Understand and Configure BSS B2B Lock with the 3-Step Model
BSS B2B Lock helps you control who can view specific storefront content, pricing, products, or pages. It uses a simple 3-step model so you can set up access rules in a clear and predictable way.
Feature availability may vary by plan, theme structure, and the type of lock you want to create.
Quick recommendation
Start with this order: Choose what to lock -> Choose who can access it -> Choose what blocked visitors see
If you only want to hide prices, do not lock the entire store.
Eligibility requirements
You should know which content you want to protect.
You should know which visitors should be allowed or blocked.
If you use login-based access, customer accounts should already be enabled.
If you use tag-based access, the correct customer tags should already exist in Shopify.
If you use passcode or secret link access, you should prepare those values before setup.
If you use page section or block hiding, your theme should support the selected target.
If you need help, contact [email protected].
Understanding the 3-step model
What it is
BSS B2B Lock works through 3 simple setup steps:
Step 1: choose what content to protect
Step 2: choose who can access it and set the main lock message
Step 3: fine-tune page behavior with exclusions, SEO options, and locked-page display settings
This model helps you set up a lock in the right order, so content targeting, access control, and page-level refinements stay clear and easy to manage.
What you can do
With the 3-step model, you can:
Lock the entire store
Hide prices and Add to Cart
Hide products
Hide collections
Hide variants
Lock pages, blogs, and custom URLs
Hide sections or blocks on a page
Control access by login status, customer tags, passcode, secret link, and other conditions
Show custom messages and actions to blocked visitors
Where it applies
You can use this model for common storefront access use cases such as:
Showing prices only to approved customers
Hiding wholesale products from general visitors
Locking private pages for partners or distributors
Creating passcode-protected campaigns
Hiding parts of a page from visitors who do not meet your rules
Availability & limitations
Lock Entire Store
Usually available
Best for private storefronts
Hide Price & Add to Cart
Usually available
Good for browse-only public access
Hide Products / Collections / Variants
Usually available
Scope depends on your selected target
Pages / Blogs / URLs lock
Usually available
Good for gated content outside product pages
Section / Block hiding
Depends on theme/setup
Theme structure may affect results
Login-based access
Usually available
Requires customer accounts
Tag-based access
Usually available
Tags must exist and be applied correctly
Passcode access
Usually available
Good for simple gated experiences
Secret link access
Usually available
Good for invite-only access
Advanced conditions
Depends on plan/setup
Some options may not appear in all stores
Limitations
Some settings may not be available on all plans or setups.
Theme structure can affect how section or block hiding works.
If multiple rules affect the same content, results may be harder to predict.
A broad lock can accidentally hide content that should stay public.
Login-based access will not work as expected if customer accounts are not enabled.
Tag-based access will not work if customer tags are missing or incorrect.
Adding/configuring
Step 1: Choose what to lock
Go to BSS B2B Lock > Lock Content
Click Create.
Select the content you want to protect.
Choose one of these targets:
Lock Entire Store
Hide Price & Add to Cart
Hide Products
Hide Collections
Hide Variants
Hide Pages / Blogs / URLs
Hide Page Sections / Blocks
Notes
Use Lock Entire Store when your storefront should be private.
Use Hide Price & Add to Cart when visitors can browse but should not see prices or buy.
Use Hide Products when some visitors should not know the products exist.
Use Hide Collections when an entire catalog group should be hidden.
Use Hide Variants when the product stays visible but selected options should be hidden.
Use Hide Pages / Blogs / URLs for gated content outside the product catalog.
Use Hide Page Sections / Blocks for more detailed control inside a page.
Caution
Do not choose a broad target if you only need to hide one part of the storefront.
If some pages should stay public, plan exclusions before you save the rule.
Step 2: Choose who can access it
In Step 2, you decide which visitors are allowed to unlock or view the content you selected in Step 1.
This is the Control access step of BSS B2B Lock. Here, you choose the access conditions and set the main lock message for visitors who do not meet those conditions.
Step 2 answers two questions:
Who should be allowed to access this content?
What should blocked visitors see?
Common access conditions
You can control access based on:
Signed-in customers
Customer tags
Passcode
Secret link
Everyone
Specific customers
Email subscribers
Age verified
Geo or environment conditions
Custom Liquid if available in your setup
How it works
Use Signed-in customers when access should depend on login status.
Use Customer tags when access should depend on buyer groups such as wholesale or VIP.
Use Passcode when you want simple protected access without requiring an account.
Use Secret link when access should depend on a private URL.
Use Specific customers when only selected customer accounts should be allowed.
Use AND logic when all selected conditions must be true.
Use OR logic when any one selected condition can allow access.
Lock message in Step 2
In this step, you can also set the main message shown to blocked visitors.
Use this message to explain:
why the content is locked
who the content is for
what the visitor should do next
For example:
Login to view prices
Wholesale access only
Enter passcode to continue
Notes
Login-based access requires customer accounts to be enabled.
Tag-based access works best when customer tags are already organized correctly.
Keep the lock message short and action-focused.
Test complex conditions before going live.
Caution
Missing tags can block approved buyers by mistake.
Overlapping conditions can make the final result harder to predict.
If the message is unclear, visitors may not know what to do next.
Step 3: Fine-tune page behavior for locked visitors
In Step 3, you fine-tune how the lock behaves on protected pages.
By this point, you have already told BSS B2B Lock:
what to protect in Step 1
who can access it in Step 2
what blocked visitors should see in Step 2
Step 3 is where you adjust a few extra page-level options for better control.
Step 3 answers this question:
Are there any pages, products, or display settings that should behave differently under this lock?
Available options in Step 3
Depending on the lock type, you may see options such as:
Exclude from lock rules
SEO and Meta Tag Options
Hide content on locked page
Exclude from lock rules
Use exclusions when some areas should stay visible even though the lock is active.
Customers can still see the configured content normally on excluded pages such as:
Home page
Customer areas
Policy pages
Specific pages
Selected products
This is useful when you want a broad lock but still need a few public areas to remain open.
SEO and Meta Tag Options
You can choose to add the noindex meta tag to pages protected by the lock.
This helps prevent search engines from indexing locked pages.
Use this option when protected content should not appear in search results.
Hide content on locked page
Depending on the lock type, you may also be able to hide layout elements such as:
store header and footer
store navigation bar
This can create a cleaner locked experience and reduce unwanted browsing paths for blocked visitors.
Notes
Step 3 options may vary depending on the type of lock you selected.
Some locks may show only a few of these options.
Exclusions are especially useful when the target in Step 1 is broad.
Caution
Too many exclusions can weaken the lock logic.
Adding noindex affects search visibility for protected pages.
Hiding header, footer, or navigation can change how blocked visitors move through your store.
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