AutomatorWP – Restrict Content

AutomatorWP РRestrict Content is a WordPress plugin designed to control who sees your content and under which conditions. Built to work seamlessly with AutomatorWP automation recipes, it enables site owners to create dynamic, rule-based content gating that unlocks or hides posts, pages, custom post types, widgets, menus, and even specific blocks within the block editor. Its primary purpose is to connect user behavior, events, or external triggers with content accessibility—so you can automatically grant access when a user completes a course, purchases a product, signs up for a mailing list, or performs any action that AutomatorWP can detect. The plugin provides a flexible, extensible approach to content restriction that integrates with popular membership, e-learning, e-commerce, and community plugins, while keeping content control manageable for administrators and editors.

Features

• Granular content restriction controls

  The plugin allows you to restrict access at multiple levels: individual posts or pages, entire custom post types, categories, tags, specific Gutenberg blocks, shortcodes, widgets, and navigation menu items. You can apply rules per item or use bulk rules to protect many items at once. This granularity enables precise content strategies such as partial content teasers, full gating, or selective element hiding for different user groups.

• Trigger-based unlocking via AutomatorWP recipes

  Unlike static restriction plugins that rely only on roles or membership levels, AutomatorWP – Restrict Content leverages AutomatorWP recipes to unlock content dynamically. Conditions such as completing a lesson, purchasing a product, passing a quiz, clicking a link, or even third-party events (Zapier, Slack, email providers) can trigger access. This allows you to create automated flows: when a user completes a defined action, the plugin automatically removes the restriction for that user.

• Multiple restriction methods

  Choose how restricted content behaves: show an excerpt or teaser with a custom call-to-action, display a fully hidden page with a custom message, or redirect unauthorized users to a login, registration, or sales page. You can customize the replacement content per rule, including HTML, shortcodes, or dynamic placeholders that can display user-specific information.

• Integration with membership and e-learning plugins

  The plugin is built to cooperate with major WordPress ecosystems. It supports integrations with WooCommerce, LearnDash, LifterLMS, TutorLMS, MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, BuddyPress, bbPress, and many other plugins commonly used for memberships, courses, and communities. This ensures content protection is compatible with your existing subscriptions, course enrollments, and user groups.

• Conditional visibility and logic

  Set complex conditions combining user roles, AutomatorWP triggers, user metadata, and custom fields (ACF, Pods, MetaBox). You can require multiple conditions to be met (AND logic) or allow any one of several conditions (OR logic), enabling finely tuned access rules like “user must be a customer and have completed onboarding” or “user must have completed a specific quiz or purchased a product.”

• Drip content and scheduled access

  Support for scheduled or delayed access—open content immediately after registration, after X days, or on a fixed date. This is ideal for course drip schedules, time-limited promotions, or staged content releases tied to user milestones managed by AutomatorWP recipes.

• Shortcodes, Gutenberg block, and page builder compatibility

  Restrict segments of content using an intuitive Gutenberg block or a shortcode that wraps content you want to protect. The plugin also integrates with popular page builders (Elementor, Divi, Beaver Builder) through shortcodes or dedicated compatibility modules, allowing designers to visually control what non-authorized users see within complex layouts.

• Custom messages, CTAs and fallback behavior

  Customize what non-authorized users see: informative messages, subscription prompts, login forms, or external links. You can include CTAs, countdown timers, or recommended next steps. The plugin supports redirecting unauthorized users to a custom URL, displaying a modal, or presenting a lightbox with registration/purchase options.

• User-level exceptions and administrator overrides

  Create exceptions for administrators, content editors, or specific user IDs. This is handy for previewing gated content, QA testing, or giving early access to beta testers or VIP members without altering the main rule set.

• REST API and developer-friendly hooks

  Expose restriction status and controls through the WordPress REST API and offer developer hooks and filters for advanced integrations. This enables custom front-end behavior, headless setups, or integrations with external systems that need to check or modify content access programmatically.

• Compatibility with caching and performance optimizations

  The plugin includes recommendations and compatibility layers to work alongside common caching plugins and CDNs. It supports AJAX-based checks when necessary to avoid serving cached restricted content to unauthorized users and offers guidance to implement fragment caching and other performance-friendly techniques.

• Multisite and translation-ready

  Works on WordPress multisite networks and is translation-ready (supports WPML, Polylang, and standard gettext localization). You can manage restrictions per site or network-wide depending on your configuration, and translate your custom messages and CTAs into multiple languages.

• Logging, reporting and audit trails

  Keep a record of unlock events and restriction changes so you can audit who gained access and when. Logs can help with troubleshooting automation recipes, resolving user support requests, and verifying compliance for restricted materials.

• Alternatives and complementary plugins/add-ons

  If you need different approaches to content restriction or want to compare features, consider these alternatives and complementary tools:

  • Restrict Content Pro ‚Äî a classic membership plugin focusing on subscription-based access and membership levels.
  • MemberPress ‚Äî a full-featured membership solution that handles complex subscriptions, courses, and content rules.
  • Paid Memberships Pro ‚Äî flexible access control and recurring payments for membership sites.
  • WooCommerce Memberships / WooCommerce Subscriptions ‚Äî ideal if you want to center restrictions around products and purchases.
  • Content Control by Code Atlantic ‚Äî a lightweight plugin for simple content restriction based on login and role.
  • WP-Members ‚Äî a basic but robust solution for turning a site into a members-only portal.
  • Advanced Access Manager ‚Äî powerful role and capability management for custom access schemes.
  • Restrict User Access ‚Äî hierarchical content restriction rules with granular control over groups and content.
  • LearnDash content protection features ‚Äî if your site is course-centric, LearnDash offers built-in options for lesson and topic access.
  • AutomatorWP add-ons ‚Äî other AutomatorWP integrations (e.g., Slack, Zapier, email providers, WooCommerce) can be used alongside Restrict Content to build complex unlock flows.

  These alternatives can be used instead of or together with AutomatorWP РRestrict Content depending on your site’s architecture and the scope of automation you need.

Use Cases

AutomatorWP – Restrict Content excels in scenarios where access should be tied to user action, membership state, or events tracked by AutomatorWP. Below are concrete examples of how the plugin can be used to solve real-world problems on WordPress sites.

1) E-learning platforms and course progression

When you run online courses, access often depends on enrollment and learning progression. With AutomatorWP – Restrict Content, you can configure lessons or advanced modules to unlock only after a student completes prerequisite lessons, passes quizzes, or finishes assignments. Use AutomatorWP recipes to detect completion events and automatically remove the restriction for that specific student, enabling drip-fed content, sequenced curricula, and conditional learning paths.

2) Membership sites with dynamic perks

Rather than relying solely on static membership levels, unlock premium articles, downloads, or community features when members perform certain actions—such as engaging in the forum, attending live sessions, or upgrading their subscription via an external trigger. This makes member perks more dynamic and reward-oriented, encouraging engagement and retention.

3) E-commerce post-purchase content delivery

Deliver gated digital goods, guides, or bonus content only to customers who purchased specified products. AutomatorWP can detect WooCommerce purchases and trigger content access so buyers receive immediate value. It’s also useful for upsell funnels: protect “premium” guides and release them after the customer completes an upsell or subscribes to a service.

4) Lead generation and gated resources

Create high-value gated content (whitepapers, templates, webinars) that becomes accessible only after a visitor completes a conversion action—whether that’s filling a form, sharing a post, or subscribing to a newsletter. Automate the grant of access via AutomatorWP recipes tied to your CRM, email marketing tool, or form plugin events.

5) Community and forum access control

Offer tiered community privileges based on engagement. For example, grant access to private forum categories or special chat rooms when users reach a reputation score, complete onboarding tasks, or receive moderator approval. AutomatorWP – Restrict Content can pair with BuddyPress or bbPress to implement nuanced community gating.

6) Employee portals and intranets

Restrict internal documents, policy pages, or training materials to employees who have completed required compliance training or HR onboarding steps. Use AutomatorWP integrations with internal systems or HR tools to automate access changes and keep content secure.

7) Time-limited campaigns and promotions

Release exclusive content for a limited window—such as event recordings for ticket holders or early-access content for newsletter subscribers—by scheduling access or tying unlocks to a purchase/registration event. After the window closes, you can automatically revoke access or move content back behind the gate.

8) Personalized onboarding and progressive disclosure

Onboarding flows can expose parts of the site gradually as users complete tasks. For SaaS or membership products, restrict advanced setup pages or power-user tips until the user has completed initial setup steps, improving learning outcomes and reducing overwhelm.

9) Compliance and legal document control

For sensitive content such as contracts, policy documents, or licensed assets, set rules so only authorized users with verified status can view the content. Use AutomatorWP triggers to ensure access is granted only after identity verification, agreement to terms, or other required workflows.

10) Marketing funnels and cross-sell automation

Combine content restriction with marketing automations to guide users through funnels: present a teaser of premium content, require a micro-conversion (email or survey), then unlock further content after a follow-up action such as attending a webinar or making a trial purchase. Use AutomatorWP recipes to orchestrate these steps and track each user’s progress through the funnel.

Summary

AutomatorWP – Restrict Content turns content protection from a static membership check into a flexible, event-driven system. By hooking content access to AutomatorWP recipes and existing WordPress ecosystems, site owners can automate and personalize access based on real user activity. Whether you run courses, memberships, e-commerce sites, or private communities, this plugin helps you design modern, automated experiences that reward engagement, reduce manual admin work, and deliver content to the right users at the right time.