Answers to questions merchants and agencies ask when launching with StoreCrafted Site Visibility Manager for WooCommerce.
Why are my settings not changing the live site?
The allowlist only applies when WooCommerce Site Visibility is set to Coming soon. If the site is Live, settings save but do not gate the front end.
Check WooCommerce → Settings → Site visibility, then confirm the status panel on WooCommerce → Settings → Site Visibility Manager.
Should I use “Apply to store pages only”?
For the common “homepage + blog public, shop closed” launch:
- Use Coming soon for the entire site (Apply to store pages only off).
- Open sections with this plugin.
Store pages only already leaves non-store URLs public, so blog presets are largely unnecessary in that mode.
Do child pages open when I allowlist a parent?
No. Only the exact selected page IDs are public. Select each child page you want open.
Does the private share link still work?
Yes. WooCommerce’s private share link and users with manage_woocommerce continue to bypass Coming Soon as usual.
Does this hide products from the REST API?
No. The plugin focuses on the Coming Soon template path. REST API and Store API visibility are unchanged.
Is this a maintenance-mode or Coming Soon page builder?
No. You keep Woo’s Page: Coming soon template in the Site Editor. This plugin only decides which front-end requests stay public while Coming Soon is on.
It is also not a general WordPress maintenance plugin for sites without WooCommerce.
Does this work with the WordPress MCP Adapter?
Yes, optionally. The plugin registers WordPress Abilities for allowlist status and settings. Install MCP Adapter only if you want MCP clients to call those abilities.
MCP Adapter is not required for the React settings tab. Abilities still require manage_woocommerce.
See Developers: Abilities API.
Can shop managers still browse the store?
Yes. Users who can manage WooCommerce see the full site while Coming Soon is on, consistent with WooCommerce core behaviour.
What about feeds, search, and author archives?
Those surfaces are never opened by the allowlist evaluator. Visitors hitting feeds, search, attachments, author archives, or date archives still see Coming Soon (unless Woo already excluded the request).