Pro feature

Private boards and item visibility

Pro feature You need SimpleBoards Pro active to use this.

SimpleBoards Pro lets you hide a board from the public, or hide a single item without hiding the whole board. This page explains the two controls and how they combine.

Two controls, two scopes

There are two separate switches:

  1. Board visibility. Applies to the whole board. When a board is private, only the roles you allow can see it.
  2. Item visibility. Applies to one item at a time. When an item is private, only people who can edit it can see it.

You can use them on their own or together.

Board visibility (private boards)

Go to the board edit screen (SimpleBoards > Boards, then click a board). Pro adds a section called Visibility to the board settings. Inside it:

  • Make this board private. A checkbox. When ticked, the board is private.
  • Allowed roles. A multi-select list of WordPress user roles. Only users in one of these roles can see the board. Leave it empty to allow any logged-in user to see the board.

When a board is private:

  • Visitors who are not logged in cannot see the board. They are shown a short message asking them to log in.
  • Logged-in users who do not have an allowed role are shown a short message that the board is private.
  • Administrators always have access, even if their role is not in the allowed list.
  • The board does not show up in board listings for visitors who do not have access.

This is the right setting for an internal roadmap (visible only to your team), or for a customer-only roadmap (visible only to a customer role you set up).

Item visibility (private items)

You can also mark a single item as private without making the whole board private. This lets you keep an idea or a roadmap item out of public view while the rest of the board stays open.

Open an item in the WordPress admin or in the drawer on the front of the site. Pro adds a Visibility field with two options:

  • Public. The default. Anyone who can see the board can see this item.
  • Private. The item is hidden from anyone who cannot edit it.

When an item is private:

  • The card does not appear on the public Ideas or Roadmap tab.
  • A direct link to the item shows the public-private message.
  • Editors and admins (anyone with permission to edit the item) can still see and edit it.

Use this for items you want to track internally but not advertise yet: planned but not announced features, private bug reports, or anything you do not want competitors to see.

How board and item visibility combine

The two controls add up. The strictest one wins:

  • Public board + public item. Everyone who lands on the board sees the item.
  • Public board + private item. Everyone sees the board. Only editors see the private item.
  • Private board + public item. Only allowed roles see the board. They see the item.
  • Private board + private item. Only allowed roles can reach the board. Among those, only editors see the private item.

You do not have to think hard about this. A private item is always hidden from people who cannot edit it, no matter what the board says.

Who counts as "an editor"

The plugin uses the standard WordPress permission to decide if someone can edit an item. By default this means Administrator and Editor roles can edit any item. Author and Contributor can edit their own items. Other roles cannot.

If you use a role plugin (for example, Members or User Role Editor) to change WordPress capabilities, SimpleBoards follows those changes.

A short example

You run a board called Acme App Roadmap. Most of the roadmap is public, but you have one item, "New billing engine", that is not announced yet. You also keep a second board called Internal Roadmap that only your team should see.

Settings:

  • The public board is not private. Its visibility is left at default. The "New billing engine" item is set to Private.
  • The internal board has Make this board private ticked, with Allowed roles set to Administrator and Editor.

Result:

  • A guest opens the public roadmap. They see every public item. They do not see "New billing engine".
  • A team member with the Editor role opens the public roadmap. They see every public item plus "New billing engine".
  • The same guest opens the internal roadmap URL. They are shown the private-board message.
  • The Editor opens the internal roadmap and sees the full board.

Last updated

2026-05-23 · SimpleBoards Pro 1.0.1