Most plugins similar to this are overly complicated

Because of the current structure of WordPress (4.0), designing a plugin that can allows you to restrict access to some pages is a surprisingly difficult task.

Nearly every other plugin that can do this is very complicated: they nearly all require you to implement major changes such as custom post types. While many of the other plugins have powerful features with many options, that is exactly why most people do not need those complex plugins.

This plugin is minimally intrusive, does not require you to modify your themes, templates, custom post types, user roles, or anything at all. But, if you want, you can make some simple changes, such as adding user roles, and that gives you more options.

My guess is the majority of people should use this plugin rather than the ultra-complicated plugins available. Remember: a sledgehammer is a powerful tool, but it is not good for killing mosquitoes.

I rate it 4 stars because:

• A small amount of documentation (even question marks with hover boxes) would be very useful. Many users have no idea what “Use with ‘the_excerpt’ hook?” means, for example. (It’s great to have that option, but if someone does not know how that function works, it’s almost as if the option does not exist for them.)
• I feel that a simple interface for managing user roles or at least a recommended plugin for managing user roles would significantly improve the versatility of this plugin.
• Some clarification or documentation about the message that gets displayed would be useful. Specifically: what HTML is acceptable and whether or not shortcodes will work.

Nevertheless, this is an excellent plugin. One if its best attributes is that it is simple, so I am not asking for dramatic changes that will make it too complicated. Also, I greatly appreciate that the developer took the time to think about where the plugin should be located–on the User menu–and not crammed into the Settings menu with everything else.