designed for speed and conversion — a guest can complete a membership signup, enter a drawing, or submit a star rating in under 10 seconds. The landing pages reflect your organization’s branding and are served from your own domain. Each campaign type (signup, drawing, feedback) has a purpose-built layout optimized for its specific conversion goal.

Explore QR campaigns→

Nightlife venues and entertainment businesses face unique membership challenges: fast-paced environments, high-energy events, and the need to recognize VIPs at the door instantly. NextWave addresses these with VIP membership programs using NFC card tap-to-check-in or QR code scanning at the door, live prize drawings with animated fullscreen visuals during events, real-time Would You Rather audience voting from every phone in the room, and instant guest feedback collection via QR table tents. The host controller is purpose-built for big screens in loud, dark venues.

NextWave for nightlife venues→

Nonprofit organizations manage complex donor relationships with multiple giving levels, benefit fulfillment obligations, and event engagement needs. NextWave helps nonprofits organize donor tiers (such as Friend, Patron, and Benefactor levels), track benefit delivery for each giving level, run prize drawings at fundraising galas and events, collect event feedback through QR campaigns, and automate membership status updates when donations are processed through Stripe webhooks. The self-hosted model also means donor data stays under the organization’s direct control.

NextWave for nonprofits→

Customer loyalty programs drive repeat business by rewarding members for ongoing engagement. NextWave enables businesses to create tiered loyalty programs with defined rewards at each level, issue digital wallet passes so customers always have their membership on their phone, send automated renewal reminders before memberships lapse, run QR-based feedback campaigns to monitor service quality, and use live engagement tools at networking events and customer appreciation occasions.

NextWave for business→