The no-access message
When a student cannot open a course, they read this. It is the single most valuable field on a gated course, because it turns a dead end into a next step.
Where
Course settings → Configuration → Content if no access.
It is a rich-text field. It accepts shortcodes, and it supports the {related_product_links} merge tag, which prints links to the products associated with the course.
The default
A new course starts with a short line explaining that the student does not seem to have access and offering the related product links.
It is a placeholder. Replace it — it does not know what your course is or how someone gets in.
What a good message does
Four things, in this order:
- States the situation plainly. This course is for enrolled students.
- Says what is required. A purchase, a membership, a subscription, an account.
- Gives a route. A link to the product, the membership page, the sign-in form.
- Offers a fallback. Already enrolled? Sign in with the account you used to buy.
Point four resolves a large share of the messages a course platform generates, because "I paid and it does not work" is usually "I am signed in with a different account".
Write one per access model
| Model | The message should say |
|---|---|
| Login required | An account is required; sign in, or register |
| Rule-based | What the requirement is — membership, plan, role — and how to get it |
| Paid | What to buy, with a link, plus the already-purchased fallback |
Use the merge tag, and a real link
{related_product_links} prints links to the products associated with the course. It is convenient, and it prints nothing when nothing is associated.
So write the message so it still works if the tag renders empty:
This course is included with the Pro plan. {related_product_links} You can also see all plans or sign in if you already have one.
See The related product links merge tag.
It replaces the description
A blocked student reads this message instead of the course description. That is the point to plan around: the persuasive text in the editor is only seen by people who already have access.
If the course needs to sell itself to people who cannot open it, the selling has to happen here — or on a separate public page you link from here.
Lessons have their own version
A lesson opened directly by a blocked student shows the "Lesson not available" text, which can be set per course and overridden per lesson. Write both; they are read in different situations.
See The "lesson not available" message.
Keep the tone right
A blocked student is not doing anything wrong. Avoid wording that implies otherwise — You are not authorized, Access denied — and prefer the wording you would use in person.
Verify
- Write the message and update the course.
- Sign in as a student without access and read it as they would.
- Confirm every link works.
- Confirm the merge tag rendered something useful, or that the message reads fine without it.
- Repeat signed out.
- Read it on a phone.