Allow public listing visibility while restricting listing creation to members only

[Helga]

Feature Request: Granular Listing Restrictions

Currently, when enabling Memberships restrictions for "Listings", 
the entire listing content (viewing and creation) is restricted to 
members only. This creates a limitation for marketplace operators 
who want to:

✅ Keep listings PUBLIC and visible to all users (including non-members)
✅ BUT restrict listing CREATION to paid members only

Use Case:
- Non-members can browse and view all listings (including external links)
- Only paid members can CREATE new listings
- This encourages user registration and membership purchases (here: small business owners, who want to be visible with their offers)

Current Behavior:
When "Listings" is enabled under Memberships > Restrictions, 
non-members cannot see some important details of the listings, e.g. external links.

Desired Behavior:
- Add a granular option like "Restrict Listing Creation Only" 
  (separate from "Restrict Listing Viewing")
- OR allow Featured Listings and Submission Limits to work 
  independently from viewing restrictions

This would allow marketplace operators to monetize listing creation 
while keeping content discoverable and SEO-friendly.

Thank you! 🫶

[ChrisB]

Hi @Helga,

What you describe is how I’ve currently got my own website setup, so it appears there’s a slight misunderstanding of the settings you’ve applied.

The Solution
Instead of restricting “All Pages” or “Single Pages” for listings, you should:

• Don’t restrict the Listings page or single listing pages in HivePress > Settings > Memberships > Restrictions
• Only set a Submission Limit in their Membership Plans

When configured this way:

Non-members CAN view all listings (including external links and all details)
Non-members CANNOT create listings — they’ll be redirected to the Select Plan page when they try to add a listing
Paid members can create listings (up to their plan’s submission limit)

How to Set It Up
In Memberships > Plans, under the Listings (Restrictions) section:

• Set a non-zero Submission Limit (e.g., 5, 10, etc.)
• Leave the Pages and Attributes fields empty (don’t restrict viewing)
• This way, listings remain public and discoverable for SEO, but listing creation is monetized.

I hope this helps!

Cheers,
Chris

[Helga]

Hi ChrisB,
Thank you so much for your help!
I tried it, but unfortunately, it turns out that you can now post a listing immediately after registering.
With this configuration, you no longer need to purchase a membership.
If I go to hivepress → settings → memberships and remove the “Listings” content restriction, I’m no longer redirected to the Plans page when adding an entry.

Plus, I cannot set a submission limit, it is no longer displayed at the memberships setting.

Do you have any idea what I might have set up incorrectly, or any suggestions for a solution?
(I gave up working with the AI, it sent me to this forum )

Thanks again,
Helga

[kseniia]

Hi Helga,

Based on your requirements, you only need to create a membership plan with a listing submission limit [and optionally a featured listings limit, unless you prefer to sell featuring separately].

@Helga

✅ Keep listings PUBLIC and visible to all users (including non-members)
✅ BUT restrict listing CREATION to paid members only

Please take a look at the documentation: How to restrict adding listings - HivePress Help Center, How to restrict featured listings - HivePress Help Center. Also, make sure to add Listings under HivePress > Settings > Memberships > Content Types, since the listing submission restrictions are configured in the Listings section. This setting determines which content types can be restricted within a membership plan.

It helps keep the membership plan configuration form clean and simple. For example, if you don’t need to set any restrictions for Users, you can remove that content type to simplify the configuration interface.

Once you have created a plan, the workflow will be as follows: when a vendor tries to submit a listing, they will be prompted to choose or purchase a membership plan before they can continue.

Finally, when testing the functionality, please make sure you’re using a regular user or vendor account, as administrators bypass all membership restrictions by default.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

[Helga]

Hi Kseniia,
thank you so much, this is so helpful
My mistake was that I created an additional ‘external URL’ field for an entry.
This field is, of course, hidden from visitors when the restrictions are in place.
I will now do without this field and simply have the URL entered in the long text.
I’ve now also realised that the restrictions are there to hide ‘sensitive’ fields, such as telephone numbers, etc.
Once again, many thanks for your help,
Helga

[kseniia]

Glad we could help resolve the issue!

If you find HivePress useful, we would really appreciate it if you could take a moment to leave a review on the WordPress repository or Trustpilot. Your feedback means a lot to us and makes a real difference in helping us grow.