How To Use Upgrade Links In Membership

Modified on Wed, 1 Jul at 12:51 AM

What This Feature Does

Upgrade Links let you restrict certain modules or lessons to specific pricing tiers (Bundles). Students who haven't purchased access to that content see an upgrade prompt instead of the lesson — turning locked content into a sales opportunity.

Before You Start

You must have at least one Bundle created under Pricing settings (see Membership Course Creation)
A Bundle = a pricing tier that includes specific modules/lessons (e.g., "Lite" vs "Full")
Any content not included in a student's purchased bundle is automatically restricted

Getting Started: Create Your Membership Course

Before you can use upgrade links, you must first create a Bundle. Bundles define which lessons are included in a course.

Pricing Settings and Bundle Examples

FlexiFunnels allows you to create multiple bundles using the pricing settings in the Membership section.

Example:

Bundle A – Timeline Domination (Full Course)
Includes all videos and content.
Bundle B – Timeline Domination Lite
Includes only selected videos from Bundle A (e.g., only Module 1, excluding Module 2).

This way, you can create tiered course offerings and control access based on what students purchase.

❗Note: Any video not included under Pricing > Bundle settings will be restricted to students. When they try to access it, they'll see a default 403 Access Forbidden message.

You can customize this access restriction message using the Upgrade Link settings.

How to Use Upgrade Links

You can add Upgrade Links to modules or individual lessons that are not included in a bundle. This allows students to upgrade their plan to get full access.

Step 1:

Click on a Module to apply the Upgrade Link to all lessons in that module at once.

Step 2:

Enter the Upgrade Link details (URL and message to display).

? Optional: You can also add upgrade links individually to each lesson if you want different upgrade messages or links per lesson.

Final Outcome

Only the lessons or modules not included in the selected Bundle will display the Upgrade Link. This makes it easy to:

Tease premium content
Upsell full course access
Improve course monetization

What Happens Without an Upgrade Link

If you don't set up an upgrade link, restricted content shows a generic "403 Access Forbidden" message — no branding, no upsell, no path to purchase. Setting an upgrade link replaces this generic error with your custom message and a clickable path to upgrade.

Real-World Scenario

Setup:

Bundle: Lite ($37) — includes Module 1 only
Bundle: Full ($97) — includes Modules 1–4

What you do:

On Module 2, 3, and 4 — add an upgrade link pointing to the Full Access checkout page
Message: "This module is part of Full Access. Upgrade now to unlock it."

What a Lite-tier student sees:

Module 1: fully accessible
Modules 2–4: locked, showing your custom message and an "Upgrade Now" link
Clicking it sends them to the Full Access checkout page

Common Issues & Fixes

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix
Students still see generic 403 error	Upgrade link wasn't saved, or it's set on the wrong module/lesson	Re-check the module/lesson settings and confirm Save was clicked
Upgrade link shows for students who already paid	Student's purchase isn't linked to the correct bundle	Verify their order/bundle assignment in the customer record
Lesson shows module-level link instead of custom lesson link	Lesson-level override wasn't saved properly	Re-enter the lesson-specific link and save again
Clicking upgrade link leads to wrong page	URL typo or outdated checkout link	Test the link in a new browser tab; update if broken