Dev7studios

Transform WordPress

Closed Beta is a WordPress plugin which allows you to turn your site into a “Closed Beta” site where only logged in and approved users will be able to access your normal WordPress site. Any logged out or unapproved users will see the Closed Beta splash page which allows users to “sign up” for approval to access your site.

User Approval System

Closed Beta comes with a built in user approval system, allowing you fine grained control over exactly who gets “beta” access to your site or not. Any logged out or unapproved users will see the Closed Beta splash page while approved and logged in users will see your normal, fully functional WordPress site.

Custom Splash Page & Signup

Closed Beta comes with a powerful splash page editor which allows you to create a totally unique splash page that will be shown to logged out or unapproved users. It comes with a built in signup form so that users can request “beta” access to your site if you decide to approve them.

Powerful and Extensible

Not only does Closed Beta come with the awesome features above but it also allows you to block feeds, trackbacks and XMLRPC, it contains advanced developer template customisation including powerful custom actions and filters and it includes automatic updates. But don’t worry you can use the plugin without having to touch any code if you wish.

Usage

Welcome to the Closed Beta Documentation section. Here you will find help and tutorials on using the Closed Beta WordPress plugin. You can also ask questions and get support over at the Support Forums.

Requirements

Before we go ahead and install the plugin you need to make sure your WordPress install will be able to handle the plugin. You need to have at least the following running on your server:

• WordPress v3.1
• PHP v5.2

If you don’t have these or you don’t know what these are, it’s worth getting in touch with your hosting provider just to check.

Installation

Once you have purchased your copy of the Closed Beta WordPress Plugin and downloaded it to your computer you will need to follow these steps to install the plugin in WordPress:

1. Log in to your WordPress admin backend.
2. Go to the Plugins > Add New page.
3. Click on the Upload tab.
4. On this page click the Choose File button choose the Closed Beta WordPress Plugin zip file that you previously downloaded.
5. Click the Install Now button and the plugin will be installed.
6. You should now see a Closed Beta section in your main menu where you can create and manage your galleries.

Using the Plugin

Once the plugin had been activated you need to “enable” Closed Beta mode via the Closed Beta settings in the menu. Once enabled only logged in and approved users will be able to access your normal WordPress site. Any logged out or unapproved users will see the Closed Beta splash page which allows users to “sign up” for approval to access your site. You can manage user access via the Closed Beta > User Approval page in the menu.

To change Closed Beta settings navigate to Closed Beta > Settings in the menu. In the General Settings section you can edit and change the content that will appear on the front of your site. Note that none of these settings fields are required and if you opt to leave them blank defaults will be used.

In the Style Settings section you can alter the appearance of your splash page by uploading a background image, changing the link and overlay colours or even adding your own CSS. These settings are self explanatory. If you need to preview your splash page at any time you can use the “Preview Splash Page” button which will open in a new window.

In the Advanced Settings section you can choose which user roles will be allowed to access the Closed Beta settings page (and manage user approval). You can also enable some of WordPress’ other functionality which is blocked by default when Closed Beta mode is enabled (such as feeds, trackbacks and XMLRPC).

Advanced

While the splash page can be customised using the built settings, more advanced developers can create a completely customised splash page if they wish. To do this simply copy the template/closed-beta-template.php file from the plugin folder and put it in the root of your currently active theme folder. If a closed-beta-template.php file exists in your active theme folder it will be used instead of the default template. This allows you to customise the splash page as you wish.

Note that certain variables are available to use in the splash page template from the Closed Beta settings:

• $page_title – The value of the page title setting
• $tagline – The value of the tagline setting
• $style – A <style> element containing any custom styles
• $overlay_class – The class used to style the overlay (black/white/none)
• $page_content – The value of the page content setting
• $username_label – The label for the username input/li>
• $email_label – The label for the email input
• $login_text – The text for the login button
• $signup_text – The text for the signup button

See the template/closed-beta-template.php file in the plugin folder for an example of how these should be used.

There is also a set of custom hooks and filters available for developers to extend the plugin:

Actions

• dev7cb_create_user
• dev7cb_login_denied_pending
• dev7cb_login_denied
• dev7cb_admin_approve_email
• dev7cb_approve_email
• dev7cb_deny_email
• dev7cb_block_feed
• dev7cb_block_trackback
• dev7cb_block_xmlrpc
• dev7cb_before_template
• dev7cb_after_template

Filters

• dev7cb_login_notice
• dev7cb_login_register_notice
• dev7cb_registered_notice
• dev7cb_admin_approve_email
• dev7cb_approved_email
• dev7cb_denied_email

Changelog

2012.11.12 – version 1.1
* [New] Added automatic updating
* [Fixed] Apply wpautop for splash page content

2012.11.09 – version 1.0
* Initial release

License

GNU GPL v3 License
Copyright (C) 2012 Dev7studios

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see www.gnu.org/licenses/.