Hello. I have a squarespace website, with paid members, and I know SSO isn’t an option, but I want to create a discourse forum linked to my website that has a public facing area and also a private members area. I have the layout mapped out, I just need some help getting it all set up. I also need some guidance on how to best give paid squarespace members access to the paid member discourse forum (and maintain the expiration of those whose squarespace membership has expired). I would like the discourse forum to be close visually to the look of the squarespace page also. Please let me know how much you would charge and what the turnaround time would be. I can provide more detail later. TIA!
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Hi there. Are you using the Enterprise plan on Squarespace and have access to their admin settings?
You cannot use Discourse as an OpenID Connect provider for Squarespace because it is locked to Okta. However, it is probably possible to use API/webhooks to sync paid users into the private group.
The only caveat here is that you will be locked into Discourse email code sign-ups, and profile changes cannot be synced like in open-source blogging alternatives.
Have you considered migrating from Squarespace to another platform, or is this something you don’t consider at the moment?
I might be able to help. I’ll send a pm
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No, we aren’t Enterprise users. We are too small currently for that. Hopefully in time, we grow to that, but for now it’s cost prohibitive. You are also talking above my tech level for most of your response. We are locked into squarespace so migrating isn’t an option.
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Fair, sorry for wrongly assuming you would understand what I described. I inferred it from what you mentioned in your post, although they are different implementation paths.
In simpler terms, Squarespace would complicate things a bit, but it can be structured so that user friction will be minimal.
There are many Meta experts around; if for any reason you don’t connect with them, you can message me. I can help you with this.
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Thank you! I have enough knowledge to be a danger to myself and an annoyance to those with more skills. 
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Hi thanks for explaining this.
Yes, I understand that the goal is to keep Squarespace and use Discourse for the community, with paid users being synced into a private Discourse group through APIs/webhooks.
I’m also aware of the limitations around the Squarespace/Okta setup and Discourse email code sign-ups. At this stage, I’d prefer to explore the API/webhook approach first rather than migrating away from Squarespace, especially if Discourse is the platform you want to use.
If you can share the current Squarespace setup and how the paid users are being managed, I can take a closer look at how we could structure the sync.
I saw you prefer to explore the API/webhook approach while keeping Squarespace. Before estimating, could you confirm which Squarespace paid-membership product you use, whether you already have Discourse hosting, and what should happen to access at expiry? I would first verify what membership and expiry data is available; I cannot promise automatic syncing until that is checked. With those details and your mapped layout, I can assess a fixed scope and turnaround.
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We have core membership on squarespace. I created a free tier discourse for right now. When the membership expires, they should drop down from access to the private forum access to only the public forum access. We are small enough (~50 members) that I might just need to manually admin the membership tiers to start with, and then revisit once we have grown to the point that it is too much to maintain manually. I mostly want help getting the forum set up to match the layout I have mapped out and creating a form template on the paid side for members to sell items in a consistent format.
Thanks—that makes the initial scope clearer: your mapped layout, a consistent selling-post template, and manual membership access changes for now. I also misread another participant’s API/webhook suggestion as your preference earlier; thanks for clarifying.
One plan detail matters before estimating: if you mean Discourse’s hosted Free plan, it does not support additional private categories for a paid-members section (official clarification). Are you on that plan, a free trial, or a self-hosted installation?
Could you share your category/layout map, with any member details removed, and the fields a selling post needs? Should those fields be required before posting, or is an editable prefilled template enough? With those details I can assess a viable scope, price and turnaround without assuming an upgrade or automatic membership syncing.
Hi! I can help set up your Discourse forum with public and private member areas and customize its appearance to match your Squarespace website.
I’d first need to check your membership setup to determine how paid access and expiration can be synced reliably. Could you share your website URL, planned forum layout, and whether Discourse is already hosted?
Once I’ve reviewed those details, I can give you a fixed quote and turnaround time. My hourly rate is $25 if you prefer that arrangement.
Portfolio: https://portfolio.isyntaxo.com/
Hi @GGBoA_Admin I can help with this. Sending you a PM to discuss the details.
Hi, I’m interested in helping with the category layout and sales-post template. My own web project is https://vartahelp.com.
Is your forum on Discourse’s hosted Free plan, a trial, or your own server? Hosted Free can’t add private categories, so I’d check that before quoting. I’m happy to keep membership changes manual and work through messages.
Hi, I’m Romain from Elegy Studio. We can help set up your categories and selling-post template, keeping membership changes manual as you suggested. We could agree on a fixed price for this initial setup. Which Discourse plan are you using? That affects what we can do with private categories.