SureDash & SureMembers Integration: How to Restrict Access to Spaces and Content

You can control or restrict who sees your SureDash Spaces by using SureMembers. This is helpful when you want to limit access to certain content based on membership levels.

This guide is divided into two parts:

1. How SureDash Displays Restricted Content
2. Ways to Restrict Content in SureDash Using SureMembers

1. How SureDash Displays Restricted Content

Once a SureDash Space (like a Course, Event, Feed, etc.) is restricted using SureMembers, SureDash shows a clear indicator to let users know it’s locked. A padlock icon will appear next to the Space in the Sidebar Navigation.

This helps users understand that the content is restricted and available only to members with the right access. 

Note: The padlock is only displayed to users who do not have access to the Space. For others, they will see the Space icon as usual.

2. Ways to Restrict Content in SureDash Using SureMembers

Before we jump into the different use cases, here’s a quick overview of SureMembers and what it offers.

What is SureMembers?

SureMembers is a powerful and beginner-friendly content restriction plugin. It lets you control who can see your content based on access rules you set.

Here’s what you can do with SureMembers:

• Drip Content: Show content over time (like releasing one lesson per week).
• Custom Access Rules: Set who can see what, based on membership levels.
• Shortcodes: Show or hide parts of content within a page or post.
• Redirects: Send users to a different page if they don’t have access.
• Integrations: Works great with SureCart, OttoKit, SureDash, WordPress, and more.
• Easy Management: Create access groups and apply rules quickly.

🔗 Check SureMembers pricing and plans here: SureMembers Pricing

Now, let’s look at how these features work with SureDash to help you manage who sees your community content.

Case 1: Basic Content Restriction

If you want to restrict any Space:

• Go to the SureMembers rule and add the Space under Protected Content.

• In SureDash, this Space icon will now show a lock, and the content will be hidden unless the user has access.

Case 2: Drip Content Restriction

If you want to show content over time (like weekly modules or scheduled events), you can use the Drip Content feature.

• Go to SureMembers and add your Space (like a Course) to the Drip Content list.
• Set when the content (e.g., Week 2 – Lesson ) should become visible after a set period of time.

• Until it’s available, users will see that the content is locked with the time when it will be available.

Case 3: Course and Lesson Restriction

If you restrict a Course, all the lessons inside that course will automatically be restricted too.

• Even if someone gets a direct link to a lesson, they won’t be able to access it without the right permissions.

• They’ll see a message like this:

Case 4: Resource Restriction

If you restrict a Resource, all the spaces inside that Resource library will automatically be restricted too.

They’ll see a message like this:

Case 5: Events Restriction [Coming Soon in 1.4.0]

If you restrict an Event, all the Events inside that Event Space will automatically be restricted too.

• Even if someone gets a direct link to an Event, they won’t be able to access it without the right permissions.
• They’ll see a message like this:

Case 6: Visibility Setting at the Space Level

We’ve added more flexibility! Now, you’ll be able to set where each Space will appear from inside the Space settings itself.

You can choose to hide a Space from the sidebar or other navigation areas unless the user has access.

Navigate to one of the SureDash Spaces that you want to hide. On the sidebar, you will see the option to “Make the Space Hidden”. 

This option will simply hide the SureDash space on the frontend.

Now, if you have SureMembers, it allows complete control over who can access this space.

The following are the options you will find once you have the SureMembers plugin installed and activated.

Summary

SureDash and SureMembers now work together to help you control who can see what inside your community. Whether it’s a course, event, or any other type of content, you can easily set up restrictions based on user access.

If a user doesn’t have access:

• They won’t see the content.
• Or they will see a locked message, based on your rules.

This helps keep your content secure and gives a smooth experience to your members.