There are times when a page will automatically be set as unprotected by WishList Member. This is related to how the WishList Member Error pages and Redirect pages function.

If a page is set as an Error page or Redirect page, it needs to be accessible by Non-Members so it cannot be protected.

Any page that has been set as an Error page or Redirect page will appear in the Content Protection section in WishList Member, but a message will be displayed stating it cannot be protected. The same message will also be displayed in the WishList Member section when editing a page that has been set as an Error page or Redirect page. This is because a page set as a WishList Member Error page or Redirect page is unprotected by default.

We will provide some examples of these types of pages and where they can be found in the WishList Member.

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Content Protection > Pages > Content Section in WishList Member

Below is a screenshot showing the Content Protection > Pages > Content section and you can bulk edit content using the options provided. In this example, none of the pages are set as an Error page or Redirect page in WishList Member so all the listed pages and have the option to be set as protected.

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In this next screenshot example, the page named “Member Welcome” is displaying the following message:

This page can not be protected as it is currently set as a WishList Member Error/Redirect Page.

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This is because the “Member Welcome” page is set as the After Registration page in the Content Protection > Global Defaults > Redirects section of WishList Member.

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This means the “Member Welcome” page cannot be protected because it is set as the After Registration page.

Error Pages or Redirect Pages in the WishList Member > System Pages section when editing a Page

The WishList Member Error pages and Redirect pages appear under the content section when editing a WordPress page. The screenshot example below shows a page named “Sample Page” that is not set as an Error page or Redirect page so the WishList Member protection settings appear and the option to protect the page is available.

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But, if a page is set as an Error page or Redirect page, the WishList Member protection settings will not appear below the content area while editing that page. In the example below, the page named “Member Welcome” is set as the After Registration page.

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This means the WishList Member protection settings will not appear on that page and a message stating the page can not be protected as it is currently set as a WishList Member Error/Redirect Page will be displayed.

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This means the “Member Welcome” page cannot be protected because it is set as the After Registration page.

Pages and Set as Unprotected by Default

You will notice the “This page can not be protected as it is currently set as a WishList Member Error/Redirect Page” message will appear in the WordPress admin sections mentioned above when you set Error pages and Redirect pages on your site. There are also some instances to keep in mind regarding these pages and we will detail those below.

Advanced Options > Global Defaults > Error Pages

Any page set as an Error page can not be protected and will be set as unprotected by default.

– Non-Members
– Wrong Membership Level
– Membership Cancelled
– Membership Expired

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Advanced Options > Global Defaults > Redirects

Any page set as a Redirect page can not be protected and will be set as unprotected by default.

– After Registration (more details are available below if you want to protect an After Registration page)
– Membership Requires Approval
– Membership Requires Confirmation
– After Logout
– Unsubscribe Confirmation
– Resubscribe Confirmation

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An After Registration Page CAN be Protected if it is Set for a Specific Level

There is an instance when a page can be set as an After Registration page and it CAN be protected. This can be done if it is configured appropriately in the Setup > Levels section in WishList Member.

If you set a page as the After Registration redirect for a Level in the Setup > Levels > *Click to edit Level* > Additional Settings section of WishList Member… 

…and the “Hide after login page and after registration page of each level” option is ENABLED in the Advanced Options > Global Defaults > Protection section of WishList Member the page will NOT be protected.

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But if you set a page as the After Registration redirect for a Level in the Setup > Levels > *Click to edit Level* > Additional Settings section of WishList Member… 

…and the “Hide after login page and after registration page of each level” option is DISABLED in the Advanced Options > Global Defaults > Protection section of WishList Member the page WILL be protected.

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Page Used as WordPress Posts Page

Another instance to keep in mind is related to the WordPress Posts page. If you set the Posts page as your Homepage display in the Settings > Reading section of WordPress, it will appear in the Content Protection > Pages section of WishList Member but it can not be protected.

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The information above should help to explain why not all pages and can be protected and why some pages are unprotected by default.

What is the difference between access and protection when it comes to Members Only content? This question can be answered as we dig into the WishList Member access and protection options. The spotlight will also be applied to how you can set access and protection for the content in your site.

There is a key difference between access and protection when it comes to content.

Protection

Protection basically works as an On / Off switch. WordPress pages, posts, categories, etc. can be set as protected. Each piece of content can either be set as protected or unprotected using WishList Member.

Access

Access is used to control who can view content that has been set as protected. You can select which membership level(s) have access to the protected WordPress pages, posts, categories, etc.

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As an example, a page can be set as protected and that page can be set to allow members in the Gold level to access it. In that case, only Gold members can view that protected page.

To summarize, you are able to select which membership level(s) can access the protected content.

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Individual Content Protection and Access Settings

You can set protection and access for a specific page or specific post in the edit section of an individual page or post. This is useful when you want to quickly adjust protection or access for a specific page or post.

You will see the protection and access settings for an individual page or post when editing it using WordPress. Those settings appear below the content area in the WishList Member section.

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The screenshot example below shows a page set as protected and it can only be accessed by members with the Platinum or Gold membership level.

The protection toggle is set to “Protected” and the Access field has the Platinum and Gold membership levels selected. Clicking the green Apply Settings button sets the protection and access for this specific page.

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This means anyone in the Gold or Platinum membership level can access that specific piece of protected content. You could just as easily set the protection toggle to “unprotected” and that piece of content would no longer be protected.

Perhaps you want to set protection and access for multiple pieces of content as once. WishList Member has you covered. This can be done using bulk protection and access settings in the Content Protection section. More details on that option are included below.

Content Bulk Protection and Access Settings

You can apply settings for protection and access to multiple pieces of content at once in the Content Protection > Content section of WishList Member.

This allows you to quickly set who can access a selection of content.

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The screenshot below includes numbered call outs that show how to select the type of content, select specific pieces of content and apply an action to the selected pieces of content.

1. Select the type of content you want to edit from the left column. The most popular options are typically pages or posts.
2. Select the specific piece (or pieces) of content you want to apply the action to from the list using the corresponding check boxes.
3. Select the content protection action to apply from the Select an Action dropdown.

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The Select an Action dropdown includes six options.

• Edit Content Protection Status.
• Add Level(s) to Content
• Remove Level(s) from Content
• Edit Per Member Access
• Add Pay Per Post Members
• Remove Pay Per Post Members

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Edit Content Protection. The protection status of the selected content can be set. The available options are unprotected, protected or inherited.

Add Level(s) to Content. Select the membership level(s) to be added to the selected content. The selected membership level(s) will be able to access the selected content.

Remove Level(s) from Content. Select the membership level(s) to be removed from the selected content. The selected membership level(s) will not be able to access the selected content.

Edit Per Member Access. Select if the content is Pay Per Post content. The available options are free, paid or disabled.

Add Pay Per Post Members. Select individual members who can access the selected content as a Pay Per Post. The selected member(s) will be able to access the selected content.

Remove Pay Per Post Members. Select individual members who cannot access the selected content as a Pay Per Post. The selected member(s) will not be able to access the selected content.

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This allows you to quickly apply actions like protecting multiple pages at once or granting the a particular membership level access to a selection of posts.

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More info on bulk Content Protection can be found in the following Knowledge Base articles/videos:

Bulk-Manage Protection and Access Settings For Posts, Pages and Custom Post Types

Bulk-Manage Protection and Access Settings For Categories and Custom Taxonomies

With File Protection, you can protect any files uploaded through the WordPress media uploader. Access to these files will then be protected just like any post or page you might protect. Please note a member could download a file if they choose to once they have been granted access.

To protect files, navigate to the Content Protection menu inside WishList Member. Then, select the “Files” sub-menu.

Here you will see a list of all the files uploaded through the WordPress media uploader. Across the top, you will see a “Select an Action” dropdown, a search bar and a “Settings” button.

You can search for individual files by entering your search term into the “Search Text” box at the top. Additionally, you can use the “All Levels” dropdown box to search for files only specific membership levels have access to (or all levels). You can also search for files by status (Published, Draft, etc) using the “All Statuses” dropdown.

To edit global settings for File Protection, click the “Settings” button at the top.

In the pop-up that appears, you will see the following:

• File Protection Ignore List. This is a list of file extensions that WishList Member will ignore. You can add to or remove from this list. By default, image, CSS and JavaScript file extensions are ignored as these are necessary for your WordPress theme to work properly.
• Nginx Instructions. The instructions to follow to make File Protection work with Nginx servers.

Once you have set the options accordingly, select “Save Settings”.

To bulk-edit file settings, select the checkbox next to the files you would like to edit. Then, select the action you would like to take from the “Select an Action” dropdown.

You have several options here:

• Edit Protection Status. Select whether this file should be protected or not.
• Add Levels. You can add levels that should have access to a particular file.
• Remove Levels. You can remove levels from accessing a particular file.

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WP Engine – Cache Exclude and Redirect Rule

If your site is hosted with WP Engine and you find the files are not being protected as expected, there are some adjustments WP Engine can make on their side.

You will just need to ask WP Engine to Not cache files with the following prefix in the file name.

protected-

Example: Caching should not be applied to a file named like the following (it includes the protected- prefix)

protected-integration-instructions.pdf

Please also ask WP Engine to cache exclude ^/wp-content/uploads/? and for the redirects, put in:

source: ^/wp-content/uploads/(.*)/(.*)/protected-(.*)

This should resolve issues with file protected on a site hosted with WP Engine.

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Check out the Folder Protection Knowledge Base Entry

The Folder Protection feature in WishList Member allows you to create individual file system folders for each of your membership levels and have WishList Member protect any files you upload to those folders for the respective membership level.

By default, Folder Protection is enabled inside WishList Member. Whenever you create a new membership level, WishList Member will also create a new folder for that membership level and protect it accordingly.

Folders are located on your file system at: <path to WordPress install>/files.

So, if your WordPress install is located at: /public_html/, your folders will be located at: /public_html/files/. And, if you have a membership level called “Gold”, that folder would be located at: /public_html/files/gold/.

You could then navigate to this location using an FTP program and upload your files to the appropriate folder for the membership level that should have access to them.

To adjust your Folder Protection settings, navigate to the Content Protection menu inside WishList Member. Then, select the “Folders” sub-menu. Here you will see a list of all the folders WishList Member has created for each of your membership levels.

To bulk-edit folder settings, select the checkbox next to the folders you would like to edit. Then, select the action you would like to take from the “Select an Action” dropdown. You have several options here:

• Edit Protection Status. Select whether this folder should be protected or not.
• Add Levels. You can add levels that should have access to a particular folder.
• Remove Levels. You can remove levels from accessing a particular folder.

You can adjust global Folder Protection settings, by clicking the “Settings” button.

In the pop-up that appears, you have several options:

• Path to Parent Folder. You can change the default path of the parent folder all membership level sub-folders are stored in.
• Enable Auto-Configure. Auto-configure automatically creates a new folder every time you create a new membership level. You can turn this on/off.
• Reset Protection. This will un-protect all folders currently being protected by WishList Member, create a new parent folder if it does not exist and create a new sub-folder for each membership level (if they do not exist already).
• Remove Protection. Will remove the protection of the selected folders.

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Check out the File Protection Knowledge Base Entry

Navigate to the Content Protection menu in WishList Member. In the sub-menu, you will see a sub-menu for Categories. Here you can manage your categories and any custom taxonomies that exist within your site.

The “Select an Action” dropdown box contains the following options:

• Edit Protection Status. Select between protected or unprotected.
• Add Levels. Add to the levels that have access to this category.
• Remove Levels. Remove from the levels that have access to this category.

To manage categories and/or custom taxonomies in bulk, click the checkbox next to the ones you would like to manage and select the appropriate action from the “Select an Action” dropdown box.

For each action, a pop-up will appear with the appropriate settings for that action. Once you've set those settings accordingly, click the button to execute the action.

You can also edit the protection status of a category or custom taxonomy “inline” by simply clicking the “lock” icon next to its name. This will toggle the protection status between protected, unprotected and inherited (from parent).

Navigate to the Content Protection menu in WishList Member. In the sub-menu, you will see sub-menus for posts, pages and any custom post types that have been registered for your site (and are set to display in the admin User Interface).

Select the sub-menu item you would like to manage (Example: post, page, custom post type). Each of these screens work exactly the same. So, we will use the post sub-menu screen as an example, but the sub-menu screens for pages and any custom post types will operate exactly the same way.

The purpose of this screen is to manage the protection, access and pay per post settings of your posts, pages and custom post types in bulk.

In the “Select an Action” dropdown box, you will see these options:

• Edit Protection Status. You can select between protected, unprotected and inherited.
• Add Levels. Add to the membership levels that have access to the selected posts, pages or custom post types.
• Remove Levels. Remove from the membership levels that have access to the selected posts, pages or custom post types.
• Edit Pay Per Post Status. Turn/off the pay per post feature for the selected posts, pages or custom post types. You can select between Disabled, Free and Paid.
• Manage Pay Per Post Users. Add or remove users who have access to the selected posts, pages or custom post types via the Pay Per Post feature.

To manage a set of posts in bulk, simply check the box next to the posts you want to manage and select the action you'd like to perform from the “Select an Action” dropdown box. For each action, a pop-up will appear to let you manage that action's settings. Select the settings you would like, then click the button to execute the action.

You can also edit a post, page or custom post type individually. Hover over the post, page or custom post type you would like to edit. A pencil icon will appear next to the “Date” column.

Click the icon and a pop-up will appear. Inside of this pop-up, you will be able to manage all the protection, access and pay per post settings for this individual post, page or custom post type.

Further, you can quickly manage the protection status of a post, page or custom post type simply by clicking on the “lock” icon next to its name.

Finally, you can search for posts, pages or custom post types using the search box at the top of the screen. You can search by keyword, membership level and/or post status.