Roles and VIP channels
Create a custom community role, build a channel only that role can see, and have a product plan grant the role automatically to everyone who buys it.
Roles decide what a member can do and which channels they see. The classic use is a VIP tier: a channel only premium buyers can enter. When you finish these steps, buying the right plan puts a member into that channel with no manual work.
The roles you start with
| Role | What it is |
|---|---|
| Owner | You. Full access to everything; its permissions cannot be changed. |
| Admin | Built in. Runs the community alongside you. |
| Moderator | Built in. Keeps discussions in order. |
| Member | Built in. Every member always has it; other roles are added on top. |
Built-in roles carry a Built-in tag and cannot be deleted, but you can open them and adjust their permissions (except Owner).
Set up a VIP channel
Create the role
In the community editor open Roles (/communities/<productId>/editor/roles) and click
Create role. On the General tab give it a Name (for example VIP), a Color and,
optionally, an Icon (emoji). Leave the Permissions tab alone unless the role should also
help run the community. Click Save.
Create a channel for that role
Open Channels, click Create and pick Channel. Name it, and under Access choose Only selected roles. Admin and Moderator are already ticked; tick your new role too and click Save. The channel appears in the list with a Restricted badge.
Make a plan grant the role
Go back to the product and open the Add-ons & Plans tab. On the plan that should be VIP, find the community row and, under it, Grants role. Pick your role. The field shows Member (default) while empty, because "Every buyer automatically becomes a Member - pick only the extra roles this plan grants on top of that."
Check the confirmation
The selection saves by itself and you see "Role granted to existing customers of this plan as well." People who already own that plan get the role without buying again.
Sell the plan
Make sure the plan has a price in an active checkout (Plans and prices). From now on a buyer of that plan joins the community with the role, sees the restricted channel and can post in it. Buyers of other plans do not see the channel.
What happens when things change
| Event | Result |
|---|---|
| A client buys the VIP plan | They become a member with the role and see the channel. |
| A client buys a plan without the grant | They become a member with the Member role only. |
| You move a client to the VIP plan | The role is added and the channel appears for them after a reload. |
| You move a client back to a plan without the grant | The role is removed and the channel disappears for them. |
| You add Grants role to a plan that has clients | Existing clients of that plan receive the role straight away. |
| You clear Grants role on a plan | New buyers no longer get the role. People who already have it keep it until you remove it by hand. |
| You delete the role | "Members with this role will be reassigned to Member." |
Give a role by hand
Roles are not only for plans. Open Members list, click a member, choose Edit member and pick the roles in the Roles field. The same field is in the Add member window. This is how you appoint an Admin or a Moderator.
Permissions a role can carry
On the Permissions tab of a role each permission is a switch:
| Permission | Lets the role |
|---|---|
| Manage roles | Create and edit roles. |
| Manage channels | Create, edit and reorder channels and groups. |
| Manage members | Manage members, including disabling them. |
| Manage community | Change community settings, schedule posts and send announcements. |
| Moderate posts | Edit, delete and manage settings of other people's posts. |
| Moderate comments | Edit and delete other people's comments. |
| Pin posts | Pin posts to the top of the feed. |
| Mute members | Mute a member for a set time. |
| Post in read-only channels | Write in channels marked Read-only or in Announcement mode. |
| Manage support tickets | Handle community support tickets (the Support section is not available yet). |
An existing role also has a Content access tab: Default access sets what the role may do in channels in general (No access, Read, Comment or Write), and Per-channel / category overrides changes it for single channels or groups.
Good to know
A member can hold several roles at once, and their badges show next to the member's name in the members list. A restricted channel is hidden from members without the role: it does not appear in their channel list, feed, search results or weekly digest.
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