Smart Visibility

Control who can see specific posts, pages, and notices based on their login role.

Overview

Not all website content should be visible to everyone. Smart Visibility lets you restrict individual posts and pages to specific audiences — public visitors, learners (pupils), mentors (staff), governors, Ofsted accounts, or observers.

When editing a post or page, you choose which roles can see it. Visitors without the right role will not see the content in listings or be able to access the page directly.

There is no settings page — visibility is controlled per piece of content.

Getting Set Up

Smart Visibility works automatically once Realsmart Core is installed. No configuration is needed.

Features

Per-content visibility

When editing a post, page, or notice, you will see a Smart Visibility meta box in the editor sidebar.

Available audiences:

Select one or more audiences for each piece of content. If none are selected, content is visible to everyone (public).

Shortcode wrapper

You can also wrap content within a page using the shortcode:

[smartVisibility roles="mentor,learner"]Your content here[/smartVisibility]

Only users with the specified roles will see the wrapped content.

Common Tasks

Making a page staff-only

1. Edit the page in WordPress.
2. In the Smart Visibility box, check Mentor.
3. Uncheck Public if it is selected.
4. Update the page.

Making a notice visible to pupils and staff only

1. Edit the notice (or post/page).
2. Check Learner and Mentor.
3. Uncheck Public.
4. Update.

Tips & Best Practice

• Default to Public for general school information. Only restrict content that genuinely needs an audience limit.
• Test visibility by viewing the page while logged in as different roles.
• Smart Visibility works on posts, pages, and the Smart Notices content type.
• Combine with Smart Menus for a complete role-based experience.

Troubleshooting

Restricted content is still visible to everyone

Why it happens: Public may still be checked, or the visibility settings may not have been saved.

How to fix it:

1. Edit the content and uncheck Public.
2. Ensure only the intended roles are selected.
3. Update the page and test in a private browser window (not logged in).

A logged-in user cannot see content they should see

Why it happens: Their SSO role may not match the visibility setting.

How to fix it:

1. Confirm the user's role (mentor, learner, etc.).
2. Check that the content's visibility includes their role.
3. Verify they are logged in through SSO.

Technical Reference

Shortcodes

Last updated: 9 July 2026 · Plugin version: 1.0.0 (Realsmart Core)