Visibility Vault for WooCommerce

Visibility Vault gives WooCommerce store administrators  control over product visibility, pricing, and purchase options. With this plugin, you can:

• Hide products, prices, or “Add to Cart” buttons for specific users, user roles, countries, or time periods
• Replace prices with custom text
• Modify Add to Cart button (remove completely or replace with custom button/link)
• Control payment method availability with advanced rules

Perfect for geo-targeted promotions, B2B pricing strategies, and exclusive product launches.

Setup and Configuration

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After activating the plugin, follow these steps to configure your rules:

Step 1: Access the Settings

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1. After activating Visibility Vault for WooCommerce, you can see “Visibility Vault” under the WooCommerce admin menu. Click to view settings and get started.
2. Three tabs will appear:
   • General Settings: Global fallback options
   • Visibility Rules: Control products, pricing and add to cart button
   • Payment Restrictions: Manage payment methods

Step 2: Configure General Settings (Fallback Options)

• Enable/Disable Payment Methods:
  • Toggle payment gateways (e.g., Bank Transfer, COD) globally.
  • These settings apply only if no specific rules exist for a payment method.
• Example:
  • Disable “Bank Transfer” here if you want it hidden unless a rule explicitly enables it for certain users.

Step 3: Set Up Visibility Rules

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A. General Restrictions

• Enable/Disable Rule: Turn rules on/off without deleting them.
• Date Range:
  • Set Start Date and End Date for temporary rules (e.g., holiday sales).
  • Leave blank for permanent rules.

B. User Restrictions (Who is affected?)

• Apply to All Users: Affects every visitor.
• OR Target Specific Users:
  • User Roles: Restrict by role (e.g., hide prices from “Guests”).
  • Specific Users: Handpick customers from a dropdown.

C. Product Restrictions (What is hidden?)

• Entire Catalog: Hide/show all products at once.
• OR Target Specific Items:
  • Products: Individual products (e.g., Product X).
  • Categories: Whole categories (e.g., “Premium”).
  • Tags: Group by tags (e.g., “Summer Collection”).
  • Brands: Filter by manufacturer (e.g., “Our Premium Brand”, “Elite Electronics”)

D. Rule Logic (How it works)

1. Country Restrictions

• Select Countries: Choose specific countries (leave empty to apply globally).
• Pro Tip: For country selections, use “Select All” → then remove the few exceptions. This is faster than manually picking many countries (e.g., select all → remove just 2-3 banned countries).

2. Restriction Type

a) Restrict Products

• Show/Hide:
  • Show Mode (Whitelist Approach)
    • “Only show THESE products to certain users”
    • Example: You select 10 premium products and choose “Show”
    • Result:
      ✅ Selected 10 products will appear
      ❌ All other products will be hidden
  • Hide Mode (Blacklist Approach)
    • “Only hide THESE products from certain users”
    • Example: You select 5 clearance items and choose “Hide”
    • Result:
      ❌ Selected 5 products will disappear
      ✅ All other products remain visible
  • Key Difference
    • Show = Only what you pick is visible (strict filtering)
    • Hide = Only what you pick disappears (gentle filtering)
• If Accessed: Customize what restricted users see:
  • Message: “This product is unavailable in your region.”
  • Redirect: Send users to a shop page or custom URL.

b) Restrict Price & Add to Cart

• Hide Price:
  • When enabled, the product price will be hidden from view.
  • Optional: Replace the price with custom text (e.g., “Contact for price”).
  • Leave the text field blank to simply hide the price without replacement.
• Hide Add to Cart Button:

You have three options to control the button behavior:

1. Remove Button
   • The Add to Cart button will be completely removed.
   • No replacement will be shown.
2. Custom Button
   • Replace the Add to Cart button with your own button.
   • Enter button text (e.g., “Request Quote”).
   • Add a destination URL (e.g., “https://www.yourstore.com/contact-us“).
3. Message Only
   • Display custom text instead of the button.
   • Example: “Call 1-800-1234 to purchase.”
   • No button will appear, only your text message.

E. Rule Priority (Tie-Breaker System)

When multiple rules affect the same product:

• Rules execute in ascending order (1 = highest priority, 10 = lowest).
• The rule with the smallest priority number wins.
• Think of it as a “first come, first served” system where lower numbers go first.

Example:

• Rule A (Priority 1): Hide product for Guests.
• Rule B (Priority 5): Show product for USA.
• Result: Rule A applies because 1 < 5.

Key Notes:

• No need to prioritize unless rules conflict.
• Only competing rules trigger priority checks.
• Set important rules to 1-3, general ones to 5+.

Step 4: Set Up Payment Method Restrictions

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Control payment gateway availability using advanced rules.

A. General Settings

• Enable/Disable Rule: Toggle rules on/off.
• Date Range: Set active period (leave blank for permanent rules).

B. Payment Method

• Choose Payment Methods: Pick the payment options (like PayPal or Cash on Delivery) you want to control from your store’s available methods.
• Restriction Type:
  • Enable: Selected payment methods will only appear when your conditions are met (whitelist approach).
    → Example: “Enable COD only for local customers”.
  • Disable: Selected payment methods will be hidden when your conditions are met (blacklist approach).
    → Example: “Hide credit cards for high-risk countries”.

C. User Restrictions 

• Apply to All Users: Affects every visitor.
• OR Target Specific Users:
  • User Roles: Restrict by role (e.g. “Wholesale”).
  • Specific Users: Handpick customers from a dropdown.

D. Cart & Product Conditions

• Cart Amount Range
  • Sets minimum/maximum order value requirements
  • Example: “$100-500” = only applies to orders between $100 and $500
  • Leave both fields blank to ignore order amount
• Cart Quantity Range
  • Sets minimum/maximum item count requirements
  • Example: “5-20” = only applies to carts with 5-20 items
  • Leave both fields blank to ignore item count
• Enable for All Products
  • When checked: Rule affects every product in your store
  • When unchecked: Shows additional product targeting options
• Product Targeting Options (appears when “Enable for All Products” is off)
  • What to Target?
    • Choose Products: Pick exact products (e.g., “Blue T-Shirt XL”)
    • Choose Categories: Select full categories (e.g., “Summer Collection”)
    • Choose Tags: Filter by tags (e.g., “Sale”, “New Arrival”)
  • When to Apply?
    • Cart contains at least one selected product
      • Example: Apply rule if cart contains ANY item from “Premium” category
    • Cart contains only selected products
      • Example: Apply ONLY if EVERY item is from “Clearance” section
    • Cart does not contain selected products
      • Example: Apply if NO “Pre-Order” items are in cart
        

E. Rule Priority

• Rules execute in ascending order by priority number (1 = highest priority).
• When multiple rules affect the same payment method, the rule with the lowest priority number takes precedence.
• Example: If Priority 1 restricts PayPal for international orders while Priority 3 enables PayPal for VIP members, international VIP customers will not have PayPal available (Priority 1 prevails).
• Priority settings only require adjustment when rules conflict for the same payment method.

Step 5: Set Up Shipping Method Restrictions

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A. General Settings

• Enable/Disable Rule: Toggle rules on/off.
• Date Range: Set active period (leave blank for permanent rules).

B. Shipping Method

Choose Shipping Methods:
Select the shipping options (e.g., Free Shipping, Flat Rate, Local Pickup) you want to control.

Disable:
The selected shipping methods will be hidden whenever your rule conditions are met.
→ Example: “Disable Standard Shipping when a bulky or fragile product is in the cart.”

C. User Restrictions 

• Apply to All Users: Affects every visitor.
• OR Target Specific Users:
  • User Roles: Restrict by role (e.g. “Wholesale”).
  • Specific Users: Handpick customers from a dropdown.

D. Cart & Product Conditions

See the Payment Method Restrictions section above — these rules apply the same way for shipping methods.

Common Use Case Walkthroughs

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Scenario 1: VIP-Only Product Launch
Goal: Show a new product only to “Gold Member” users.

1. Create a visibility rule.
2. Under User Restrictions, select all user roles except “Gold Member”
3. In Product Restrictions, choose your new product.
4. Set Restriction Type to “Hide Products”. Set restriction message “Join our Gold Club” to buy this product.
5. Save rule → Only Gold Members will see this product.

Scenario 2: Geo-Based Pricing
Goal: Hide prices for non-logged-in users outside your domestic market.

1. Create a new visibility rule.
2. In User Restrictions, select “Guest”.
3. In Countries, select all except your domestic market.
4. Under Restriction Type:
   • Check “Hide Price”.
   • Enter replacement text: “Create account to view prices”.
5. Save rule → International guests see masked prices.

Scenario 3: Cart-Based Payment Control
Goal: Only offer COD for orders containing fragile items.

1. In Payment Restrictions, create new rule.
2. Choose “Cash on Delivery” as payment method.
3. Under Product Rules:
   • Uncheck “Enable for All Products”.
   • Select “Cart Contains At Least One”.
   • Choose “Fragile Items” category.
4. Save rule → COD only appears when fragile items are in cart.

FAQs

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