How to Restrict WordPress Content to Registered Users Only?
Most of the news portal or information site have a content restriction that gives out specific access to paid users and restrict contents to free users. This is what Content Restriction means. You can either pay a monthly or one-time subscription fee or stick to the free contents.
Also read: Restrict Content Pro WordPress Plugin Review
The courses they offer have specific lessons or introductory classes available for free, but if you want to access the full course, you have to pay a one-time amount. If you want some content on your WordPress, site to be restricted to paid users, you can do that. This tutorial aims to provide you with a way to restrict WordPress content to registered users in WordPress.
How to Restrict WordPress Content to Registered Users Only?
To achieve this, we will be using Restrict Content Pro, which is a paid plugin for WordPress. There is also a free version available that you can use before deciding to buy the paid version. So, before we begin, let’s talk about why we chose this particular plugin.
Why Use Restrict Content Pro?
- Lightweight.
- Has everything you need for a basic content restriction.
- Option to automatically renew memberships or let users choose manually.
- Easily add a sign-up fee.
- Option for discount coupons.
- Can also create a trial or free membership.
- Add-ons that include Restrict Past Content, Restriction Timeclock, Restriction.
- Timeout, Site Creation and Group Accounts. You can see the full list of add-ons here.
- Easy to set up.
- Easy for developers to work with.
- Payment integration.
- Different payment options to suit your need, etc.
Setup Restrict Content Pro
Before you begin, you must download and install Restrict Content Pro. The installation process is automated, so you do not have to do much. Just sit back and wait for it to install. After its done, you will see Restrict Content Pro label in your WordPress dashboard.
Now, we need to create three pages – login form, register form, and subscription details. Let’s get started.
Go to Pages -> Add New and enter right shortcode for each of the pages. Below is what you should use for each page;
- [login_form] for Login Page
- [register_form] for Registration Page
- [subscription_details] for Subscription Page
Publish each of the pages with the proper shortcode. Repeat Pages -> Add New until you create each of the pages.
After the user signs up, they will be redirected to any page on your site that can act as a confirmation page. This page should thank the user or something similar. You do not need any shortcode for creating a confirmation page. It is just there for assurance and acknowledging purpose.
After that has been done, you need a final page where the user can see their plan and account details. For these, repeat the Pages -> Add New step and use [subscription_details] for the shortcode.
Now that you have all the pages that are needed, it is time to configure Restrict Content Pro plugin.
Go to Restrict -> Settings to access the settings page. There you will see License Key, Registration Page, Success Page, Account Page, Edit Profile Page, Update Billing Card Page and Auto-Renew options.
License Key is needed for updates and support. All the options with “Page” text a the end are where you provide the important pages.
Now, click on the Payment tab to set up the payment options and gateway. You also need to select the preferred currency and choose one or more payment gateways. We recommend you to check Sandbox Mode until you are ready to launch the subscription option.
The different gateway options you selected will have different settings. You need to provide the necessary information and need API keys. API key can be easily obtained from each of the gateways accounts. You need to login to your account on each of them.
The Emails tab lets you configure the emails that are sent out by the plugin. The last tab is the Misc. tab that contains settings for configuring reCaptcha, login page redirection, account sharing, etc. Make sure you check each of them out. Now that everything has been set up, you are ready to add subscription levels.
Create Levels of Subscription to Restrict Content Pro
Here, you can create subscriptions levels and set a certain price for each of them. You can later choose these levels when restricting content on your WordPress website.
All you have to do to create a level is set a name of the scale, provide a description and set a certain price. For example, if you want to create a level for the paid user, you can create a level named Premium and set a reasonable price. For free users, you can leave the price field blank. Similarly, you can also set the duration for the subscription. For free users, set the length to 0.
And finally, set the Status to active to make the plan active and make it available on the registration form. Now we will look into restricting content using Restrict Content Pro.
Restrict Content to Registered Users in WordPress
Using this plugin, you can restrict each of the posts. You will have an option to restrict each of the new post or page.
You can restrict the content by selecting the proper option. You can even restrict part of the content to paid users with the shortcode mentioned below;
[restrict] restricted content [/restrict]
Discount Coupons using Restrict Content Pro
If you choose to offer discount codes to promote your WordPress site, you can do that too easily with Restrict Content Pro. This will help your site get more registered users.
Adding a Discount Coupon code can be done through Restrict -> Discount Codes. There, you will find some fields to fill. You need to set a name for the discount, add a description, enter a code, set the type of discount, set an amount, select subscription and add an expiration date.
So this is everything you need to know about Restrict Content Pro and how to restrict content to registered users in WordPress using this plugin. There are other alternatives if you do not prefer to Restrict Content Pro. You can use user plugins such as MemberPress or Private Content too. However, the configuration process may vary.
