Title: Configuring search plugins
Last modified: February 15, 2026

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# Configuring search plugins

 *  Resolved [nyakuza](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nyakuza/)
 * (@nyakuza)
 * [3 months, 3 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/configuring-search-plugins/)
 * I’m currently trying to find a good search plugin to use on my sites, and none
   of them offer out-of-the box compatibility with WP Members.
 * So that has led me to writing some code for them to ensure that content restricted
   by WP Members does not show up in the search results for non-logged-in users.
   And equally, that if a user is logged in that they _can _see restricted pages
   in their search results.
 * What I need to find out is what data or flag WP Members uses to mark a page/post
   as restricted. Would you be able to let me know what that would be and where 
   I can find it? That way I can reference it in my code to tell those search plugins
   to include/exclude content marked as such for users based on if their login status.
 * Many thanks for any advice you can offer.
 * Also, if you know of any great search plugins that do offer out-of-the-box compatibility
   with WP Members I’d be interested in that too!

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  Plugin Author [Chad Butler](https://wordpress.org/support/users/cbutlerjr/)
 * (@cbutlerjr)
 * [3 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/configuring-search-plugins/#post-18825118)
 * Instead of marking posts as “restricted”, mark them as “hidden” – then they wouldn’t
   show up in search results or anywhere else, unless the user had access to them.
    -  This reply was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by [Chad Butler](https://wordpress.org/support/users/cbutlerjr/).
 *  Thread Starter [nyakuza](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nyakuza/)
 * (@nyakuza)
 * [3 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/configuring-search-plugins/#post-18825566)
 * Hi,
 * Thanks for that suggestion. Unfortunately that won’t work well for my site, as
   the content needs to remain visible even to users who are not logged in, so they
   know it exists and have the option to login to view it.
 * Ideally I need to know what data WP Members adds to the database in order to 
   mark a page/post as restricted. Would you be able to let me know what that data
   is named, and where I can find it? That way I can reference it in my code.
 * Many thanks.
 *  Plugin Author [Chad Butler](https://wordpress.org/support/users/cbutlerjr/)
 * (@cbutlerjr)
 * [3 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/configuring-search-plugins/#post-18827505)
 * While that could be found easily by looking at the source, it’s not a recommended
   approach. Looking at the actual data saved (post meta) would break if there were
   ever a change in the core plugin’s schema.
 * The plugin has an API function `wpmem_is_blocked()` for determining if a given
   post is restricted or not. Used in the loop, it will check whatever the current
   post ID is. To check a specific post, pass `$post_id` as an argument. The function
   returns a true|false boolean.
 * [https://rocketgeek.com/plugins/wp-members/docs/api-functions/wpmem_is_blocked/](https://rocketgeek.com/plugins/wp-members/docs/api-functions/wpmem_is_blocked/)
 *  Thread Starter [nyakuza](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nyakuza/)
 * (@nyakuza)
 * [3 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/configuring-search-plugins/#post-18830678)
 * Thanks very much for that advice, that API function will be extremely useful.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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 * 4 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [nyakuza](https://wordpress.org/support/users/nyakuza/)
 * Last activity: [3 months, 2 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/configuring-search-plugins/#post-18830678)
 * Status: resolved