To create a members-only WooCommerce store, install WooCommerce Memberships, decide how customers receive access, create a membership plan tied to a normal WooCommerce product (or to registration/manual assignment), and add rules for the content and products members can use. Add WooCommerce Subscriptions only if access must renew automatically on a recurring schedule.
Choose the access model before configuring anything
Your access model determines the product, plan duration, and checkout experience.
| Decision | Option | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| How access is granted | Product purchase | Customers pay for a regular WooCommerce product; membership starts after the qualifying order is paid. |
| How access is granted | Registration or manual assignment | Registration can provide free access, while an administrator can assign membership to selected accounts. |
| Membership term | Unlimited or fixed duration | Access can remain active indefinitely or expire after a specified period. |
| Membership term | Recurring billing | Automatic renewals require WooCommerce Subscriptions integrated with Memberships. |
| Product behavior | Restrict viewing | Non-members cannot access the product page and cannot purchase the product. |
| Product behavior | Restrict purchase only | The product page remains visible, but only eligible members can buy it. |
WooCommerce Memberships manages the rules; it is not a separate WooCommerce product type. The access-granting item is an ordinary WooCommerce product.
Install and activate WooCommerce Memberships
- Purchase or download the WooCommerce Memberships extension.
- In WordPress, open Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin, upload the Memberships ZIP file, then install and activate it.
- Open the Memberships settings under WooCommerce and confirm the extension is enabled.
Have the pages, posts, products, or other content you intend to protect already created so you can select them when building rules.
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Create the membership plan
- Go to WooCommerce > Memberships > Membership Plans and select Add Membership Plan.
- Give the plan a clear name, such as “Premium Library” or “Wholesale Members.”
- Choose the access method: a qualifying product purchase, customer registration, or administrator assignment.
- If access is purchased, select the regular WooCommerce product or products that grant the plan.
- Set the membership length to unlimited, a specified duration, or fixed start and end dates.
- Save the plan.
For a paid plan, membership is created when the qualifying order reaches its paid state. If you need automatic renewal rather than a one-time term, connect the plan to a subscription product through WooCommerce Subscriptions.
Restrict pages, posts, and other content
Open the plan’s Restrict Content section and add rules for the material members should receive.
Choose what to protect
- Individual pages or posts
- Custom post types
- Taxonomies such as categories or tags
- All content of a selected type
Release content immediately or later
Set a rule to grant access as soon as membership begins, or add a delay. Delayed rules provide content dripping—for example, releasing lesson two seven days after enrollment.
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Anything without an applicable restriction rule remains public. A rule normally applies to the whole post or page. To protect only part of a page, use Memberships shortcodes around the member-only section and leave the surrounding introduction public.
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Set product restrictions separately
Product access is configured independently from page and post access.
- Restrict viewing: hides the product from non-members and prevents them from purchasing it.
- Restrict purchase: leaves the product page visible but blocks checkout for non-members.
Product rules can also be delayed, allowing a member to see or buy an item only after a specified period. Use purchase-only restrictions when public visitors should discover the product, and viewing restrictions when the product itself should be part of the private catalog.
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Configure benefits and member messaging
Discounts and member area
A plan can include product discounts. The member area can show a member’s entitled content, eligible products, discounts, and plan notes, giving customers a central place to find their benefits.
Explain blocked content
Customize the restricted-content notice so visitors understand what is unavailable, which membership is required, and where to log in or join. Clear messaging is especially important when products remain visible but purchasing is restricted.
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Decide what non-members see
Memberships provides several restriction behaviors. Choose the one that matches your visibility and search goals.
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- Hide completely: the protected content is inaccessible and direct visits return a 404 response.
- Hide content only: the page or product context can remain visible while the protected body is withheld.
- Redirect to a page: visitors are sent to an explanatory page, such as a membership or login page.
You can also remove restricted products from the shop catalog. Excerpts may be displayed with “Hide content only” or “Redirect to page”; this can expose a summary for visitors and search engines, but it does not make the protected full content indexable. Configure excerpts deliberately rather than assuming search engines can read the private material.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Protect downloadable files correctly
Restricting a page does not by itself secure a file URL that someone shares directly. Memberships does not specifically control ordinary direct download URLs.
For a protected download, add the file to a free WooCommerce downloadable product and restrict that product. If the membership uses recurring subscriptions, use the Subscription Downloads approach supported by the WooCommerce integration. This makes access depend on the customer’s eligible product or subscription rather than on obscuring a file link.
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Add recurring membership billing only when needed
Memberships alone handles access periods and expiration; it does not turn a plan into an automatically renewing charge. Install and configure WooCommerce Subscriptions when you need weekly, monthly, annual, or other recurring payments. Then use the subscription product as the qualifying purchase for the membership plan, and test how cancellation, expiration, and renewal affect access.
Pre-launch checks
- Create a test member account and confirm the qualifying order grants the plan after payment.
- Check an expired or non-member account against every protected page and product.
- Verify whether each product should be hidden or merely non-purchasable.
- Test delayed rules with the intended time zone and delay interval.
- Review the member area, discounts, notices, login links, and redirect destination.
- Try a direct downloadable-file URL and confirm that your product or subscription protection—not page restriction alone—controls access.
- If using Subscriptions, test a renewal, failed payment, cancellation, and expiration path.
Important integration details
Restriction behavior can also affect RSS output and integrations such as LearnDash course access. The result depends on the selected restriction mode and the integration’s configuration, so verify those combinations rather than assuming every protected item behaves identically.
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