Not so long ago I showed you how to create a private blog on WordPress.

Now, I'll go a step further and show you how to create a fully private WooCommerce store. That is, restricted access to certain users.

To do this we will use a plugin called WooCommerce Private Store from Barn2 Media.

But before, if you have never installed WordPress discover How to Install a WordPress Blog in 7 Steps et How to search, install and activate a WordPress theme on your blog 

Then back to why we are here.

Why create a private online store?

Well if you are trying to be the next Amazon then yes it is rather counterproductive to hide your store from the general public.

But there are many legitimate reasons why you might want to create a private WooCommerce store.

Here are the cases where this feature can be useful:

• Wholesale Stores - many wholesale stores do not want their stock (or price) to be accessible to the general public.
• Member Stores - if your WooCommerce online store is for registered members only, you might not want the public to see your products.

 Optimize the popularity of your products by discovering How to add a WooCommerce store on Facebook

I'm sure you can probably imagine a few unique situations for yourself, too.

How WooCommerce Private Store Helps You Hide Your Store

Like many other WooCommerce plugins from Barn2 Media, rather than trying to offer a bunch of different functions, WooCommerce Private Store focuses on one thing really good.

In this case, this "thing" turns your entire online store into a real private WooCommerce store. This means that everything will be hidden from both unauthorized users and the prying eyes of search engine.

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So, how will users access your store? Well, you can use two different methods:

• WooCommerce login form - with this method, users will have to enter a password. Once they enter the password, the entire online store will be unlocked for a period that you can specify ( no need to re-enter the password multiple times ).
• Unblock for logged in users - with this method, the store will be automatically unlocked for all users who are logged into your WordPress website. Users who are not logged in will only see the non-WooCommerce parts of your website. This is perfect for hanging your store on a member area plugin, or something similar.

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The good thing is that in addition to protecting the pages of your online store (product listings, payment, etc.), WooCommerce Private Store also protects:

• The links of the navigation menu
• The widgets sidebar

And this will also remove your store from:

• Search results
• XML Sitemaps

All in all, it is very important to make sure that unauthorized people or search engines do not have access to any part of your store.

How to Use WooCommerce Private Store - A Practical Look

OK, now you know the features. But how do all these features really come together to help you create a private WooCommerce store? 

The first thing to do is obviously install and activate the WordPress plugin. Once you have installed and activated the plugin, there is only one settings page to complete by going to WooCommerce → Settings → Private Store .

In the upper section, you can:

• Enter the password (s) to unlock your online store. If you wish, you can add multiple passwords by clicking on the icon +.
• Choose how many days the store should remain unlocked after a user enters the password.
• Enter a page (optional) to redirect users after they enter the password.
• Choose whether or not you want to unlock the online store automatically for logged in users.

Below these settings you can also configure the login form using the different options:

To add a login form, all you need to do is use the shortcode [store_login] ( without the spaces ).

Discover also by clicking on this link How to integrate a Google calendar into your WordPress website

By default, the plugin will retrieve information from the settings you just entered. But if you plan to display a login form in multiple places, you can change the shortcode on an individual basis with one of the three parameters included:

• message - allows you to customize the message displayed above the login form.
• unlocked_message - allows you to customize the message that is displayed after that a user has entered the password.
• visit_store - allows you to customize the call to action displayed after the user has entered the password (in assuming you are not already redirecting users to a custom page )

Learn also by clicking on the link How to control the stock of your WooCommerce online store

Here's what the raw shortcode looks like in a page or widget frame using the default style of the free Storefront WordPress theme:

Because you are creating the form with a shortcode, you should also be able to use it in a visual constructor of pages such as WPBakery.

And you can also use your own CSS style to customize the look of the form.

Discover also some premium WordPress plugins  

You can use other WordPress plugins to give a modern appearance and to optimize the handling of your blog or website.

We offer you here some premium WordPress plugins that will help you do that.

1. Gravity Forms Rating FieldStar Rating Field

Easily add a star rating form (or thumbs up, hearts, smiley faces, etc.) with the WordPress Plugin Gravity Forms.

Choose from 14 different rating styles and set configuration options for your rating field. So if you are already using the WordPress Plugin Gravity Forms, you will need to consider using Gravity Forms Star Rating FieldStar Rating Field.

See also our 10 WordPress plugins to hide premium content on your blog

Its features include: customization and display of the current note on mouseover, display of help on tooltip and more.

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2. Algori Emojis

The WordPress Algori Emojis plugin allows you to easily add beautiful emojis to your website. Give your words personality and woo your website visitors with thousands of amazing emojis.

If you are not very good at emoji and do not have much knowledge about what each emoji represents, then Algori Emojis is the perfect plugin for you because it will teach you exactly what each emoji means.

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This emoji plugin shows you emoticons, stickers, smileys, as well as their names and definitions, so you always know what you add to your words to better express your emotions and ideas.

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3. Automatic Download

Automatic Download is a WordPress plugin that allows you to attach any file to your posts (including custom types) and pages.

Once your visitors open these posts / pages in their browser, the file will automatically download. This is a really cool feature for all digital content download websites.

Read also our 8 WordPress plugins to create a megamenu on your blog

Its main features are: the ability to download content as soon as the page or article opens, the configuration of a delay before the start of the download, the integration of a media library, the support for custom types of posts, multilingual support and others.

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Recommended Resources

Find out about other recommended resources to help you build and manage your website.

• How to display news on WordPress in a vertical slider
• How to display recent articles in a specific category
• How to rename images on a WordPress blog
• How to fix connectivity error on WordPress

Conclusion

So ! That's it for this tutorial. We hope it will help you create an online store private. Do not hesitate to share with your friends on your favorite social networks. 

However, you will also be able to consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on the WordPress blog creation.

If you have suggestions or remarks, leave them in our section Comments.

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