Accepting tips and monetizing media

Use Monetization → Pay hub → Content to set up reader tips and access to paid images, videos, or downloads. Tips are voluntary support; sending a tip does not unlock an article or media file.

Start on a private test site. These settings save automatically, and shared media settings can affect files already used across your website.

Set up reader tips

Tips use the payment token and payout wallet configured under Pay hub → Crypto. Turn on Crypto and confirm both before enabling tipping. See Accepting supported crypto payments.

1. Open Monetization → Pay hub → Content and find Tipping.
2. Turn the card On. If the switch is unavailable, complete the Crypto wallet and token settings first.
3. Under Quick tip amounts, enter a positive amount and choose Add. Remove an amount with its × button. Duplicate amounts are not accepted.
4. Set Button text and, optionally, a short Tip dialog message.
5. Wait for the save indicator to finish, reload the settings, and confirm the values remain. Open a published post to check the visitor view.

Amounts are in the configured token. For example, an amount of 5 means five units of that token. The tipping settings do not offer a separate recipient for each author or post.

Check the published post before advertising quick tip amounts: it may show only a custom-amount field. Test the choices visitors actually see.

Check the tip experience

The visitor enters an amount, chooses the send action, and approves the transaction in a compatible Solana wallet. Check the amount, token, and receiving wallet in the approval screen before approving an authorized test tip.

Verify the transfer in the wallet or transaction record and confirm receipt at the payout wallet. A success message on the page is not enough to establish final receipt. If the result is uncertain, check the transaction before trying again.

If the tip control is missing, confirm that Tipping and Crypto are enabled, the wallet and token are configured, and the published post layout includes tipping. Refresh the page after saving changes.

If the send action reports a missing wallet or unavailable payment component, ask your administrator to check wallet support and the site's tipping setup. A working Crypto checkout elsewhere on the site does not by itself verify the tip flow.

Choose what unlocks your media

Gated media requires customer sign-in and a matching purchase, subscription, or access entitlement. An entitlement is an existing access right recognized by Cedros Pay.

Use the exact Pay product ID or entitlement ID, rather than a product name, price ID, or checkout URL. An entitlement-only rule checks existing access and does not provide a product to buy. See Creating your first product.

Do not offer paid downloads until access works. A customer can complete the built-in media checkout and still find the file locked. Have your administrator resolve this and confirm that a test customer can buy, open, and reopen the file before you accept customer payments.

Using one product to unlock several files makes them a shared access offer. Decide whether customers are buying one file or a collection, then use the appropriate product references and describe the offer clearly.

Set shared media defaults carefully

Under Content → Gated media, turn the card On and choose Default media access:

• Public: no shared media restriction.
• Preview only: show the selected teaser while protecting the original.
• Locked: require access to the original. Check the preview settings too; a locked file can still expose a selected preview.

For Preview only or Locked, enter Product that unlocks media, Or an entitlement that unlocks media, or both. At least one is required. Add a Locked media message that explains the offer and next step. Customer sign-in is required automatically.

These defaults also apply to existing files without an active individual access rule. Review public logos, article images, and downloads before changing them. Turning shared gating off removes the default restriction, but does not remove active individual rules.

Article paywall and gated-media settings save together. Wait for saving to finish and reload to confirm the result; an error in either card can prevent the changes from saving.

Protect an individual file

Use the media library when a file needs its own access rule. See Uploading and organizing media for finding the file and its details.

1. Open the file's detail view and expand Access.
2. Choose Mode → Preview or Locked. Keep Status → Draft while preparing the rule on your private test site.
3. Enter Pay product, Entitlement, or both, and configure Preview, Variant, and an optional Preview asset ID.
4. Review the saved fields, then choose Status → Active when the rule is ready to enforce. Wait for autosave and reopen the file to confirm the rule.
5. Test the file as both an eligible customer and someone without access before using it in your public offer.

A Draft, Disabled, or Archived rule does not enforce that individual restriction; shared defaults may still apply. A draft rule is not a way to keep an uploaded file private.

Remove gate removes the individual rule and takes effect without a separate confirmation. Shared defaults then apply again. Before changing or removing access, check every page that uses the file.

Choose a safe public preview

Preview choices include Thumbnail, Watermarked, Clip, Poster, Placeholder, and None. Choosing Watermarked or Clip does not create a watermark or trim a video for you. Check the actual preview that a visitor receives.

For a specific teaser, upload a separate file suitable for public viewing. Use its asset ID in Specific preview asset under the shared card's Advanced section, or Preview asset ID on an individual rule. Make sure that teaser is itself publicly accessible. Leave the variant setting automatic unless you know which available version you want to use.

Choose None on an individual rule when no preview should be public. Check direct preview links as well as the page: a preview must not contain the full paid download or video you intended to protect.

Verify access and recover from problems

Check these outcomes on mobile and desktop:

• A signed-out visitor sees only the intended teaser or lock state and cannot open the original file directly.
• A signed-in customer without the required access remains blocked, including when checkout is cancelled or fails.
• An eligible customer can open, play, or download the original and can return to it after signing in again.
• The selected product, price, and currency match the offer, and an approved test purchase results in usable access.
• Unrelated public media still loads after shared defaults change.

If a paid customer remains locked out, check the account they used and the purchase or subscription record before asking them to pay again. If a preview is missing, check its processing status, selected version, and public availability.

If saving fails, correct the displayed error and reload to confirm what was retained. For further help, provide the page address, file reference, expected access, and visible error. See Getting help and reporting a problem.