About limited access
Sometimes you need to give access to a product, a group of products or a whole category only to certain customers, for example, wholesale buyers or VIP customers, and keep it unavailable for other visitors. You can do this with the membership levels feature.
You choose one or more membership levels for a category or for products. Only logged-in customers who have one of these levels can then see them in your store.
This is different from the Hide from catalog option: a hidden product is still available to anyone who has its direct link, and a product with limited access is not. See Hiding products from the catalog (X-Cart 5.6.x).
Before you start: create membership levels
Go to Communication > Customers and open the Memberships tab.
Click New membership, enter a name, for example, VIP customers, and click Save changes.
To give a membership level to a customer, go to Communication > Customers and open the customer's profile, or click Add user to create a new customer. Select the level in the Membership field and click Update (or Create account for a new customer).
A customer can have no more than one membership level. For more about membership levels, see Managing user membership levels and User membership signup and management.
Limiting access to a category
Go to Catalog > Categories and open the category.
On the Info tab, click the Memberships field and select one or more membership levels from the list.
Click Update.
Now the category is available only to logged-in customers who have one of the selected membership levels. For other visitors:
The category is not shown in the storefront menu.
If a visitor opens the category by its link, the store shows the "Page not found" page with the message "Unfortunately, you don't have permissions to access this page."
The subcategories of the category are not available either. The store shows the "Page not found" page with the message "Sorry, this category is no longer available."
Note: The products of the category are not limited automatically. A visitor can still open and find them if the products have no membership level of their own. To limit the products, follow the steps below.
Limiting access to products
One product. Go to Catalog > Products and open the product. On the Pricing & Inventory tab, click the Memberships field, select one or more membership levels and click Update product.
Several products.
Go to Catalog > Products. To work with the products of one category, select it in the category filter (where it says "Any category") and click Search.
Select the products with the check boxes, click Bulk edit selected and choose Price and membership.
On the Bulk Edit Price And Membership page, click Click to specify next to Memberships.
Choose how to apply the change: Add, Remove or Replace with, and select the membership level.
Click Save changes.
What you see after saving depends on the version:
X-Cart 5.6.x: the bulk edit is performed as a background task. When it is finished, the notification Completed: Bulk Edit appears at the top of the Admin area.
X-Cart 5.5.1.x: the page stays open and shows the message "Bulk edit has been processed successfully."
After that, the products are available only to logged-in customers who have one of the selected membership levels. For other visitors, the products are not shown in category lists and search results. If a visitor opens the product page by its link, the store shows the "Page not found" page with the message "Sorry, this product is no longer available."
Removing the limitation
Category: open the category, delete the membership level from the Memberships field (click the cross next to its name) and click Update.
Products: select the products, click Bulk edit selected and choose Price and membership. Next to Memberships, click Click to specify, select Remove, choose the membership level and click Save changes.
FAQ
Q: Which customers can see a category or product with limited access?
A: Logged-in customers who have one of the selected membership levels. They see the category in the storefront menu, can open it and its subcategories, find the products in search and in category lists, and can add them to the cart.
Q: Can I give a membership level to a visitor who is not registered?
A: No. A store administrator can give a membership level only to registered customers, not to anonymous visitors. The profile of an anonymous visitor has no Membership field.
Q: I limited access to a category, but its products are still available. Why?
A: A membership level limited to a category limits the category page and its subcategories only. Set the membership level for the products too.
Q: What is the difference from Hide from catalog and Available for sale?
A: A product with the Hide from catalog option is not shown in the catalog, but anyone who has its link can open it and buy it. If a product is not available for sale, nobody can open or buy it. Membership levels let a selected group of customers see and buy the product. See Hiding products from the catalog (X-Cart 5.6.x).
Can't find answers you're looking for?
Email us at support@x-cart.com. We will be happy to help!