Access types overview
There are multiple ways to control user access to your site and content.
Before users log in
Control what users see before logging in by making your site private or public preview.
These settings affect every user; Before logging in, the system doesn’t know who they are, so it treats everyone the same.
For a multi-site platform, private and public preview sites can be combined in creative ways. Learn more about multi-site access combinations.
Private site
Keep your site private so that users only see the welcome page before logging in. See welcome page configuration options.
An example private site before logging in.
Public preview site
Make a public preview site to show potential users what they could get once they join. They can navigate around the site and preview content. But once they try to interact with content, they are prompted to log in.
You can control which content is previewable! Learn more about what preview looks like and see all configuration options.
An example public preview site. You can preview content but must log in once you try to interact.
After users log in
After users log in, the system knows who they are. Now they can be treated differently depending on their access level.
You can control who has access to specific pieces of content or site navigation pages. For example, within an event site, you might create multiple ticket levels or restrict admin-only content.
Access levels on content
Individual pieces of content are controlled by access level tags.
Add an access level tag to a piece of content and to the users who you want to access it. If someone doesn’t have the correct access level tag, they are prompted to upgrade before viewing it. (Or if the content is previewable, they are prompted to upgrade after previewing it.)
Learn more about access levels on content.
An example of content locked by an access level tag.
Curtains on pages
Curtains hide navigation pages from users who don’t have the correct access level tag or user level (like site admin). The link is completely hidden from the navigation menu.
Curtains can be added to primary navigation pages or extra pages in the More menu. They cannot be added to subnavigation pages or content pages.
Or use curtains to create different experiences for different users on the same page. We do this by creating two versions of the same page. Then with access level tags or user levels (like site admin), users are assigned to only see one of the pages.
Session attendance criteria
Besides access level tags, there are more ways to restrict who can attend sessions.
Specify attendance prerequisites
You can require users to add certain sessions to their schedule before they can add other sessions. If you select multiple sessions as prerequisites, users only need to have at least one of them, not all of them.
This is an example scenario: Jessie tries to schedule Session B without having Session A already scheduled. When they try to attend Session B, a pop-up notifies them that Session A is required.
Classify a session as Exclusive
If you set a session as exclusive, a user can’t schedule any other sessions within that exclusive session’s entire time block.
This is an example scenario: Sessions A & B are scheduled to occur on the same day and during the same time block. Session A is set as exclusive. Jessie adds Session A to their schedule. When they try to add Session B, a pop-up notifies them that there is a scheduling conflict.
Set a maximum attendee limit
You can limit how many people can join a session. If someone adds the session to their schedule ahead of time, that secures their spot.
Who counts towards the limit?
Do count: Users added as Presenters do count towards the limit. So if you want the max number of attendees to be 20, but there is a moderator in the room, set the Value to 21.
Do NOT count: Site admins and users attached to a speaker page do not count towards the limit. This helps prevent the scenario where a speaker can’t get into a session that’s at max capacity, just because they didn't add the session to their schedule.
Learn how to set up prerequisites, exclusivity, maximum attendee limit, and session access level tags restrictions in the session editor.