There are numerous methods, and done properly, they all can work quite well. Some can go together faster than others, with Wedi being one of the faster ones - you can have a bare studwall and subfloor, once the plumbing is set, potentially have it tiled in one day. Hard to do that on other systems where you want a full, tiled shower.
My personal preference is to use a surface waterproofing method rather than a conventional one. Redgard does work, but (this is a personal thing), I find it hard to ensure I get a full coverage at the required thickness without having areas either too thick, or too thin, or a pinhole here and there. Then, you have surface membranes, and there are at least several available to you in the states. I've used and been trained on Kerdi, which I like. You have a choice of either using a preformed pan, or building one with deckmud (cheaper, and easier to ensure it's level and the drain lines up properly), then cover it with the membrane. It is required to use their special drain, but I've found it to be very handy as you can easily adjust the exact placement after the main drain is installed for the grate. And, being square, makes cuts eaiser than a round drain cover.
Then, you have the choice of either a conventional, pitched shower to a central drain, or doing a linear drain. You have more choices for floor tile with a linear drain since you don't have to accommodate multiple slopes - you slope the entire shower pan in one direction to the drain (well, you can do a reverse pitch if the linear drain isn't at the wall).
The key to any of these is the workmanship and following one of the accepted industry practices (check out the TCNA handbook). Check out the videos on the Wedi and Schluter websites. Once you have tile installed and grouted, Wedi's foam boards (and KerdiBoard, if you choose to use it verses their sheet membrane) both are quite stiff.
There are other well regarded paint on waterproofing systems...read a little here on some other threads with search, and you'll get various opinions on them.