This is kind of off-topic but still useful feedback.
I can deal with ads. What I cannot deal with is when content is locked behind a paywall. Unfortunately, IMHO that detracts from wikiHow’s core mission. For the longest time ever, we have not put anything behind paywalls and have only relied on advertising to support the site. Having merch is another way to get support. But hiding information behind a paywall detracts from the goal of providing a free how-to site. I get that we need money to support the site. What does not make sense is having people pay to get CC BY-NC-SA content (unless if that staff content was never freely licensed to begin with). If you really want people to contribute more, a better alternative would be to have a donation banner on the front page in a similar manner WMF has done. At least worth experimenting with that.
