Setting up video content restriction for paying members with WooCommerce

Whether you’re running an online course, a coaching program, or a private community, embedded restricted video helps you connect more deeply and keep people engaged.

But there’s a common problem with video content restriction in WooCommerce: once a video is embedded on your site, anyone with the link can share it elsewhere.

Constellation is Kestrel’s all-in-one membership and subscription extension for WooCommerce. It lets you sell memberships, protect content, and create member-only experiences directly within WordPress. By pairing Constellation’s access rules with your video host’s domain restrictions, you can finally sell video content the right way: streamed, not downloaded, and safely behind your paywall.

When using Constellation to restrict access to content on your WooCommerce store, you can lock down both layers. Restrict access to the pages where your videos live, then domain-lock the videos so they can only be viewed when embedded on your site.

Why you need a WooCommerce membership solution for your video site

If you sell videos as standard WooCommerce downloadable products, customers have to purchase each individual file via the WooCommerce checkout process. The user experience can be difficult, especially when you intend to provide multiple videos to each individual member.

And without additional configuration, you may also push each individual video as a download.

On the other hand, when you embed restricted video from platforms like Vimeo or YouTube, they stream beautifully inside your standard WordPress posts and pages, but by default, those embeds are public. Unless you restrict access to the pages, you may result in people getting unintended access to your premium content.

That’s why you need both layers: Constellation to restrict access to the page itself, and domain restrictions from your video host to control where the video can play. Together, they let you build a seamless, secure, members-only viewing experience directly on your WooCommerce site.

While this guide focuses on Constellation, other WordPress membership plugins like MemberPress and Paid Memberships Pro may offer similar page restriction features.

Step 1: Restrict access to the page with Constellation

Start by protecting the pages where your embedded restricted videos live. In Constellation, you can create rules that restrict access to any post, page, product, or custom post type based on a member’s plan.

For example, if you’re offering a video course, you might assign all lesson pages to your “Pro” membership plan. Non-members who visit those URLs can be redirected to your signup page, shown a teaser, or denied access entirely.

Once your content restriction rules are in place, you’ll move to the second layer: locking the video itself so it only plays when embedded on your domain.

Step 2: Video content restriction with Vimeo or YouTube

Once your pages are protected with Constellation, the next step is to make sure your videos can only be played on your site. This is where domain restrictions come in.

Vimeo setup

Vimeo is usually the best option for domain locking embedded restricted video. Vimeo’s domain-level embedding privacy is available to all paid users and works perfectly with Constellation.

If you host your videos on Vimeo, go to your video settings and open the Privacy tab. Under Where can this video be embedded?, choose Only on these domains and add your site’s domain (for example, yourdomain.com). Then disable both Public page and Download video options so the video can’t be accessed directly or saved locally.

With this setup, even if someone copies your embed code or shares the Vimeo link, the player will refuse to load anywhere other than your approved site.

Wistia embedded video restriction setup

If you host your videos on Wistia, you can achieve the same level of video content restriction with its built-in domain restrictions feature, available on all paid plans.

In your Wistia account, open the Project or Video you want to secure and go to Settings → Embed & Share → Embed Restrictions. Under Domains, add the website(s) where your video should be playable — for example, yourdomain.com. You can list multiple subdomains if needed (like members.yourdomain.com).

Next, make sure Public Access is turned off under Permissions. This prevents anyone from viewing or embedding your video outside the domains you’ve approved.

With this setup, even if a user copies the embed code or finds the direct video URL, the player will only function when it’s loaded on your authorized domain.

Wistia pairs perfectly with Constellation: Constellation handles who can view the page, and Wistia ensures where that video can play.

YouTube setup

For most independent creators, even those in the YouTube Partner Program, this level of control isn’t available. Standard YouTube accounts can unlist videos or set them to “private”, but they can’t restrict embedding to specific domains.

For creators using YouTube Studio Content Manager (available to partners and rights holders), you can also control where your videos are embedded.

Most users should consider using an alternative solution like Wistia or Vimeo.

Combine both content restrictions for maximum protection

Once both layers are in place, your content is fully restricted and your members enjoy a seamless experience when attempting to stream videos from your WooCommerce store.

Constellation ensures only paying members can access the pages that contain your videos, while your video host enforces playback restrictions so the videos themselves can’t be shared or embedded anywhere else.

Without Constellation, even a domain-locked video could still appear on a public page. Without domain locking, members could copy the embed link and share it outside your site. Together, they cover both fronts: access control and content control.

The result is a system that feels simple for your members but powerful behind the scenes: a secure, professional video library built directly into your WooCommerce store.

An example: Building a secure video course with Constellation

Let’s look at a real example. Sarah runs “Yoga Masterclass”, a WooCommerce site offering premium video courses for yoga enthusiasts. She wants to create a smooth, on-site experience where members can stream videos directly within her lesson pages and not download them one by one.

Sarah installs Constellation, Kestrel’s membership and subscription extension. It lets her sell memberships, restrict content, and create member-only areas inside WordPress without needing separate plugins or checkout flows.

She creates a Pro Membership plan and uses Constellation’s content restriction rules to lock down all her lesson pages. Non-members who visit those URLs are redirected to a signup page encouraging them to join.

Next, Sarah uploads her course videos to Vimeo. To unlock domain-level embedding, she upgrades to Vimeo Pro (around $20/month). In her video’s Privacy settings, under Where can this video be embedded?, she chooses Only on these domains and adds yogamasterclassbysarah.com. She also disables the public page and download options so videos can’t be accessed directly or saved locally.

Now her setup is complete:

• Constellation ensures only paying members can access her lesson pages.
• Vimeo enforces playback restrictions so videos only stream when embedded on her site.

Even if a member shares the Vimeo link or tries to embed the video elsewhere, playback fails, keeping her premium content secure and accessible only to active members.

Verifying that everything’s working

Before launching, Sarah tests her configuration to make sure everything’s airtight:

1. Guest view: She logs out (or uses incognito mode) and confirms lesson pages are blocked and redirect correctly.
2. Direct Vimeo link: She tries to open the video link directly, Vimeo refuses to play it outside her approved domain.
3. Member view: She logs back in as a Pro Member and confirms videos load and stream perfectly from her site.

Once all three checks pass, she’s ready to open her course to paying students.

Limitations and FAQs for video content restriction with Constellation

Can members still screen-record my videos?
Yes! There’s no web-based system that can completely prevent screen recording. (You can even screen-record Netflix if you disable hardware accelaration first.)

However, domain restrictions and member-only access make casual sharing far less likely. For higher-value courses, consider watermarking videos or adding visible user IDs for accountability.

Note: this is possible with every restriction method.

Do I need to pay for both Constellation and Vimeo?
Yes, Vimeo’s domain-locking feature is available only on paid plans and Constellation is a paid WooCommerce extension. Together, they give you a professional, secure, fully integrated video membership platform that’s still far cheaper than a hosted course solution.

What if I host videos elsewhere?
The same principle applies: you can embed restricted video from any platform that allows domain restrictions (e.g., Wistia, Bunny.net, or self-hosted players) and combine it with Constellation’s membership rules.

Get started and restrict video with Constellation

If you’re ready to protect your video content and create a seamless, members-only streaming experience, try pairing Constellation with a Vimeo Pro plan. You’ll give members a polished viewing experience while keeping your content safely behind your paywall.

Learn more and get started with Constellation by Kestrel →