Do you want to create a members only store in WooCommerce? If you do, then you have come to the right place. In this article, I will show you how to create WooCommerce members only stores.
As you know, WooCommerce does not offer any features to add WooCommerce members only stores. So, we will use the Restriction Rules plugin to create our private store in WooCommerce. It allows you to hide products based on user groups, categories, tags, or for a specific user. You can create multiple restriction rules to ensure sure only users with the right permission can access them.
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Why You Might Want to Add WooCommerce Members Only Store?
A WooCommerce members-only store is a private store where only registered users can view content and purchase products. You can restrict pages, products, posts, and categories for specific users. There are several benefits of creating WooCommerce members only stores. Adding a separate private store is essential when your store includes products that are only for sale to members. If you want to offer membership plans to your customers, then you might need the members only store. It provides customers with the feeling of belonging to a limited membership while also generating revenue.
How to Create a WooCommerce Members Only Store?
In this section, we will show how you can install the Restriction Rules plugin to your WooCommerce site. There are three different methods to create WooCommerce members only store using the Restriction Rules plugin.
By the end of this article, you will be able to members only store on your WooCommerce store. So, follow all the steps carefully and verify settings with the given images.
Note: You can skip the first two steps if you have already installed and activated the mentioned plugins.
1. Install and Activate Woosuite Core Plugin
First, you have to download the Woosuite core plugin file on your device. After that, you need to upload and install the plugin to your WooCommerce site.
Go to Plugins and click Add New. Then click on the Upload plugin and choose the plugin file. After uploading the plugin, click Install Now.
Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin > Choose File > Install Now
When the plugin is installed successfully, click on Activate Plugin to activate the plugin.
2. Install and Activate Restriction Rules Plugin
After the Woosuite core plugin is activated, there will be a new option “Woosuite” on the WordPress dashboard. On the Woosuite’s Addons page, you can manage your plugins by installing, activating, and deactivating them.
Click on Woosuite and go to the Addons page. Then find the Restriction Rules plugin and click Install Now to install it.
Now, you have to activate the plugin by turning the button to ON as shown below.
3. Force Users to Login
This method forces the users to log in to your site. Whenever the new user visits your site, he/she will be redirected to the login page.
We will go through step-by-step instructions to create WooCommerce members only store. Before getting started, you need to install the plugins on your site.
After the plugin is activated, the new option “Restriction Rules” will be added to the Woosuite panel. You can create different restriction rules on your WooCommerce store from the settings.
Click on Woosuite and go to Restriction Rules. Under the Hide Website/Force Login, you can choose to enable or disable this option.
Redirect to page: The user will be redirected to the selected page when he/she visits the website.
After login redirect to: After the user login, he/she will be redirected to this page.
After configuring all the settings, you need to click Save changes to apply to the site.
Final Result
Now, visit your site as a guest user to verify the applied settings. When we visit our site, we are redirected to the My Account page.
4. Hide Post/Pages
You can hide specific posts and pages using this method. For example, you can hide the store page for particular user roles and create WooCommerce members only store.
Under the Hide Post/Page Rules, you can choose specific users to hide the products.
From the Applies To, you can select the user roles to apply the rule.
- Everyone: The rule will be applied to all users on the site.
- Guests: Only non-registered users will be affected.
- Specific Roles: You can choose specific user roles from the list. For example, administrator, editor, author, contributor, subscriber, customer, and shop manager.
- Specific Users: You can select the individual users by their usernames to apply the rule.
On the Filter By field, you can select the option to filter the posts/pages. After selecting posts/pages, you can choose specific pages and posts to hide from the desired audience.
The Redirect to option can be used to redirect the user to any URL.
For example, applying settings as given below will hide the shop page from the guest users on the website.
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Final Result
As you can see, the shop page is not accessible for guest users.
Instead of showing the page not found, you can display the page that attracts the users to log in to your site. For example, you can show the page that describes the benefits of becoming a member of your website.
Now, when the user tries to visit the Shop page, he/she will be redirected to the specified page.
5. Hide Products
With this option, you can create a rule to hide the products and categories. You can find it just below the Hide Post/Page Rules.
You can filter the products on the basis of categories, tags, and products. You can choose specific categories, tags, and products to hide from certain user roles.
The following image shows how to hide the category “Clothing” from guest users.
After that, click Save changes and verify whether the settings are applied to the site.
Final Result
The clothing category is hidden from the guest user.
6. Password Protected
The following method to create WooCommerce members-only store uses password-protected rules. You can lock the product with the password for specific users.
In the Password field, you can set the password to lock the product for the selected users.
In the Password Expiry Date, you can select when the password should be reset and no longer needed.
The following rule locks the product “Hoodie with Logo” for guest users.
After configuring the settings, click on Save changes and visit the product page to verify the result.
Final Result
As you can see, the product is locked with a password, and guest users can only purchase it after entering the correct password.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I make my WooCommerce store private?
Ans. You can use the Restriction Rules plugin to hide products or pages from guest users and make the WooCommerce store private.
Q. How do I password protect WooCommerce?
Ans. The Restriction Rules plugin allows you to password protect products based on user roles, categories, tags or specific customers. You can also set a password expiration date and short description.
Q. How do I create WooCommerce membership?
Ans. The best way to create WooCommerce membership is by using the plugin. The Restriction Rules plugin offers a simple way to enable WooCommerce membership in a few clicks. You can make restrictions rules for your products to tailor what each user groups see.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed different methods to create WooCommerce members only store using the Restriction Rules plugin. We also showed how you can password protect certain products on the WooCommerce store. Whether you want your entire WooCommerce store to be members only or create a separate public/private store, the Restriction Rules plugin is a wonderful choice.
We hope this article gave you an idea of how to create members only stores on your WooCommerce store. If you have any queries, please let us know in the comment section below.
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