Content gating restricts access to articles or parts of articles based on reader status — registered, subscribed to a newsletter, or paying. Newspack supports registration walls, metered access, and hard paywalls.

⚙️ Feature not showing? Access Control is being rolled out one site at a time, and Newspack switches it on for you. If you don’t see Access Control under Audience, post in #newspack-help and we’ll tell you where your site is in the queue.

Two systems: Newspack is rolling out Access Control, a new content gating system. Publishers who set up gating recently are likely on Access Control. Publishers who have had memberships for a while may still be on WooCommerce Memberships. This article covers both — look for the “If you’re on Access Control” and “If you’re on Memberships” callouts. Not sure which system you’re on? Post in #newspack-help.

Gating approaches

Registration wall

Readers must create a free account to access content. No payment required. Good for growing your registered reader base before introducing paid options.

Metered access

Readers can view a set number of articles before being asked to register or pay. You choose whether the count resets weekly or monthly. You can also switch on a countdown banner that tells readers how many free articles they have left; it is off until you enable it.

Hard paywall

Readers must have an active paid subscription or membership to read gated content. You control which content is gated — it can be all posts, specific categories, or individual articles.

If you’re on Access Control

Access Control is Newspack’s current content gating system. Create and manage content gates — registration walls, paywalls, metering, and group/institutional access — from a single interface. See Access Control for the full setup guide.

If you’re on WooCommerce Memberships

Publishers who set up gating before Access Control may still use WooCommerce Memberships, configured through WooCommerce. See Content gating with WooCommerce Memberships.

Still stuck? Post in #newspack-help on Slack.