Protect Custom URL

The Custom URL Protection feature allows you to restrict or allow access to pages on your website based on URL patterns. This helps you protect member-only areas, premium content, downloads, or internal sections of your site. This guide starts with simple rules and gradually moves to advanced use cases.

Before You Start

Before creating Taxes, make sure:

The User Registration & Membership Premium plugin is installed and activated

Content Restriction add-on is activated (Optional)

Applying Custom URL Protection

Method 1: Via Membership

Navigate to: Dashboard → User Registration & Membership→ Membership

Either: Edit existing: Click "Edit" on [Membership Plan Name] OR Create new: Click "Add new"

Once in the plan settings, go to the Access tab

In the rule editor, locate the "Content" dropdown/button, click to expand the dropdown options, and select "Custom URI" from the menu

Enter your URL patterns

Method 2: Via Content Restriction Module (Optional)

Enable the Content Restriction Module

Configure Content Rules

Go to: Dashboard → User Registration & Membership→ Content Rules

Select the "Custom Rules" tab

Either Create New Rule or Edit Existing

In the rule editor, locate the "Content" dropdown/button, click to expand the dropdown options and select "Custom URI" from the menu

Enter your URL patterns

How URL Matching Works

When a visitor opens a page, the system looks only at the path portion of the URL.

Example:

https://example.com/blog/my-post/?ref=twitter

The system checks:

/blog/my-post/

Important notes:

Domain name is ignored

Query strings are ignored

URL fragments are ignored

Trailing slashes are respected as part of matching

Basic Pattern Rules

Exact Path Match

Use this when you want to restrict only a specific page.

/page/

Matches:

https://example.com/page/

https://example.com/a/page/

Does not match:

https://example.com/page/test/

https://example.com/page-test/

Wildcard Patterns

One-Level Match (/*)

/page/*

Matches only the direct child pages under /page/.

Matches:

/page/a/

Does not match:

/page/

/page/a/b/

/page-test/

Use this when you want to restrict only second-level pages.

Section Match (/**)

/page/**

Matches the page itself and all of its subpaths.

Matches:

/page/

/page/a/

/page/a/b/

This is the recommended pattern for protecting an entire section.

Prefix-Based Matching (Advanced)

Keyword Prefix Match (*)

/page*

Matches any URI that starts with /page.

Matches:

/page

/page/

/page-test/

/page123/

Does not match:

/my-page/

/a/page/

⚠️ Use with caution — this pattern can match more pages than expected.

Broad Prefix Match (**)

/page**

Matches all variations of /page and all their subpaths.

Matches:

/page/

/page-test/

/page123/

/page/a/

/page-test/a/b/

This is the broadest pattern and should be used only when intentional.

Pattern Summary Table

Common Use Cases

Protect a Single Page

/account/

Restricts only the account page.

Protect Only Direct Child Pages

/courses/*

Restricts:

/courses/101/

/courses/advanced/

Allows:

/courses/

/courses/advanced/lesson-1/

Protect an Entire Section

/members/**

Restricts:

/members/

/members/profile/

/members/downloads/file.pdf

Protect Pages That Start With a Keyword

/promo*

Restricts:

/promo

/promo-2024/

/promo-special/

Protect All Variations and Subpaths

/promo**

Restricts:

/promo/

/promo-old/

/promo/a/b/

Combining Multiple Patterns

Use the | character to apply OR logic.

/members/ | /premium/ | /vip/**

If any pattern matches, access is restricted.

Excluding Pages (Negation)

Allow Specific Pages Inside Restricted Areas

Use ! to exclude a page from restriction.

/members/** | !/members/free-trial/

Restricts everything under /members/

Allows /members/free-trial/

Best Practices

Always start patterns with /

Prefer /page/** for section-level protection

Use /page and /page* carefully

Test patterns before publishing

Testing Checklist

Before saving your rule:

List URLs that should be restricted

List similar URLs that should remain accessible

Test both cases manually

Example:

Pattern:

/members/**

Quick Reference

/page/      → Exact page
/page/*     → One level only
/page/**    → Page + all subpaths
/page*      → Prefix-based match
/page**     → Broad prefix + subpaths