WooCommerce Integration

The WooCommerce integration gates a FlipBook behind a WooCommerce product purchase. Customers who buy the linked product can read the FlipBook; everyone else sees a configurable purchase prompt. Perfect for selling ebooks, premium reports, paid magazines, and any digital content where access should require payment.

When to use this

  • Selling an ebook or PDF, where the customer pays once and gets ongoing access.
  • Premium magazine subscriptions (paired with WooCommerce Subscriptions).
  • Paid course materials where each course is a product.
  • Members-only catalogs where membership is a product.

For role-based access (not purchase-based), use the User & Role Access Addon instead.

What you need

  • TNC FlipBook 3D Pro (the WooCommerce integration is a Pro feature).
  • WooCommerce 4.0+ installed and active.
  • A WooCommerce product to link the FlipBook to (Simple, Variable, or Subscription product types all work).

Step-by-step setup

1. Create a WooCommerce product

If you don't already have a product for this FlipBook:

  1. Go to Products → Add New.
  2. Give it a name (e.g. "2024 Premium Catalog").
  3. Set the price.
  4. Configure other product fields as you would for any WooCommerce product.
  5. Publish.

The product doesn't need to be "virtual" or "downloadable" — it just needs to exist.

2. Open the FlipBook editor

Go to FlipBooks → All FlipBooks and edit the FlipBook you want to gate.

3. Switch to the WooCommerce tab

In the metabox below the title, click the WooCommerce tab.

4. Link products

In the Access Control section:

  1. Linked Products field — type the product name; the dropdown shows matching WooCommerce products.
  2. Select one or more products. Customers who buy any of the linked products will have access.
  3. Save.

5. Configure the purchase overlay

In the Purchase Overlay section:

Setting

What it does

Overlay Heading

Headline shown to non-customers ("Premium Content")

Overlay Message

Body text explaining the value of buying

Button Text

Call-to-action button label ("Buy Now")

Button URL

Where the button leads (usually the product page)

Preview Pages

How many pages a non-customer can see before the overlay appears (e.g. first 5 pages free)

The overlay only appears for visitors who haven't purchased. Customers see the full FlipBook with no overlay.

6. Save and test

  1. Click Update.
  2. Log out of WordPress (or open an incognito window).
  3. Visit the FlipBook URL.
  4. You should see the preview pages, then the purchase overlay.
  5. Buy the product (or log in as someone who has).
  6. Reload — you should see the full FlipBook.

How access is verified

The plugin checks WooCommerce's customer order data to determine access:

  • A customer who has bought a linked product (and the order is completed, not pending or cancelled) gets access.
  • Refunded customers lose access.
  • The check runs server-side on every page load — there's no way to bypass it from the front end.

Supported product types

Type

Behavior

Simple Product

One-time purchase → permanent access

Variable Product

Customer buys any variation → access granted

Subscription Product

Active subscription → access; cancelled or expired → access revoked

WooCommerce Memberships

Active membership → access via WooCommerce filters

Grouped Product

Buy any child product → access

Access for multiple products

If you list multiple products under Linked Products, customers who buy any one of them get access. Useful for:

  • Bundling: customers can buy "Basic", "Premium", or "All Access" — all unlock the FlipBook.
  • Cross-sell: customers who bought a different premium product get free access to this one.

Preview pages strategy

The preview pages are your sales tool. Pick a number that:

  • Hooks the reader — show enough to demonstrate value.
  • Stops at a teaser — last preview page ends mid-content (cliffhanger).
  • Doesn't give away the whole thing — for an ebook, 5-10% of pages.

Recommended:

  • Magazine / catalog: 3-5 pages.
  • Ebook: first chapter (~10% of pages).
  • Long report: executive summary + first detailed section.

Purchase overlay design

Keep it focused:

  • Heading — what the reader gets in 5-7 words ("Unlock the full report").
  • Message — 1-3 sentences. Lead with the benefit, not features.
  • Button — clear action ("Buy Now — $19", "Subscribe", "View Pricing").
  • Button URL — direct to the product page or pricing page (one less click than the cart).

Variations: gating styles

The default behavior shows preview pages then a hard overlay. Other patterns possible:

Style 1 — Hard wall at page 1

Set Preview Pages to 0. Non-customers see the overlay immediately on opening the FlipBook.

Style 2 — Soft gate

Set a high Preview Pages count (e.g. 30 for a 100-page book). Most readers see the content but eventually hit the gate.

Style 3 — Gate plus locked thumbnails

Combine with Protection → Disable Download and watermark — even readers who screenshot don't get clean copies.

Combining with other addons

The WooCommerce integration plays well with other access addons (but pick one as the primary):

  • Lead Capture Addon — gate behind an email first, then upsell via WooCommerce. Useful for two-stage funnels.
  • Stamper Addon — when a customer downloads (after buying), their email and name are burned into the PDF. Anti-piracy.
  • User & Role Access Addon — if you want to gate by role and purchase. The plugin checks both gates.

WooCommerce Subscriptions integration

Subscriptions products work the same as Simple products with one extra rule:

  • Active subscription → access granted.
  • Cancelled subscription past the renewal date → access revoked.
  • Failed renewal payment → access revoked.

Subscribers see the FlipBook for as long as their subscription is active.

Important behavior notes

  • Logged-out users always see the overlay. Even if they've previously purchased, they need to log in for access verification.
  • Guest checkouts can't unlock the FlipBook (because there's no account to check). Disable guest checkout in WooCommerce settings if you're using this gating.
  • Bulk customers (one purchase covers multiple seats) aren't supported — every reader needs their own purchase.
  • Refunded purchases lose access immediately on refund processing.

Troubleshooting

Customer bought the product but still sees the overlay.

  • Confirm the order status is Completed (not Pending or On Hold). Until the order completes, the integration doesn't grant access.
  • Have the customer log in — guest checkouts can't be verified.
  • Confirm the linked products on the FlipBook match the actual purchased product.

Overlay doesn't appear at all.

  • Confirm Linked Products is filled in (at least one product selected).
  • Confirm the visitor isn't an administrator (admins bypass gating by default).
  • Test in an incognito window.

Subscription customer lost access unexpectedly. The subscription is probably cancelled or in renewal-failure state. Check the customer's WooCommerce subscription status.

Linked Products dropdown is empty.

  • WooCommerce isn't active. Activate WooCommerce first.
  • The site has no WooCommerce products yet. Create at least one product.

Access changes don't take effect until a re-login. Access checks happen on page load, not real-time. If a customer's access changes (refund, subscription cancellation), they may need to reload the FlipBook to see the change.

I want to give some customers free access without selling. Easiest: create a free product (price = 0). "Buy" gives them the order, which grants access. Or use the User & Role Access Addon for non-purchase access.

Next steps

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