Block or Pause a Specific Member’s Access to Restricted Content

Sometimes membership site admins need to put a member’s account on hold temporarily, whether for billing issues, rule violations, or other reasons.

With this recipe, site admins can manage paused accounts by denying members access to restricted content. You can also display a custom message explaining their paused status and guiding them to take action, such as contacting your team.

Why Use This Code Recipe?

Here are some practical reasons to pause a member’s access:

• Billing Issues: Temporarily restrict access for members with unpaid invoices while you resolve the issue.
• Behavioral Concerns: Pause access for members violating site policies or guidelines.
• Temporary Downgrades: Allow members to temporarily pause their account without canceling.
• Administrative Convenience: Quickly pause and reinstate member access without changing the membership level.

About the Code Recipe

This recipe adds a checkbox to user profiles for admins to mark a user as “paused.” When this option is selected, the member loses access to restricted content and sees a custom message explaining their paused status. The recipe also allows you to update the message to suit your site’s needs.

While it is not recommended, you can use this functionality in combination with subscription suspension or pausing features at your payment gateway to ensure consistent account management.

The Code Recipe

Customization: Update the messages on lines 97 and 120 to fit your needs. By default, this recipe links to a “contact” page that may or may not exist at that location on your site.

Once the recipe is configured, you can navigate to the Edit Members screen for a specific member. There will be a new panel called “Access to Member Content“. Check the box to “Deny Access to Member Content“. The member will not be able to access any protected content until you reinstate their account.

Adding the Recipe to Your Website

You can add this recipe to your site by creating a custom plugin or using the Code Snippets plugin available for free in the WordPress repository. Read this companion article for step-by-step directions on either method.