WooCommerce Hide Products, Categories, Prices, Payment and Shipping by User Role 5.4

This functionality is typically provided by professional-grade B2B or Wholesale plugins. These tools allow you to create a "private store" experience where different types of users (e.g., Guests, Wholesale, VIP, Retail) see completely different versions of your catalog, pricing, and checkout options.

As of January 2026, there are three industry-leading plugins that handle all these requirements in a single package.

## 1. Recommended Plugins

Plugin

Developer

Best For

Hide Products by User Roles

FmeAddons

Comprehensive "all-in-one" control for visibility and checkout methods.

WooCommerce Products Visibility

Codemine

Complex rule combinations (e.g., hiding by Tag + Category + Role at once).

Role-Based Product Visibility

WooCommerce

Official marketplace version with high reliability for large-scale stores.

## 2. Core Capabilities

These plugins provide 4 distinct "modes" of restriction that can be applied simultaneously:

Catalog Visibility (Products & Categories)

Hide Specific Items: Remove products from the Shop page, Search results, and Category pages.

Hide Categories: Completely hide entire product categories. If a user tries to access a hidden category via a direct link, you can Redirect them to a custom URL or show a 404 Error.

Global Access: Instantly hide the entire catalog from "Guest" (logged-out) users, forcing them to register to see anything.

Price & Purchasing Control

Hide Prices: Display the product but hide the price for specific roles (e.g., "Login to view price").

Disable "Add to Cart": Turn your store into a "Catalog-only" mode for certain users. You can replace the button with custom text like "Wholesale Only" or a link to an inquiry form.

Payment & Shipping Restriction

Role-Based Payments: Hide specific gateways. For example, show "Check Payments" or "Invoice" only to Wholesale users, while forcing Retail users to use "Stripe" or "PayPal."

Role-Based Shipping: Hide expensive or bulk shipping methods (like "LTL Freight") from Retail customers, or hide "Free Shipping" from guest users.

## 3. Common Use Cases (2026)

Wholesale/B2B: Hide wholesale-only products from regular retail customers and guest users.

Members-Only Stores: Create "Early Access" categories that are only visible to users with a "VIP" or "Member" role.

Regional Restrictions: Combine role-based plugins with a "Region" plugin to hide specific shipping methods for international vs. local buyers.

## 4. Technical Requirements

WooCommerce: 9.0+ (optimized for High-Performance Order Storage/HPOS).

PHP: 8.1 or 8.2+ is highly recommended for security and speed.

User Role Editor: Most of these plugins work best when paired with a free role editor (like "User Role Editor" or "Members") to create custom roles like Wholesaler or Platinum_Member.

### Pro Tip: Direct URL Protection

When choosing a plugin, ensure it supports Direct Link Blocking. Some basic plugins only hide products from the "Shop" page, but the items remain accessible if someone has the direct URL. The premium versions listed above close this loophole by blocking the page entirely for unauthorized roles.

Would you like me to help you configure the "Redirect" settings for a specific user role, or do you need help creating a custom "Wholesale" role in WordPress first?