The online community platform for honest exchange among parents
For mal ehrlich AG, we have developed a closed online community platform that offers parents anonymous exchange and expert support. By optimizing the website and WooCommerce store and seamlessly integrating a subscription and paywall solution, we created an interactive platform that builds trust.
Initial situation at “mal ehrlich”
What if you have a parenting issue that’s bothering you – but it’s too sensitive to share with your immediate circle? Maybe it’s about parenting challenges, mental stress or family conflicts that you would like to discuss with other parents or experts, but without revealing your identity.
This is where the mal ehrlich community comes into play – the protected space for honest conversations with parents. On this platform, you can share your concerns anonymously or under your name, initiate discussions and benefit from the experiences of community members and experts.
mal ehrlich was created in 2024 from the well-known parenting platform Any Working Mom. The renaming was accompanied by a reorientation of content towards even more open, honest and relevant topics for parents – without filters and taboos.
After the website and store were launched in June 2024, we took over the platform and developed it further in a targeted manner. Our focus was on designing the community function from scratch and integrating it seamlessly into the existing website. We took the existing design and optimized it for the new requirements. The result is a digital environment that not only gives parents a voice, but also enables interaction and support in a new, smart way.
With features such as anonymous topics, a boost function to amplify topics and the active participation of experts, we have created a platform that focuses on exchange, trust and honesty.
User Centered Design for the online community platform
Identifying the needs: Why a community like mal ehrlich is necessary
A strong community is based on a deep understanding of the users and their needs. Before we started developing the mal ehrlich community, we took a close look at the challenges and expectations of the target group. The focus was on three central needs:
1. anonymity and openness – a safe space for sensitive topics
Parents often face difficult or personal issues that they don’t want to discuss with friends or family. Whether it’s uncertainty in parenting, mental stress or partnership issues – the fear of being judged or stigmatized can lead to such topics remaining unspoken.
User-centered approach:
- We have developed an anonymous submission system that allows parents to share their concerns safely.
- The option of choosing to publish anonymously or to be named gives users control over how they present themselves in the community.
- The editorial review by mal ehrlich ensures high quality content and prevents toxic discussions.
→ An example of the sensitivity of such topics can be seen in articles such as “Conflicts with parents: Help, we’re losing each other!“, which illustrates how important it is to have a space where parents can talk about personal experiences without fear.
2. expert support – knowledge that helps
Parents don’t just want to talk to like-minded people, they also want sound advice from experts. Topics such as parenting, mental health or legal issues can be complex and require professional input.
User-centered approach:
- The community platform offers a direct interface to specialists so that parents can not only exchange experiences but also receive qualified advice.
- Experts from fields such as education, psychology and law take an active part in the discussions.
- Comments from experts are given a visible expert label so that users can immediately recognize which answers come from qualified experts – for more orientation and trust.
This combination of peer-to-peer exchange and professional expertise strengthens trust in the community and makes it a valuable resource for parents.
3. community interaction – the desire for genuine exchange
Parents face similar challenges and benefit from supporting each other. However, many online forums or social media groups are either too superficial, too anonymous or too confusing to encourage truly constructive conversations.
User-centered approach:
- A boost function on the topics gives members an easy way to highlight topics that are particularly relevant to them.
- An intuitive comment and reaction system encourages interaction without making the discussions confusing.
- The closed community provides a protected environment and prevents discussions from degenerating into a public space.
These design decisions help to keep the barriers to participation low and create a trusting, vibrant community where parents empower each other.
Responsive design for the community platform
Thanks to the responsive design, the community platform adapts flexibly to all modern end devices so that users can always enjoy an optimal display and a smooth user experience, regardless of whether they are using a smartphone, tablet or desktop browser.
Technical implementation of the community platform
Takeover & optimization of the existing platform
Before we developed the community, we first took over the existing website and store and carried out a comprehensive analysis to identify optimization potential. With our WordPress expertise, the focus was on improving the performance of the platform.
To do this, we removed unused functions and replaced overloaded or inefficient plugins with lighter, better-performing alternatives. This enabled us to reduce loading times, improve the stability of the platform and create a solid technical basis for the development of the community function.
Technical implementation with WordPress & WooCommerce
The honest community was seamlessly integrated into the existing WordPress website and connected to the existing WooCommerce store. A particular technical challenge was to expand the membership and payment system so that it works smoothly for both the classic e-commerce flow and the community subscriptions.
- Subscription integration: We not only integrated the WooCommerce Memberships & Subscriptions plugins and the Payrexx Gateway, but also extended them. This allowed us to develop a flexible paywall that displays content depending on the login status – for example, for logged-in users or exclusive community members.
- Shopping benefits for community users: Community members can buy or download products from the store at a discount or free of charge. The challenge was to adapt the existing payment system so that the checkout process for both classic store purchases and community subscriptions worked smoothly and in a way that was appropriate for the target group.
- Uniform payment flow: By making adjustments to the WooCommerce ecosystem, we have ensured that the same payment system can be used for the purchase of physical products and the conclusion of a community membership – without unnecessary hurdles for users and additional work for the accounting department .
This sophisticated technical implementation ensures a seamless user experience and an optimal connection between e-commerce and the community platform.
Pay and login wall integration with WordPress
The content displayed adapts dynamically to the respective login status of the user, so that individually tailored information or functions are available depending on the level of authentication.
“With required, we have found a partner who supports us with sound expertise, transparency, and reliability. The collaboration is professional, solution-oriented, and always on equal footing.”
Andrea Jansen
Customer
mal ehrlich AG
Kind
Community, Platform
Industry
Media, Communication
Website
Period
2024 – today
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