WooCommerce Restrict Category Access Pro

WooCommerce Restrict Category Access Pro

WooCommerce Restrict Category Access Pro is a powerful tool that makes protecting product categories fast and easy.
Have a look at all these powerful features:

  Protect category access by user

Uses the latest WooCommerce technology

 Protect category access by role

Super fast performance on your site

Restrict Category Access Pro version 4.x is all new, totally rewritten from the ground up using the very latest technologies available in WooCommerce. It’s much faster, has much stronger protection mechanisms, and it’s easier to use.

Here’s an overview of how it works to protect access based on categories:

First, keep in mind that the software works based on products categories, that means individual category pages and products in specific categories. With that said, here’s the flow:

If the shopper is not logged in then whichever categories you’ve allowed to be accessed by non-logged-in users will be available to the shopper. If no categories are allowed then nothing will be available.

If the shopper is logged in then the plugin checks for any category access restrictions set for their user account, if any exist then they are applied. If none exist then the plugin checks for any category access restrictions based on their user role, if any exist then they are applied.

If no user account restrictions exist for the logged-in user then no restrictions are applied, the shopper has access to all products and categories of products.

When restrictions are applied, the plugin filters out any unauthorized categories from your sidebar category widget and your menu items that link to product categories.

Even if a shopper happens to have a URL to a category they are not authorized to access then the software prevents them from accessing the related category pages. Likewise, if the shopper somehow found a URL to a product in categories they are not authorized to access then the software prevents them from accessing that product page.

A simple configuration interface makes is easy to use

Woocommerce Restrict Category Access by User Account
Woocommerce Restrict Category Access by User Account

Woocommerce Restrict Category Access by User Account
Woocommerce Restrict Category Access by User Account


Five star support

All of our software comes with superior support via email and toll free phone.
Call us in the USA any time between 10am and 6pm CST
888-434-8388 (Country code is +1 from outside North America)

Frequently Asked Questions:

Will protected categories appear in my menus?

If your theme uses the standard WordPress menu features (most do), and you include categories in your menus, then any categories a shopper isn’t authorized to access will not appear in your menus.

Will protected categories appear in my widgets?

If you’re using the standard WooCommerce Product Categories widget then any categories a shopper isn’t authorized to access will not appear in your widget. This works whether you have the categories widget set to display in list mode or dropdown list mode. If you’re using a 3rd party widget to display categories then as long as it uses common WooCommerce “hooks” it should work.

What if I have a product that is in more than one category?

If the product is in any protected category that the shopper is not authorized to access then the product won’t be accessible.

Can I protect a top level category yet leave some or all subcategories unprotected?

Yes! The plugin has granular flexibility that lets you protect any categories regardless of their relationships.

Will it remove products from my main shop page?

Yes! The plugin filters out any products that are in categories the shopper is not authorized to access.

Does it protect category pages?

Yes! If the shopper tries to view a protected category page that they aren’t authorized to access then they cannot view the page.

What happens when a shopper tries to access protected content?

When a shopper tries to view a protected category page or a product that is in a protected category that they aren’t authorized to access then the shopper is instantly and transparently redirected back to your main shop page. This behavior can be controlled via a setting in the plugin so that when that setting is enabled if a product is in any allowed category then access is allowed; or when disabled if a product is in more than one category and any of those categories are not in the user’s allowed categories then access will be denied.

Can I translate the plugin to my preferred language?

Yes! All of our plugins are easily translated with any common WordPress language translator plugin, including WPML, Loco Translate, and many others.

Will it work with my theme on my site?

Most likely! As long as your theme uses standard WooCommerce hooks (nearly all do) then it should work great.

What is the minimum WooCommerce version required?

Technically, it works in any version of WooCommerce all the way back to version 2.6.

But, it runs exponentially faster in newer versions of WooCommerce! The reason is simple: The plugin is kept up to date and working with the latest versions of WooCommerce and we always ensure that it continually makes full use of all the newest technologies available in most current version of WooCommerce. So it’s a great idea to use the newest version of WooCommerce, if at all possible, to keep your site running as fast and secure as possible.

We keep all of our software up to date with the latest versions of WooCommerce and WordPress.

If you don't see any recent changes below it's because none have become necessary!


Version 4.0.9 - January 10, 2022

	WooCommerce 6.x compatibility

Version 4.0.8 - February 25, 2021 

	WooCommerce 5.x compatibility testing

Version 4.0.7 - September 30, 2019

	Adjusted code to merge all allowed categories for each role that a user has

Version 4.0.6 - April 9, 2019

	Added setting to switch between two restriction modes: (1) allow access to product if it is in any allowed category; (2) disallow access to product if it is more than one category and any category it is in is not allowed. NOTE: This addresses the related changes in v4.0.1 and v4.0.2 to allow both behaviors and admin choose which behavior.

Version 4.0.5 - March 26, 2019

	Added setting for a custom redirect URL when a shopper tries to access a restricted category or product 

Version 4.0.4 - March 8, 2019

	Bypass all "get_terms" filters when getting a list of all categories

Version 4.0.3 - February 19, 2019 

	Added secondary filter for search queries, used in cases where the normal WC intercept of pre_get_posts may not run.
	
	Added filter for categories, used when the "Shop Page Display" is set to show categories, or products and categories - not just products. 

Version 4.0.2 - February 17, 2019 

	Ensure that if the product is in any protected category that the shopper is not authorized to access then the product's individual page won’t be accessible, even if the product is also in an allowed category

Version 4.0.1 - February 17, 2019

	Further performance increase: Cache allowed categories as a private variable for use during render of an entire page
	
	Ensure that if the product is in any protected category that the shopper is not authorized to access then the product won’t be seen in the shop, even if the product is also in an allowed category

Version 4.0 - October 8, 2018 

	Totally rewritten to take advantage of the more powerful features in newer versions of WooCommerce 3.x.
	
	Huge performance increase! Approximately 300% faster! 
	
	Added new menu item filters 
	
	Added new category list item filters
	
Version 3.5.15 - July 16, 2018

	Adjusted user rule processing to use an array instead of string for the $this->cat_list variable

Version 3.5.14 - March 20, 2018

	Adjust to code to avoid a PHP warning message related to checking users' assigned categories

Version 3.5.13 - March 15, 2018

	Updated the way settings are saved

Version 3.5.12 - December 29, 2017

	Ensure screen option values are returned when the current page is not the restrictions page

Version 3.5.11 - February 26, 2016

	Tweak to ensure the filters do not take affect when navigating the admin area

Version 3.5.10 - October 5, 2015

	Suppress PHP warning message
	
Version 3.5.9 - January 29, 2015

	Make sure each user restriction is cleared before saving its new settings

Version 3.5.8 - June 17, 2014

	Updated to support only displaying categories on the main shop page ( WooCommerce -> Settings -> Products -> Show Page Display 

Version 3.5.7 - May 14, 2014

	Return array instead of null

Version 3.5.6 - May 12, 2014

	Fixed typo

Version 3.5.5 - May 7, 2014

	Adding settings tab to allow admins to enable / disable user & role settings. 

Version 3.5.4 - April 29, 2014

	Fixed array filtering typo

Version 3.5.3 - April 23, 2014

	Ensure the category list is emptied before being reloaded
	
	Added support for Related Products, plugin properly filters out restricted items

Version 3.5.2 - April 18, 2014

	Fixed a typo

Version 3.5.1 - April 18, 2014

	Tweaked array detection

Version 3.5 - April 15, 2014

	Major rewrite of the filtering mechanisms. This prevents the plugin from interfering with nav manus.

Version 3.4.8 - March 24, 2014

	Updated to help filter related products on single product pages

Version 3.4.7 - March 11, 2014

	Fixed tag related query args 
	
Version 3.4.6 - March 5, 2014

	Added check for single product pages to ensure they cannot be accessed directly without having been granted access.

Version 3.4.5 - February 14, 2014

	WooCommerce 2.1 compatibility
	
	WordPress 3.8.x compatibility

Version 3.4.4 - January 27, 2013

	Tweaked query to use proper database prefix

Version 3.4.3 - December 24, 2013
	
	Tweaked query for single products

Version 3.4.2 - December 6, 2013

	Fixed condition where searching posts in the admin area might break due to the plugin running a function unnecessarily in the admin area

Version 3.4.1 - October 17, 2013

	- Fixed bug introduced in previous version related to variable product attribute selection

Version 3.4 - July 1, 2013

	- Added ability to define which categories non-logged in users can see

Version 3.3.5.1 - May 14, 2013

	- Added checks to avoid warning messages

Version 3.3.5 - May 8, 2013

	- Adjusted parsing for categories so the viewing sub-category pages shows items if the user is allowed to see those products

Version 3.3.4 - February 12, 2013

	- Adjusted filters to address search and product tags

Version 3.3.3 - February 10, 2013

	- Changed filters for better compatibility across categories, tags, pages, and search
	- Added "Select All" and "Unselect All" links for use when configuring restrictions

	
Version 3.3.2 - February 8, 2013

	- Updated to avoid filtering nav menu items
	
Version 3.3.1

	- Initial public release

Version 3.2
	- Initial testing with WooCommerce
	- Various tweaks to the  architecture and functionality
	- Adjusted to work with product category pages, single product pages, and the stock WooCommerce Product Categories widget

Compatibility: WooCommerce 3.0 and newer

Latest version: 4.0.9

Woocommerce Restrict Category Access by User AccountWoocommerce Restrict Category Access by User Role

We keep all of our software up to date with the latest versions of WooCommerce and WordPress.

If you don't see any recent changes below it's because none have become necessary!


Version 4.0.9 - January 10, 2022

	WooCommerce 6.x compatibility

Version 4.0.8 - February 25, 2021 

	WooCommerce 5.x compatibility testing

Version 4.0.7 - September 30, 2019

	Adjusted code to merge all allowed categories for each role that a user has

Version 4.0.6 - April 9, 2019

	Added setting to switch between two restriction modes: (1) allow access to product if it is in any allowed category; (2) disallow access to product if it is more than one category and any category it is in is not allowed. NOTE: This addresses the related changes in v4.0.1 and v4.0.2 to allow both behaviors and admin choose which behavior.

Version 4.0.5 - March 26, 2019

	Added setting for a custom redirect URL when a shopper tries to access a restricted category or product 

Version 4.0.4 - March 8, 2019

	Bypass all "get_terms" filters when getting a list of all categories

Version 4.0.3 - February 19, 2019 

	Added secondary filter for search queries, used in cases where the normal WC intercept of pre_get_posts may not run.
	
	Added filter for categories, used when the "Shop Page Display" is set to show categories, or products and categories - not just products. 

Version 4.0.2 - February 17, 2019 

	Ensure that if the product is in any protected category that the shopper is not authorized to access then the product's individual page won’t be accessible, even if the product is also in an allowed category

Version 4.0.1 - February 17, 2019

	Further performance increase: Cache allowed categories as a private variable for use during render of an entire page
	
	Ensure that if the product is in any protected category that the shopper is not authorized to access then the product won’t be seen in the shop, even if the product is also in an allowed category

Version 4.0 - October 8, 2018 

	Totally rewritten to take advantage of the more powerful features in newer versions of WooCommerce 3.x.
	
	Huge performance increase! Approximately 300% faster! 
	
	Added new menu item filters 
	
	Added new category list item filters
	
Version 3.5.15 - July 16, 2018

	Adjusted user rule processing to use an array instead of string for the $this->cat_list variable

Version 3.5.14 - March 20, 2018

	Adjust to code to avoid a PHP warning message related to checking users' assigned categories

Version 3.5.13 - March 15, 2018

	Updated the way settings are saved

Version 3.5.12 - December 29, 2017

	Ensure screen option values are returned when the current page is not the restrictions page

Version 3.5.11 - February 26, 2016

	Tweak to ensure the filters do not take affect when navigating the admin area

Version 3.5.10 - October 5, 2015

	Suppress PHP warning message
	
Version 3.5.9 - January 29, 2015

	Make sure each user restriction is cleared before saving its new settings

Version 3.5.8 - June 17, 2014

	Updated to support only displaying categories on the main shop page ( WooCommerce -> Settings -> Products -> Show Page Display 

Version 3.5.7 - May 14, 2014

	Return array instead of null

Version 3.5.6 - May 12, 2014

	Fixed typo

Version 3.5.5 - May 7, 2014

	Adding settings tab to allow admins to enable / disable user & role settings. 

Version 3.5.4 - April 29, 2014

	Fixed array filtering typo

Version 3.5.3 - April 23, 2014

	Ensure the category list is emptied before being reloaded
	
	Added support for Related Products, plugin properly filters out restricted items

Version 3.5.2 - April 18, 2014

	Fixed a typo

Version 3.5.1 - April 18, 2014

	Tweaked array detection

Version 3.5 - April 15, 2014

	Major rewrite of the filtering mechanisms. This prevents the plugin from interfering with nav manus.

Version 3.4.8 - March 24, 2014

	Updated to help filter related products on single product pages

Version 3.4.7 - March 11, 2014

	Fixed tag related query args 
	
Version 3.4.6 - March 5, 2014

	Added check for single product pages to ensure they cannot be accessed directly without having been granted access.

Version 3.4.5 - February 14, 2014

	WooCommerce 2.1 compatibility
	
	WordPress 3.8.x compatibility

Version 3.4.4 - January 27, 2013

	Tweaked query to use proper database prefix

Version 3.4.3 - December 24, 2013
	
	Tweaked query for single products

Version 3.4.2 - December 6, 2013

	Fixed condition where searching posts in the admin area might break due to the plugin running a function unnecessarily in the admin area

Version 3.4.1 - October 17, 2013

	- Fixed bug introduced in previous version related to variable product attribute selection

Version 3.4 - July 1, 2013

	- Added ability to define which categories non-logged in users can see

Version 3.3.5.1 - May 14, 2013

	- Added checks to avoid warning messages

Version 3.3.5 - May 8, 2013

	- Adjusted parsing for categories so the viewing sub-category pages shows items if the user is allowed to see those products

Version 3.3.4 - February 12, 2013

	- Adjusted filters to address search and product tags

Version 3.3.3 - February 10, 2013

	- Changed filters for better compatibility across categories, tags, pages, and search
	- Added "Select All" and "Unselect All" links for use when configuring restrictions

	
Version 3.3.2 - February 8, 2013

	- Updated to avoid filtering nav menu items
	
Version 3.3.1

	- Initial public release

Version 3.2
	- Initial testing with WooCommerce
	- Various tweaks to the  architecture and functionality
	- Adjusted to work with product category pages, single product pages, and the stock WooCommerce Product Categories widget

Ask a Question:

 

From: 59.00 / year

Lets you easily restrict access to categories of products based on user accounts or user roles.

All of our plugins come with great support via email and phone.

Subscription options

A subscription entitles you to 1 year of updates and support. Each individual web site requires a license key, so choose the right license for your needs.

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