What is Access Restrictions?
Access Restrictions lets you stop certain visitors from using your store, based on their IP address or their country. Typical reasons: blocking a bot or fraudster who keeps placing fake COD orders, or selling only within India.
You manage it under Settings → System → Access Restrictions. There are four kinds of rule:
| Rule | What it does |
|---|---|
| IP Block | Blocks one IP address or a range of addresses. |
| IP Allow | Always lets an IP address or range in, even if another rule would block it. |
| Country Block | Blocks visitors from a country. |
| Country Allow | Lets visitors from this country in — and blocks every country you have not allowed. |
What it does and doesn't cover
- It applies to your store (shopping, cart, login, checkout). Your admin is never blocked, so you can't lock yourself out.
- A blocked visitor sees a plain page with your store name saying the store isn't available where they are, and asking them to contact you if it's a mistake.
- It works on IP address and country only, not on customer groups. To make the whole store members-only, turn off Settings → Checkout → Allow shopping for unlogged customers.
If something goes wrong while checking rules, CartWhizz lets the visitor in rather than risk blocking your whole store.