Today, I am extremely excited to share that iThemes has acquired Restrict Content Pro, the best membership plugin for WordPress sites.
Having built and maintained a membership site for the last 10+ years at iThemes.com, we know the power of membership sites and the opportunity to create a thriving community. Now we’re excited to bring you the tools you need to build membership websites for yourself or your clients.
We know our community of web developers, web designers, agencies, digital marketers and bloggers will love Restrict Content Pro … and we can’t wait to see what you create with this powerful tool for WordPress membership sites.Ultimately, we hope the addition of Restrict Content Pro to the iThemes product lineup means you can make more money with WordPress, whether you build sites for clients or use it for yourself.
The Backstory: Why iThemes is the New Home of Restrict Content Pro
You’ve likely heard of Pippin Williamson (founder of Restrict Content Pro, Easy Digital Downloads, AffiliateWP and others).
Started in 2012, Restrict Content Pro was built out of the necessity of Pippin’s needs as he was creating a development resource for customers at pippinsplugins.com. He needed a simple yet powerful membership platform that provided site visitors a way to register an account and gain immediate access to premium content.
Restrict Content Pro was designed to provide a complete membership management system that gives site administrators a clean, simple way to restrict content to paid subscribers and collect payments from paying customers. It aims to provide all of the fundamentals of running a membership site and much more in a clear, concise, and easy to use platform.
Pippin has been an exceptional leader of a large team for his family of brands, and recently began looking for a change. As Pippin began considering how to simplify some of his company’s product portfolio, we started discussing the future of Restrict Content Pro.
With our long-standing reputation as a theme and plugin company, iThemes fit a number of his criteria, making iThemes a perfect fit for the next home of Restrict Content Pro.
iThemes has been a leader in WordPress for more than a decade and has an exceptional record of quality products, tremendous customer service, and a strong history of integrity. I have watched and known iThemes for many years and have always been impressed and awed by the quality of work they produce and their leadership.
Anytime a product or service changes hands there are concerns about how well the new owner will care for customers, existing and future. With iThemes, those concerns were non-existent.
iThemes has our full confidence and there’s no doubt they will carry Restrict Content Pro forward in amazing ways. We are truly excited to watch them push the product to new heights and do so much more with it.
—Pippin Williamson, Restrict Content Pro Founder
Why We Believe Restrict Content Pro is the Right Fit for iThemes
Simply put: we know membership sites work. Membership sites are a chance to build a profitable business and a thriving community.
From software (like WP plugins or themes) to personal trainers to online education, membership sites have endless possibilities for bringing together paid (premium) content, downloads, courses and much more so a website can generate revenue.
Adding Restrict Content Pro to the iThemes product lineup represents our pursuit to constantly improve, innovate and serve you, our awesome community. We want everything we build, maintain and support to help you do more with WordPress … and make you more money, whether you use WordPress for yourself or for your clients.
What Does This Mean for Current Restrict Content Pro Customers?
Aside from the ownership change, existing Restrict Content Pro customers won’t notice many changes. We expect your experience to be “business as usual,” meaning you can continue to use the plugin that you love without any interruptions.
As we work through a transition period, you will still hear from Pippin, Ashley and Mihai as you get support or development assistance. On top of that, we have added additional team members from the iThemes team that will be working on Restrict Content Pro in both development and support.
Looking ahead, you might see a small plugin design refresh in the WordPress admin and changes to the restrictcontentpro.com website. With our experience and a dedicated team, we will be adding several new features and improvements to Restrict Content Pro in the near future.
What Does This Mean for iThemes Plugin Suite and Toolkit Members?
One of the more exciting parts of this announcement is this: starting today, current Plugin Suite and Toolkit members automatically get Restrict Content Pro Professional (reg. $249) FREE.
One of the reasons our Plugin Suite and Toolkit plans are such a great investment is that your membership automatically gets you access to all new plugins we build (or acquire!) throughout your membership year, so we’re proud to deliver on that promise to you today.
Just note that because of the incredible value of Restrict Content Pro Professional ($249/year), the prices of both the Toolkit and Plugin Suite will be going up on October 1, 2020. So now is your chance to get grandfathered into the current pricing before it goes up next month!
If you haven’t taken advantage of the Toolkit or Plugin Suite yet, you can learn more about both of these great bundles and purchase today.
What’s Coming Next for Restrict Content Pro?
Our work is just beginning, and we can’t wait for what’s ahead. We’re using our expertise of running a membership site over the last decade and continue to assemble a top notch team of membership site experts to take Restrict Content Pro into the future.
Rest assured that we will be bringing the best knowledge along with several of our internal tools to Restrict Content Pro and its add-on suite of plugins. Our goal is to give you the best membership platform in WordPress. We are looking forward to sharing with you what we’re planning for Restrict Content Pro and hope to see some of you at WordCamps again soon.
I want to thank Pippin, Ashley, Mihai, and the rest of the Sandhills Dev team as they have truly built an incredible membership platform. Our conversations before and during our transition period have been absolutely wonderful. Getting to know the team, their passion, and to see their baby grow up and get handed to another company is an amazing feat.
I also want to thank the customers of Restrict Content Pro. You have helped support an amazing product, and I hope we can earn your support for years to come.
Questions? Join Us For a Live Townhall or Read the FAQ
We’re hosting a special town hall to answer all your questions live, so plan to join us this Wednesday, September 2nd @ 1:00 p.m. (CT). We’ll be running this town hall on Facebook and YouTube Live. You can comment on both platforms and we’ll work to address any questions you have.
Can’t make the live event? Catch the replay below.
We also put together an extensive Restrict Content Pro FAQ page to help answer some of your questions about this announcement.
A Special Promotion: Get the Plugin Suite & Toolkit with Restrict Content Pro Professional!
To introduce Restrict Content Pro to our awesome iThemes Community, we’re offering a special promotion this month on our Plugin Suite and Toolkit plans. These two plans have always included any plugins we offer, but in order to reflect the value of Restrict Content Pro joining our product lineup, prices for both the Plugin Suite and Toolkit will be going up on October 1, 2020.
If you are looking at the Web Designer’s Toolkit, now is the time to take advantage of everything you need to build and manage WordPress sites (and now membership sites).
Get the Plugin Suite Now
Lastly, this month we’re running a premium iThemes Training event around building your first membership site. So if you’ve been on the fence about building a membership site or including a membership on your current site, we hope you’ll join us as we build a sample site with Restrict Content Pro.
Wrapping Up: Let’s Go Far Together
Looking ahead, we know the future is bright. We’re more excited than ever to continue to innovate, lead, grow and help you do more with WordPress.
Matt Danner
General Manager
iThemes
Taking WordPress Further Since 2008
Matt is a developer and overall nerd. He rides motorcycles, turns wood, and conjures portmanteaus. Matt began working at iThemes in May of 2009. You can usually find Matt judging drinking coffee. If you are bringing him a cup, make sure it’s black. That frilly crap isn’t for him.
Does this mean the independent costs of RCP will be going up as well? Will you keep the existing Ultimate $499 lifetime plan or will that be getting removed?
Hey Amber – Restrict Content Pro prices are staying the same and the Ultimate lifetime plan is still available.
Cool. Will we be notified in advance if you plan to change the standalone prices and/or remove the Ultimate lifetime plan?
Amber,
We do our best to let people know when price changes occur. The best way to make sure you’re notified is to sign up for our list.
-AJ
Thanks for adding this to the plugin suite! I have a site that wants to have a membership section added and so this is right on time for me! I’m excited to try it out.
Crystal,
Very cool! Make sure you be on the lookout over at iThemes Training. We’ve got a couple of really good trainings lined up for this month all on Restrict Content Pro.
-AJ
I have the “BackupBuddy Gold Legacy” and “iThemes Security Pro Gold Legacy”. Do you have something to suggest me? What is the “Ultimate lifetime plan” that Amber mentionned? Thank you!
Carl,
Restrict Content Pro has an Ultimate, lifetime plan. Pay once, get updates forever. 🙂 See the full pricing breakdown over at https://restrictcontentpro.com/pricing.
-AJ
I have been using iThemes Security and BackupBuddy for many years and they are my “must have” plugins for all new websites. I even have a BackupBuddy sticker on my office door. I have also used Restrict Content Pro, and now with this update I know I can use Restrict Content Pro on many sites in the years to come. Thank you.
Hey Stig – That’s great. We are really looking forward to what’s ahead!
AJ – Will RCP Ultimate customers get access to any iThemes plugins for free, like the Plugin Suite?
Hey André,
Great question. We do not currently have any plans for changing the existing RCP Ultimate plan.
While it is considered a bundle for Restrict Content Pro (it includes all RCP add-ons), we do not consider it a bundle that would include other iThemes products.
This is mainly due to the “lifetime” nature that RCP Ultimate has.
That said, Plugin Suite or Toolkit would be the appropriate bundles to look at if you were wanting to get iThemes plugins and/or join our training membership.
-AJ