Ultimate Member Content Restriction Documentation

Core Features Updated November 18, 2025

Content restriction is one of Ultimate Member’s most valuable features. It lets you protect your content and create member-only areas on your site. Whether you’re running a paid membership site, a private community, or just want to gate certain content, Ultimate Member makes it easy.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about content restriction – from basic page protection to advanced role-based access control. Let’s dive in!

Understanding Content Restriction

Content restriction lets you control who can access specific content on your site. You can protect:

  • Individual pages and posts
  • Entire categories or post types
  • Media files and downloads
  • Custom post types
  • Specific sections of your site

This is essential for membership sites where you want to offer different content to different member types.

Basic Content Restriction

Let’s start with the simplest form of restriction – protecting individual pages or posts:

Restricting a Single Page or Post

To restrict a page or post:

  1. Edit the page or post you want to protect
  2. Look for the “Ultimate Member” meta box
  3. Choose your restriction settings
  4. Set who can access the content
  5. Save your changes

The meta box appears below the content editor. If you don’t see it, make sure Ultimate Member is activated.

Restriction Options

You can restrict content to:

  • Logged-in Users – Anyone who is logged in
  • Specific Roles – Only certain user roles
  • Specific Users – Individual users by name
  • Everyone – No restriction (public)

Choose the option that matches your needs. Most membership sites use role-based restrictions.

Role-Based Access Control

Role-based restrictions are the most powerful option. They let you create tiered access levels:

Setting Up Role Restrictions

To restrict content by role:

  1. Edit the content you want to protect
  2. In the Ultimate Member meta box, select “Specific Roles”
  3. Choose which roles can access the content
  4. Save your changes

You can select multiple roles, so content can be accessible to several member types.

Common Use Cases

Here are some ways you might use role restrictions:

  • Free content for all members
  • Premium content for paid members only
  • Admin-only content for site administrators
  • Role-specific content for different member types

Think about your membership structure and what content each level should access.

Custom Access Messages

When someone tries to access restricted content, you can show them a custom message:

Setting Up Access Messages

In the Ultimate Member meta box, you can:

  • Use the default access message
  • Write a custom message
  • Redirect to a specific page
  • Show a login form

Custom messages help guide users. For example, you might say “This content is for premium members only. Upgrade your account to access.”

Message Best Practices

Good access messages:

  • Explain why content is restricted
  • Tell users how to gain access
  • Include a call-to-action
  • Are friendly and helpful, not frustrating

Poor messages just say “Access Denied” and leave users confused.

Global Access Settings

You can set site-wide access rules in Ultimate Member → Settings → Access:

Global Restrictions

Set default access for:

  • All pages
  • All posts
  • Specific post types
  • Media files

Global settings are useful for sites where most content is member-only. You can then make specific pages public as needed.

Access Priority

Individual page/post settings override global settings. This gives you flexibility – set a default, then customize specific content as needed.

Restricting Categories and Taxonomies

You can restrict entire categories or custom taxonomies:

Category Restrictions

To restrict a category:

  1. Go to Ultimate Member → Settings → Access
  2. Find category restriction options
  3. Select categories to restrict
  4. Choose which roles can access
  5. Save your changes

This is useful if you have content organized by category and want to restrict entire sections.

Redirecting Restricted Content

Instead of showing an access message, you can redirect users:

Redirect Options

You can redirect to:

  • Login page
  • Registration page
  • Upgrade page
  • Custom page
  • Home page

Redirects are useful for guiding users to take action (like upgrading their membership).

Content Restriction with Shortcodes

You can also restrict content within pages using shortcodes:

Using Restriction Shortcodes

Wrap content in a shortcode:

[um_show_content roles="premium-member"]Your premium content here[/um_show_content]

This lets you mix public and restricted content on the same page.

Shortcode Options

Shortcodes support various options:

  • Role-based restrictions
  • User-specific restrictions
  • Login status restrictions
  • Custom messages

Shortcodes give you fine-grained control over content visibility.

Advanced Restriction Scenarios

Here are some advanced ways to use content restriction:

Tiered Membership Levels

Create multiple membership tiers:

  • Free members get basic content
  • Premium members get advanced content
  • VIP members get exclusive content

Use role-based restrictions to control access at each level.

Time-Based Access

With some customization, you can create time-based access:

  • Content available for limited time
  • Early access for premium members
  • Expiring access after subscription ends

This requires custom development or specific extensions.

Geographic Restrictions

You can restrict content by location using custom fields and conditional logic. This is useful for region-specific content or compliance requirements.

Testing Content Restrictions

Always test restrictions thoroughly:

  1. View content as different user roles
  2. Test while logged out
  3. Verify access messages display correctly
  4. Check redirects work
  5. Test on mobile devices
  6. Verify shortcode restrictions work

It’s easy to accidentally lock yourself out or create access issues. Testing prevents problems.

Common Restriction Issues

Here are common issues and solutions:

Content Still Accessible

If restricted content is still accessible:

  • Check restriction settings are saved
  • Verify user roles are set correctly
  • Check for caching issues
  • Test with different browsers

Access Messages Not Showing

If messages don’t appear:

  • Check message settings
  • Verify Ultimate Member is active
  • Check for theme conflicts
  • Test with default theme

Redirects Not Working

If redirects don’t work:

  • Verify redirect URLs are correct
  • Check page exists
  • Test redirect settings
  • Check for plugin conflicts

Best Practices

Tips for effective content restriction:

  • Be clear – Tell users why content is restricted
  • Provide value – Make restricted content worth accessing
  • Guide users – Show them how to gain access
  • Test thoroughly – Verify restrictions work correctly
  • Don’t over-restrict – Leave some public content
  • Respect privacy – Don’t restrict unnecessarily

Integration with Other Features

Content restriction works well with other Ultimate Member features:

  • Member directories – Show member-only directories
  • Profile pages – Restrict profile visibility
  • Forms – Restrict form access
  • Extensions – Work with payment and access extensions

Combining features creates powerful membership experiences.

Next Steps

Now that you understand content restriction, consider:

  • Setting up role-based access for your membership tiers
  • Creating custom access messages
  • Using shortcodes for flexible content control
  • Integrating with payment extensions for paid access

Content restriction is a powerful tool for building membership sites. Use it thoughtfully to create value for your members while protecting your content. Take time to plan your access structure, and your members will appreciate the clear organization.