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Premium Content

Gate individual posts behind a login wall to create member-only or subscription content.

TL;DR

Edit a post and check the Premium Content (is_premium) checkbox. Visitors who are not logged in (or lack the posts.read.premium permission) see only the excerpt and a Paywall widget call-to-action instead of the full post. All authenticated roles have this permission by default.

Details

Marking a Post as Premium

Open any post in the editor (Admin → Posts → Edit). In the post settings panel, check Premium Content. Save or publish the post. The change takes effect immediately.

Access Control

Access to premium post content is controlled by Shield's permission system:

  • Permission required: posts.read.premium
  • Who has it by default: All authenticated roles — Subscriber, Author, Editor, Admin, Super Admin.
  • Who does NOT have it: Unauthenticated (logged-out) visitors.

This means premium content is member-only by default: any registered user can read it, but anonymous visitors cannot. To further restrict access (e.g., paid subscribers only), remove the permission from lower roles in Admin → Roles.

What Non-Authorized Visitors See

When a visitor without access opens a premium post:

  1. The post's excerpt is displayed as a teaser.
  2. A Paywall widget call-to-action replaces the full content body. The Paywall widget renders in the before-content widget area automatically on premium posts.
  3. The post title and meta tags are still visible (for SEO), but the body is hidden.

Paywall Widget

The Paywall widget is automatically injected into the before-content widget area when a premium post is viewed by an unauthorized visitor. It displays a message prompting the visitor to log in or register. Customize the widget message and button text via Admin → Widgets → Paywall.

Use Cases

  • Member-only articles — require a free account to read full posts, growing your registered user base.
  • Premium newsletter content — publish long-form content only subscribers can access.
  • Teaser + upsell — show the excerpt publicly for SEO; gate the full piece for conversion.