Restrict collection access to tagged customers only

ColB · ‎06-15-2025

Case; I need to restrict access to 2 collections which are for professionals only. if a visitor to the store clicks on the the collection they are redirected to a professional only page, with message. if one uses the collection url directly in the browser this redirect message appears. however if a visitor visits the home page and clicks on the collection it is still accessible. I have added code in so many places, but cannot seem to find the correct link. here is the code which i have placed in theme.liquid. I suspect the solution is a simple one. but i need your advice please.

{% comment %} Protect restricted collections {% endcomment %}
{% if request.path contains '/collections/professional-podiatry-products' or request.path contains '/collections/podiatry-consumables' %}
{% if customer %}
{% unless customer.tags contains 'password-page' or customer.tags contains 'pro' %}
<script>window.location.href = '/pages/professional-only';</script>
{% endunless %}
{% else %}
<script>window.location.href = '/pages/professional-only';</script>
{% endif %}
{% endif %}

Zeke-AiphaTech · ‎06-15-2025

Hi ColB,

When a visitor clicks an internal link, Shopify swaps in the new page without re-running theme.liquid; typing the URL or refreshing reloads the whole theme.

Because these two paths behave differently, place your access-control code inside the collection template so it always executes.

For your reference:

{% assign need_redirect = collection.handle == 'professional-podiatry-products'
or collection.handle == 'podiatry-consumables' %}

{% if need_redirect %}
{% unless customer and customer.tags contains 'pro' %}
{%- layout none -%} 
<head>
<meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; url=/pages/professional-only">
</head>
{% endunless %}
{% endif %}

8 yrs frontend | 2 yrs Shopify app dev | Love to help!
Contact: zeke@aipha.tech
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Olamzstudio · ‎06-16-2025

The issue might be due to caching or the way Shopify handles redirects. Let's try a different approach

Instead of using `window.location.href`, try using `redirect` in your theme's Liquid code or a JavaScript snippet that checks the collection handle.

Code:

{% if collection.handle == 'professional-podiatry-products' or collection.handle == 'podiatry-consumables' %}

{% if customer.tags contains 'password-page' or customer.tags contains 'pro' %}

{% else %}

{% assign redirect_url = '/pages/professional-only' %}

{% endif %}

Add this code in your `collection.liquid` file or `theme.liquid` file, depending on your theme's structure.

Using `collection.handle` ensures you're targeting the specific collection, and the `meta` tag redirect should work consistently.

Let me know if this resolves the issue...

If this clarified the solution,let me know by marking
And further questions,feel free to ask
olamzstudio#;gmail.com both on Shopify