Implementing Content Restriction in Your Plugin

Posted on 21st June 2023

at least once in each section but not too many times as to stuff the content.

Implementing Content Restriction in Your Plugin

When you’re developing a WordPress plugin, there may be times when you need to restrict access to certain content. This could be because you only want certain users to be able to see it, or because you only want it to be available at certain times.

Whatever the reason, implementing content restriction in your plugin is a relatively simple process. In this article, we’ll show you how to do it.

When Should You Restrict Content?

As we mentioned, there are a few reasons why you might want to restrict content in your plugin. Here are some of the most common scenarios:

You only want certain user roles to be able to see the content. For example, you might want to restrict a plugin’s settings page to administrators only.

You only want the content to be available at certain times. For example, you might want to disable a plugin’s features on weekends.

You only want the content to be available in certain locations. For example, you might want to restrict a plugin’s features to users in the United States.

How to Restrict Content in WordPress

Now that we’ve covered when you might want to restrict content in your plugin, let’s take a look at how to actually do it.

There are two main ways to restrict content in WordPress: by using the built-in content restrictions, or by building your own custom solution.

Let’s start with the built-in content restrictions.

Using Built-in Content Restrictions

WordPress has some built-in content restrictions that you can use to restrict content in your plugin. These restrictions are based on the user’s role, capabilities, and location.

To use these restrictions, you need to add a few lines of code to your plugin. We’ll show you how to do that in a moment.

But first, let’s take a look at the different types of content restrictions that you can use.

User Role Restrictions

The first type of content restriction that we’re going to look at is user role restrictions. These restrictions allow you to control who can see the content in your plugin.

For example, let’s say you only want administrators to be able to see the settings page in your plugin. In that case, you would use a user role restriction.

User role restrictions are added with the following code:

if ( ! current_user_can( ‘manage_options’ ) ) {
// The current user doesn’t have the “manage_options” capability, so they can’t see this content.
}

In this code, we’re using the current_user_can() function to check if the current user has the “manage_options” capability. If they don’t, then they can’t see the content.

You can replace “manage_options” with any other capability that you want to check for. For a full list of capabilities, see the WordPress Codex.

Location Restrictions

The next type of content restriction that we’re going to look at is location restrictions. These restrictions allow you to control who can see the content based on their location.

For example, let’s say you only want users in the United States to be able to see the content in your plugin. In that case, you would use a location restriction.

Location restrictions are added with the following code:

if ( ! in_array( $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR’], array( ‘127.0.0.1’, ‘::1’ ) ) ) {
// The user’s IP address isn’t in the allowed list, so they can’t see this content.
}

In this code, we’re using the in_array() function to check if the user’s IP address is in the allowed list. If it isn’t, then they can’t see the content.

Of course, you can replace the IP addresses in the array with any other IP addresses that you want to allow.

Time Restrictions

The final type of content restriction that we’re going to look at is time restrictions. These restrictions allow you to control when the content is available.

For example, let’s say you only want users to be able to see the content on weekdays. In that case, you would use a time restriction.

Time restrictions are added with the following code:

if ( date( ‘N’ ) > 5 ) {
// It’s a weekend, so the content isn’t available.
}

In this code, we’re using the date() function to check what day it is. If it’s a weekend, then the content isn’t available.

Of course, you can change the day that the content is available by changing the number in the code. For example, if you only want the content to be available on Mondays, you would change the code to this:

if ( date( ‘N’ ) != 1 ) {
// It’s not Monday, so the content isn’t available.
}

Putting It All Together

Now that we’ve looked at the different types of content restrictions, let’s put it all together and see how they work in a real plugin.

Here’s the code for a plugin that restricts the settings page to administrators only:

<?php
/*
Plugin Name: Restrict Settings Page
Plugin URI: https://example.com/plugins/restrict-settings-page
Description: This plugin restricts the settings page to administrators only.
Version: 1.0
Author: John Doe
Author URI: https://example.com
License: GPLv2 or later
Text Domain: restrict-settings-page
*/

function rspp_restrict_settings_page() {
if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
// The current user doesn't have the "manage_options" capability, so they can't see this content.
wp_die( __( 'You do not have sufficient permissions to access this page.', 'restrict-settings-page' ) );
}
}
add_action( 'admin_init', 'rspp_restrict_settings_page' );

In this plugin, we're using the admin_init action hook to call the rspp_restrict_settings_page() function. This function uses a user role restriction to restrict the settings page to administrators only.

If a user tries to access the settings page and they don't have the "manage_options" capability, they'll see an error message.

Building a Custom Solution

As we mentioned, there's another way to restrict content in WordPress: by building your own custom solution.

The advantage of building a custom solution is that you have complete control over who can see the content. For example, you could create a custom solution that allows only certain users to see the content. Or you could create a solution that allows only users who are logged in to see the content.

The disadvantage of building a custom solution is that it's more complicated than using the built-in content restrictions.

If you decide to build a custom solution, there are two main ways to do it: by using the WordPress API, or by using a third-party solution.

Let's start with the WordPress API.

Using the WordPress API

If you decide to use the WordPress API to build a custom solution, there are two main ways to do it: by using the is_user_logged_in() function, or by using the current_user_can() function.

The is_user_logged_in() function allows you to check if a user is logged in. If they are, then they can see the content. If they're not, then they can't see the content.

Here's an example of how to use the is_user_logged_in() function:

function rspp_restrict_content() {
if ( ! is_user_logged_in() ) {
// The user isn't logged in, so they can't see the content.
wp_die( __( 'You must be logged in to view this content.', 'restrict-content' ) );
}
}
add_action( 'template_redirect', 'rspp_restrict_content' );

In this code, we're using the template_redirect action hook to call the rspp_restrict_content() function. This function uses the is_user_logged_in() function to restrict the content to logged-in users only.

If a user tries to access the content and they're not logged in, they'll see an error message.

The current_user_can() function allows you to restrict content to certain user roles or capabilities. For example, you could use it to restrict content to administrators only.

Here's an example of how to use the current_user_can() function:

function rspp_restrict_content() {
if ( ! current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
// The current user doesn't have the "manage_options" capability, so they can't see this content.