--- title: "Directing non-members to sign up" url: "https://zendra.com/docs/directing-non-members-to-sign-up/" description: "Zendra auto-builds a Memberships collection and sends every join call to action there by default. Point your own “Join” links at it too, and change the destination if you build a landing page." published: "2026-07-13T17:44:57+00:00" modified: "2026-09-16T19:32:08+00:00" --- Zendra automatically builds and maintains a **Memberships** collection in Shopify that groups every product that grants membership access, and it uses that collection as the default destination for every join call to action it shows: the prompt on a content teaser, and the sign-up button a customer sees when their account has no memberships yet. It’s also the right place to point your own “Join” links. If you build a dedicated landing page instead, you can change the destination from your General settings. ## When you’d use this - You want your membership access-granting products grouped in one collection without maintaining it by hand. - You’re adding a “Join” or “Become a member” link to your navigation and want to know where it should go. - You want to control where non-members land when they click a join prompt on gated content or in their account. ## How it works ### The auto-built Memberships collection When you install Zendra, it creates a smart collection named **Memberships** in Shopify and keeps it up to date. The collection automatically includes any product Zendra recognizes as a membership access-granting product, so as you add or change membership products, the collection stays current with no manual upkeep. You can rename the collection in Shopify if you like. Zendra tracks it internally, so renaming it won’t break the connection. ### Where the join call to action appears Zendra shows a join prompt to non-members in two places, and both send them to the Memberships collection by default: - **Content teasers.** When a non-member opens gated content, the teaser ends with a message inviting them to become a member. See [Member content protection](/docs/member-content-protection/). - **The member portal’s empty state.** When a customer opens the memberships area of their Shopify account and has no membership yet, Zendra shows a sign-up button instead of membership cards. Landing on the collection means a visitor sees the products that would unlock what they were just looking at, rather than a generic page, which is why it’s the default. ### Where to point your own “Join” link **Keep the default, and point navigation links at the same place.** A “Join” or “Membership” item in your store’s menu should link to the **Memberships** collection or straight to your membership product page. Both take a shopper to something they can buy. The **member portal** is where an existing member manages a membership: billing, perks, cancellation. It’s not a sign-up page, and it doesn’t belong behind a “Join” link. It’s an easy mix-up to make, because the portal *does* contain a sign-up button, but only as a fallback for customers who arrive without a membership. If you link “Join” to the portal and test it yourself, you’ll land on your own “you don’t have a membership yet” screen. Nothing is broken; the link is one step short of the product. Once it points at the collection or the product page instead, that screen goes away. ### Change the sign-up destination If you’ve built a membership landing page and want Zendra’s join call to action to send people there instead of the collection: 1. Go to **Settings » General**. 2. Find the **Sign-up link destination** field. 3. Enter a full URL (for example `https://yourstore.com/pages/join`) or a store-relative path (for example `/pages/join`). Leave it blank to use the automatically built Memberships collection. 4. Save your settings. Make sure the page you point to links on to the membership product or the Memberships collection, so the path to buying stays short. ## Permissions This feature uses additional Shopify permissions so Zendra can publish and maintain the Memberships collection on your storefront. After updating, you may be prompted to re-grant permissions to Zendra in Shopify. Approving keeps the collection building and publishing correctly; if you decline, the Memberships collection may not appear or stay current. ## Common issues - **My “Join” link shows “you don’t have a membership yet.”** The link points at the member portal, which is the management area for existing members. Point it at the **Memberships** collection or the membership product page instead. The portal’s sign-up button will still work for customers who land there on their own. - **The Memberships collection is empty or missing.** Make sure you have at least one membership product, and that you’ve approved the permission re-grant prompt if you saw one. The collection includes products Zendra marks as membership products. - **The sign-up button goes to the wrong place.** Check the **Sign-up link destination** field in **Settings » General**. Leave it blank to fall back to the Memberships collection. - **There’s no sign-up button at all.** The call to action doesn’t appear for stores that grant membership on sign-up rather than by purchase, since there’s nothing for the customer to buy. ## Keep learning - [Purchasing a membership](/docs/purchasing-a-membership/) — how customers join. - [Member content protection](/docs/member-content-protection/) — teasers and the join prompt on gated content. - [The member portal](/docs/the-member-portal/) — what members see and manage in their account.