wpForo WooCommerce Memberships Integration

An open forum gives away exactly what members should be paying for

Charging for forum access has a catch: if everything is public, nobody pays; if everything is closed, nobody knows what they are buying. And in a forum the value lies in the accumulated conversation, not in a sales page. wpForo WooCommerce Memberships Integration connects your wpForo forum to WooCommerce Memberships plans so that access depends on the user's membership, and so that you decide how much of that conversation can be seen from outside.

Restrict forum by forum, topic by topic

Restrictions apply to specific forums and topics. When you restrict a forum, its topics are out of reach for non-members. One important detail: restricting a category is not inherited by the forums inside it, so you have to mark each forum separately. For topics, the content restriction button appears on the moderation screen, under each published topic.

If you restrict a single topic, non-members still see the forum and the topic list, but not the content or the replies.

Shop window or closed door: two ways to treat non-members

• Show titles only: the visitor sees the forum name and description (and, if you allow it, topic titles). Clicking prompts them to buy the plan. It works as a shop window: someone who sees that the exact subject they care about is being discussed has a reason to pay.
• Hide completely: the forum does not appear in the index or inside its category, nor does its topic list. Useful for areas that outsiders should not even suspect exist.

Both options work for forums and for topics, and you can mix them: a visible introductions forum and a premium content forum with titles only.

Content that is released over time

Since the rules hang from WooCommerce Memberships, you can schedule when each member gets access. For example, requiring a week of membership before a specific forum or topic opens.

Each membership has a content restriction tab listing its forums and topics, handy for adding or removing many rules at once. And in My Account, members see the access their plan gives them.

Memberships come from WooCommerce Memberships, not from this plugin

This plugin is an add-on: it does not sell or manage plans by itself. Here is what it solves and what you will have to cover elsewhere:

• It solves: access to forums and topics based on the purchased plan, visible or hidden titles, scheduled release, a list of access in the member's account.
• You need separately: WooCommerce and WooCommerce Memberships, which must be installed first, and wpForo (it is a wpForo add-on and does not work on its own).
• It does not do: limit attachment size or number by level. It only controls access to forums and topics.
• It does not do: automatically subscribe all members to forums. Each user manages their subscriptions from their wpForo profile.

Frequently asked questions

Can I charge for forum access?

Yes: you sell a WooCommerce Memberships plan that grants access to the forums or topics you choose. Payment and the plan are handled by WooCommerce.

Can I have plans of different levels with more perks?

You can assign different forums and topics to each plan. What it does not do is give perks such as more attachments per level.

Does it work if I already have a directory or a site with registration?

wpForo users are WordPress users, so anyone who registers on your WordPress also gets into the forum, with no separate accounts.

Do I have to restrict each forum one by one?

Yes. Restricting a category does not restrict its forums, so mark each forum you want to protect.