# Paid Groups
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/paid-groups/261010
**Category:** Support
**Tags:** subscriptions
**Created:** [April 8, 2023, 5:03am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/paid-groups/261010 "2023-04-08T05:03:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Starcrest](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Starcrest)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2023, 5:03am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/paid-groups/261010/1 "2023-04-08T05:03:37Z")
Hi šš¼ Iām strongly considering using Discourse. I want to have a few **free categories** , but over time add **āpaidā categories** that people will have to pay to access. The paid categories will effectively be courses with a community aspect.
1. I assume using Groups w Subscriptions is the best way to limit access.
2. Can I customize what an unpaid member sees in the paid category? Maybe a small container for custom HTML/CSS on top with a screenshot of the topics below. I could link to my Woocommerce website to use as a salespage/checkout, but that wouldnāt create a Discourse User (Zapier doesnāt seem to support creating Discord Users / Groups).
3. Whatās the nicest way to post something like a course, maybe with lots of content, on Discourse? Can we have something like HTML pages? Or maybe put Course Content under a Topic or Tag? Generally Iād want to foster community/conversation and have room for people to post their own creations which could be equally valuable.
Thanks!
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### Author:  [@nathank](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nathank)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2023, 6:16am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/paid-groups/261010/2 "2023-04-08T06:16:55Z")
> [@Starcrest](#):
>
> Hi šš¼ Iām strongly considering using Discourse.
You clearly are pretty smart š !
> [@Starcrest](#):
>
> I assume using Groups is the best way to limit access?
Yes - that is integrated tightly / managed brilliantly by the #subscriptions plugin.
> [@Starcrest](#):
>
> Can I customize what an unpaid member sees in the paid category?
While you have a lot of control of how much folk can interact with each category, Iām afraid that visibility is somewhat binary by design: either they see everything _or_ they see nothing (not even that it exists).
However, this can be built upon via these customisations:
1. using subcategories
2. making use of [Category Previews](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-previews/155296)
3. [Discourse Category Lockdown](https://meta.discourse.org/t/advertise-activity-in-a-private-category-discourse-category-lockdown/70649)
---
### Author:  [@Starcrest](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Starcrest)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/paid-groups/261010/3 "2023-04-08T19:11:45Z")
Thank you @nathank for getting me up-to-speed on these plugins.
I was imagining [Category Previews](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-previews/155296), and [Advertise activity in a private category (discourse-category-lockdown)](https://meta.discourse.org/t/advertise-activity-in-a-private-category-discourse-category-lockdown/70649) seems very cool too ā especially the Google SEO aspect. I just see people having issues with **Category Previews** based on certain settings theyāre using that I donāt understand yet, which is making it all confusing and stopping me from creating my self-hosted installation.
Honestly thereās a massive market for paywalling content, Iām surprised Discourse doesnāt make this possible with their Subscription plugin:
**Show private _paid_ Categories to all \> when unpaid users click, present a description/preview of the paid content \> give them an option to buy.**
Or am I missing something?
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### Author:  [@nathank](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nathank)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2023, 9:09pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/paid-groups/261010/4 "2023-04-09T21:09:28Z")
No need to @mention me, Discourse is smart enough to notify me of a direct reply!
> [@Starcrest](#):
>
> Honestly thereās a massive market for paywalling content, Iām surprised Discourse doesnāt make this possible with their Subscription plugin:
>
> **Show private _paid_ Categories to all \> when unpaid users click, present a description/preview of the paid content \> give them an option to buy.**
>
> Or am I missing something?
It is more that use-case hasnāt been specifically addressed with a single solution. You can cobble it together from the above stuff without too much trouble though.
A guide to doing so might be helpful though. Perhaps you could put it together and share it here as you learn through the process!
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### Author:  [@Starcrest](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Starcrest)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2023, 4:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/paid-groups/261010/5 "2023-04-12T16:31:27Z")
> [@nathank](#):
>
> It is more that use-case hasnāt been specifically addressed with a single solution. You can cobble it together from the above stuff without too much trouble though.
Yeah, I guess I just feel that when it comes to eCommerce, this isnāt a particular use-case ā more how the entire Internet works!
If I have to cobble this together, I canāt imagine what other roadblocks Iāll hit down the line. Maybe Discourse just canāt do what I need out-of-the-box. Better for free communities š
Shame because I love the experience of using Discourse and wanted that for my community members.
---
### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [April 12, 2023, 6:02pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/paid-groups/261010/6 "2023-04-12T18:02:20Z")
You can use subscription with this plugin and adjust to your convenience:
> [@Discourse Category Lockdown](https://meta.discourse.org/t/advertise-activity-in-a-private-category-discourse-category-lockdown/70649):
>
> This plugin allows you to restrict access to topic pages in a category. Topic titles will still show up in topic lists, search, user activity & digest emails. This is a great way to advertise the activity in a āmembers-onlyā category, which may charge for access. It IS NOT designed to keep the contents of the category 100% private - if someone is determined enough they will be able to piece together the content from search results. Each category has a couple of new settings in the Security tabā¦
Or use a landing page and show it like banner, header icon, sidebar:
> [@Landing Pages Plugin small\_airplane](https://meta.discourse.org/t/landing-pages-plugin/180967):
>
> The Landing Pages Plugin lets you make standalone landing pages for your Discourse instance. You can display topics, users and other content from your forum. You can restrict pages to groups, apply Discourse themes, set custom paths, and manage pages in a dedicated git repository. [[Screen Shot 2021-02-23 at 6.11.10 PM]](https://thepavilion.io/welcome)desktop_computer[Get the code](https://github.com/paviliondev/discourse-landing-pages)page_facing_up [Read the documentation](https://coop.pavilion.tech/docs?category=130)raising_hand_woman [Request a feature](https://coop.pavilion.tech/c/support/discourse-landing-pages/131)bug [Report a bug](https://coop.pavilion.tech/c/support/discourse-landing-pages/131) Not sure how to install a plugin? [Follow tā¦](https://meta.discourse.org/t/install-plugins-in-discourse/19157)
> Last plugin needs maintenance and/or support.
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### Author:  [@Starcrest](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Starcrest)
#### Post date: [February 11, 2025, 1:03am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/paid-groups/261010/7 "2025-02-11T01:03:06Z")
Hi again šš¼ I have a potential new solution ā would this work?
Create a public category called āXYZā that is visible to everyone by default, which links to a custom URL (in my case, a landing page on my business website), or if not, a Discourse [Page](https://meta.discourse.org/t/page-publishing/151971)). However, if the user has access, this public category is hidden and a category with limited group access appears with the same name XYZ, which contains the exclusive content (and for visibility has Everyone \> See unchecked).
I assume I can have the sales pages on my website, and have a Buy button that directly links to the Discourse/Stripe checkout for the relevant [Subscription](https://www.discourse.org/plugins/subscriptions)/product.
Would this cause any UX issues with search results, or anything like that?
> [@nathank](#):
>
> - using subcategories
> - put visible stuff in main category (or a less restricted sub-category)
> - put hidden stuff in a more restricted sub-category
This is an interesting backup option, if I could have the Main Category link to a custom URL (or if not, a Discourse [Page](https://meta.discourse.org/t/page-publishing/151971)).
Thanks!
---
### Author:  [@nathank](https://meta.discourse.org/u/nathank)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2025, 7:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/paid-groups/261010/8 "2025-02-17T19:08:28Z")
I think that you will struggle to redirect category links, as these are quite inflexible.
However, this Theme Component will probably help you to make something workable:
> [@Category Previews](https://meta.discourse.org/t/category-previews/155296):
>
> This component will allow you to add ācategory previewsā to your categories page so users are able to see that a category exists without having access to the actual category. The preview looks like a standard category, but can link to a specified page where a user can be educated on how to gain access. Iāve included a simple example below, but there are many different ways this component can be configured. Please be sure to read all of the information included in the Theme Settings. Theme Creaā¦
It might need a bit of love / careful config / customisation to get it slick (isnāt an official TC, but is authored by a staff member).
Good luck!