Lock Content (Targets)

B2B Lock gives you full control over who sees your prices, products, variants, pages, or the entire store. This doc is a complete guide for merchants on choosing the right content target.

Step 1 — Select Content to Lock is where you choose your target before defining who can access it in the next steps.

This guide covers all six content targets available in the app, helps you pick the right one, and walks you through configuration. Feature availability may vary depending on your Shopify plan and store setup.

Quick Recommendation Running a B2B-only store? Start with Lock Entire Store. Serving both retail and wholesale customers? Use Hide Price & Add to Cart or Hide Products so your catalog stays visible to everyone — but only approved buyers see pricing or restricted items.

On This Page

1. Eligibility Requirements

2. Understanding Step 1 — Select Content to Lock

3. Availability & Limitations

4. The 6 Content Targets

5. How to Configure Step 1

6. Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Eligibility Requirements

Before setting up a lock rule, confirm the following:

• You have an active Shopify store on any paid plan.

• B2B Lock is installed from the Shopify App Store.

• You have Editor or Admin access in your Shopify store.

• Your store uses a compatible theme (Online Store 2.0 recommended).

⚠️ Theme Compatibility If you are on a legacy (non-2.0) theme, the auto-cleanup of empty product grid slots may not render correctly. Contact B2B Lock support to confirm compatibility before going live.

Understanding Step 1 — Select Content to Lock

B2B Lock works in three steps:

• Step 1: Select content to lock — choose what to protect (this guide).

• Step 2: Rule to access — define who can unlock the content.

• Step 3: Advanced Settings — customize messages, exclusions, and SEO options.

In Step 1, you pick one of six content targets. Everything else (conditions, messages, behavior) is configured in the steps that follow. You can also name your rule and toggle it on or off directly from this screen.

Availability & Limitations

All six content targets are supported across Shopify plans. The table below summarizes each target and key notes.

Content Target	All Plans	Shopify Plus	Notes
Lock Entire Store	Supported	Supported	Full storefront gating; exclusions via Advanced Settings
Hide Price & Add to Cart	Supported	Supported	Google price hiding toggle available in Price Settings tab
Hide Products	Supported	Supported	Auto-cleans empty grid slots; individual product scope
Hide Collections	Supported	Supported	Entire collection invisible to blocked visitors
Hide Variants	Supported	Supported	Specific variant options hidden; product still visible
Hide Pages / Blogs / URLs	Supported	Supported	CMS pages, blog posts, landing pages, custom URLs
Hide Section/ Block	Supported	Supported	Native section/block and custom CSS selector

ℹ️ Multiple Rules You can create multiple lock rules to protect different parts of your store at the same time. Each rule has its own target, access conditions, and settings — they run independently.

The 7 Content Targets

1. Lock Entire Store — Full private storefront
Best for: • Wholesale or B2B-only stores that should not be publicly accessible. • Partner or distributor portals. • Internal or staging stores restricted to staff only.
How it works: • All storefront pages are covered: home, collections, products, and visible CMS pages. • Visitors who don't meet your conditions see your custom lock screen instead of any content. • You can add exclusions (e.g., a public About or Contact page) in Step 3 — Advanced Settings.
Note: Use this only when your store is truly members-only. If you only need to hide specific prices or items, use a more targeted option to avoid blocking legitimate traffic.

2. Hide Price & Add to Cart — Browse freely, buy only if approved
Best for: • Hybrid B2B/B2C stores where anyone can browse but only approved buyers see pricing. • Contract or wholesale pricing that should not appear publicly. • Compliance scenarios where prices must only show to specific regions or customer segments.
How it works: • Guests and blocked visitors see a placeholder message where the price normally appears. • The Add to Cart button is also hidden, preventing unauthorized purchases. • Approved visitors (logged in or tagged) see normal prices and the full purchase flow. • You can hide prices from Google search results via the Price Settings tab in Step 1.
Note: In Step 1, choose whether to affect all products or a specific selection. This scoping is set before you define who can see the prices in Step 2.

3. Hide Products — Make specific products completely invisible
Best for: • Wholesale-only products that should never appear to retail customers. • Products available only to a specific customer segment or tag group. • Items in a VIP or exclusive catalog not meant for the general public.
How it works: • Hidden products disappear from collections, search results, and product grids. • B2B Lock auto-cleans empty grid slots so your collection layout stays neat. • In Step 2, you define which customers (by login, tag, or passcode) can see these products.

Hide Price vs. Hide Products — What is the difference? Use Hide Price when you want everyone to know the product exists but not its price. Use Hide Products when you do not want certain customers to know those items exist at all.

4. Hide Collections — Make entire collections invisible to blocked visitors
Best for: • Channel-specific collections, e.g., a Distributor-Only or VIP Members collection. • Seasonal or regional catalogs not meant for all visitors. • Wholesale bundles or trade-only product lines.
How it works: • The entire collection — including its listing, products, and any links — is hidden from blocked visitors. • Works independently from Hide Products; you can use both in the same store. • In Step 2, define who can access these collections by login, tag, passcode, or secret link.

5. Hide Variants — Hide specific product options from certain customers
Best for: • Products with a wholesale-only size, color, or configuration that retail buyers should not see. • Trade or B2B pricing tiers that exist as variants on the same product. • Regional variants (e.g., a market-specific model or SKU).
How it works: • The product page remains visible to all visitors. • Only the selected variant options (e.g., size L-XL, a specific color) are hidden from blocked visitors. • Approved visitors see all available variants and can purchase freely. • In Step 2, define which customers can see the hidden variants.
Note: This is the most granular target. Use it when the product itself is public but only certain options should be restricted.

6. Hide Pages / Blogs / URLs — Gate specific non-product content
Best for: • Wholesale information or trade-only pages (e.g., /wholesale, pricing sheets, order forms). • Private resource libraries or partner documentation centers. • Marketing campaigns or gated content for specific customer segments.
How it works: • Only the pages you select are locked — the rest of your store stays open. • Supported page types: CMS pages, blog posts, landing pages, and custom URLs. • Visitors who don't meet the condition see your custom lock message (set in Step 2 and Step 3). • Unlock options include: login required, specific customer tag, passcode, or secret link.

7. Hide section/block — Gate specific section/block
Best for: Hiding wholesale-only banners, pricing callouts, inquiry forms, or partner-only content blocks. Restricting specific product page or landing page sections without locking the entire page. Showing targeted content only to approved customers, tagged buyers, or private audiences.
How it works: Only the section or block you select is hidden or locked — the rest of the page and store stays visible. Supported targets include theme sections, theme blocks, embedded app blocks, and custom storefront elements that can be identified in your theme. Visitors who don't meet the condition will not see that section/block, or will see your configured replacement content if supported. Unlock options include: login required, specific customer tag, passcode, or secret link.

How to Configure Step 1

These steps apply regardless of which content target you choose.

Open B2B Lock and start a new rule

1. Go to your Shopify Admin.

2. Click Apps in the left sidebar.

3. Select B2B Lock from your installed apps.

4. Click Create Rule on the main dashboard.

Name your rule and select a content target

5. In the Lock name field, enter a descriptive name (e.g., "Wholesale Prices" or "B2B Catalog").

6. Confirm the On/Off toggle is set to Enabled if you want the rule to go live immediately.

7. Under Select content to lock, click the card for your target.

8. If you selected Hide Price & Add to Cart — choose All Products or a specific product/collection selection. Open the Price Settings tab to optionally enable Hide price on Google.

9. If you selected Hide Products or Hide Collections — use the item picker to select which products or collections to restrict.

10. If you selected Hide Variants — select the product and then choose which variant options to hide.

11. If you selected Hide Pages / Blogs / URLs — search and select the specific pages or URLs to protect.

12. Click Next to proceed to Step 2 — Rule to Access.

✅ Save as you go B2B Lock saves your target selection automatically when you move to the next step. You can return to Step 1 at any time to change your target before the rule is activated.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Prices are still visible after setting up Hide Price & Add to Cart

• Confirm the rule Status is Enable — a rule that is turned off does not apply to the storefront.

• Check that the affected products are in scope (all products or the specific selection you made in Step 1).

• Clear your browser cache and test in an Incognito window to rule out a cached or logged-in session.

Products or collections are still appearing for blocked visitors

• Verify the content target is set to Hide Products or Hide Collections, not Hide Price.

• Confirm the specific items are selected in the rule scope.

• Check Step 2 — make sure the access condition (tag, login, passcode) is correctly defined and active.

A variant is still visible to blocked visitors

• Go back to Step 1 and confirm Hide Variants is selected (not Hide Products).

• Verify the exact variant options are selected in the picker — similar option names can be easy to confuse.

• Test in Incognito mode to rule out a session that already meets the unlock condition.

A page I locked is still accessible

• Confirm the exact URL is selected — similar-looking URLs can be easy to mix up.

• Check if the page has a redirect in your Shopify Admin that bypasses the lock.

• Test in Incognito mode to rule out a logged-in session that satisfies the access condition.

The lock is blocking pages I did not intend to protect

• This typically happens when Lock Entire Store is selected instead of a more targeted option.

• Go back to Step 1 and switch to the correct content target, or add exclusions in Step 3 — Advanced Settings.

�� Need more help? If your issue is not listed here, contact the B2B Lock support team via the Chat Support button inside the app. Include your store URL and a description of the issue for the fastest response — the team typically replies within 12 hours.