Restrict Content Pro version 2.1 has been in development for more than six months and finally, today, I am thrilled to announce that it has been released. This is a major release that introduces some very significant improvements and several major feature changes. The biggest change with 2.1 is the inclusion of the Stripe, PayPal Express, and PayPal Pro payment gateways in core. These gateways were previously only available as add-ons but are now included with the main plugin at no additional charge.

What’s new

Version 2.1 includes numerous major improvements that should be beneficial to all customers.

Improved payment gateways

First and foremost, payment processor integrations have gotten so much better. These improvements have been made possible by the new version of the payment gateway API that has been included with version 2.1. By rebuilding the backbone of the payment processor integration API, I’ve been able to dramatically improve the interaction between Restrict Content Pro and payment processors. Along with this new API, I’ve also improved several of payment processor integrations.

Integration with Stripe.com is now included for all customers at no additional charge.

PayPal Pro and PayPal Express integrations are now included for all customers.

The Braintree gateway has not been integrated into the core plugin yet, but it has been made free to download.

A new Manual Payment gateway has been introduced, allowing you to take cash, check, or other forms of manual payments. It’s also useful for testing the registration flow.

By including these payment processors in the main plugin, I have been able to dramatically improve several features in Restrict Content Pro:

• Site admins can now cancel customers payment profiles from inside the admin Restrict > Members. This means that subscriptions can be cancelled without the need to go to the merchant processor.
• Members can cancel their own accounts from their account page using the [subscription_details] short code, even customers that have paid via PayPal Standard.
• New template files have been introduced for controlling the display of the credit / debit card forms and Confirm Payment screen (PayPal Express only).
• Members now receive activation emails when site admins manually activate their account.
• Custom payment gateways are now easy to build for developers.

Improved registration form

The registration form in version 2.1 was been dramatically improved. All form submissions are now handled with ajax. This means that error messages are displayed almost immediately and no longer require a page reload. This should help dramatically improve conversion rates as it lowers frustration levels when potential members encounter an error during registration.

Along with form submissions being handled with ajax, the JavaScript that handles the form submission has been completely rewritten. It is now more efficient, more reliable, and provides instant feedback to the user when a form is submitted.

Due to the changes in the payment gateway API mentioned above, all custom fields added by payment gateways now follow a stricter standard, meaning they are more consistent and easier to style.

The registration form also displays a link for existing members to log in to help facilitate the renewal / upgrade process.

See the demo for an example.

Improved settings screen

As Restrict Content Pro has grown over time, so has the number of settings in the plugin. This has resulted in general disorganization of the settings screen. With version 2.1, I have taken the time to reorganize the settings screen and make it far more intuitive.

Improved installation process

With version 2.1, the necessary pages (Register, Subscription Details, Success, etc) are now automatically created and selected in settings. This should dramatically decrease the setup time for new users.

Improved developer APIs

There are two new APIs and several new functions for developers in version 2.1.

First, the RCP_Member class  provides an easy way to access and update member accounts programmatically. If you are building custom features that interact with membership accounts, this class should be beneficial to you.

Second, the RCP_Payment_Gateway class provides a standard, easy-to-use base for creating new payment processor integrations. This opens up Restrict Content Pro to a huge number of payment processors by making it significantly easier for developers to build new integrations.

Third, there is now a function called rcp_user_can_acccess(). This function lets you easily determine if a member has access to a particular post ID.

Fourth, there is now a function called rcp_cancel_member_payment_profile() for canceling a member’s payment profile. If you’re building custom payment gateways, this function will be helpful.

There are some additional functions as well:

• rcp_get_member_id_from_profile_id() – Used to retrieve a member ID from the subscription profile ID
• rcp_can_member_cancel() – Determines if a member’s account can be cancelled
• rcp_get_member_cancel_url() – Retrieves the URL for member to cancel their account
• rcp_member_can_update_billing_card() – Determines if a member can update the credit / debit card on their account

Important notes and FAQs

All of these changes come together for a significantly improved version of Restrict Content Pro. To help with the update process, I’ve put together some common questions and answers below.

Is this version backwards compatible with previous versions?

Yes. I have spent countless hours testing the new version and have done my best to ensure 100% backwards compatibility with previous versions of Restrict Content Pro. There are, however, always edge cases, so if you encounter any issues, please open a support ticket and I’ll be more than happy to help.

I have a custom payment gateway a developer built for me. Will it still work?

Yes. All existing payment gateways, both those I have built and released and those built by other developers should remain 100% functional.

Not all of the new features in version 2.1 will be available to those using a custom gateway, but Restrict Content Pro will fallback gracefully. This means that cancellation links, billing address update forms, etc, simply won’t show if your payment gateway integration does not support them.

If you have a custom gateway, please get in touch with me so we can look into getting it upgraded for the new gateway API in v2.1.

I bought Stripe or PayPal Pro / Express recently, now it’s free. Can I get a refund?

The Stripe and PayPal Pro / Express gateways are now included free of charge with Restrict Content Pro and no longer require a separate purchase or plugin. If you have purchased either gateway within the last 30 days, I will be more than happy to provide a full refund for the purchase.

When I activated 2.1, I was shown a message about using an old gateway, what should I do?

This message is shown because you are using the old versions of either Stripe or PayPal Pro / Express. Simply deactivate the add-on plugins to remove the error message. Once you deactivate the add-ons, go to Restrict > Settings > Payments and ensure that all options are still properly configured.

How do I install the update?

Updates notifications will be shown on the Plugins page for sites that have an active license key. If you have not entered or activated your license key, you can do so from Restrict > Settings.

If your license key has expired, you can renew it at a discount and you will be given immediate access to the update. Click here to renew your license key.

If you need to purchase a license key, click here to do so.