How to Fix Course Access Issues in WooCommerce Caused by User Role Timing

Issue Background:

A WordPress site selling courses through WooCommerce disabled guest checkout, requiring users to create an account during purchase. However, after checkout:

• Courses were marked as expired for new users.

• This only occurred on the live site, not staging.

• The client used a custom plugin (“SuperTest SP”) and the User Switching plugin for testing.

Diagnosis:

• Timing conflict: The custom plugin evaluated course access before WooCommerce had fully processed the order and assigned user metadata.

• Role-based logic flaw: The function that determined whether access was "active" or "expired" relied on incomplete user data.

• Environment difference: Staging didn’t exhibit the problem due to faster or more lenient processing behavior.

Resolution Steps:

1. Tested with new accounts using User Switching to simulate the customer journey.

2. Audited the custom plugin code to locate and update the logic determining course access.

3. Added a delay or condition to ensure evaluation occurred after order completion and role assignment.

4. Validated changes on staging, then deployed to production.

Final Outcome:

Course access now updates correctly as "active" upon purchase completion. Customers no longer face confusion or support issues related to “expired” content immediately after buying.

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