How to Control Meeting Access and Co-Hosts in GoodMeet

Running a members-only class or an internal review? By default, anyone with the link can open a meeting’s page on your site. GoodMeet lets you limit meeting pages to logged-in users or to chosen WordPress roles, for the whole site or for one meeting.

You can also name co-hosts. GoodMeet adds them to the Google Meet call as co-hosts, so they skip the waiting room and get host controls. You set the site-wide defaults first, then override them on a single meeting where needed.

By the end of this guide, you will have:

• A site-wide rule for who can open meeting pages
• Default co-hosts added to every new meeting
• A check that your Google plan supports co-hosts
• One meeting with its own page access and co-hosts
• A clear idea of what blocked visitors see

Before you begin #

Make sure you have:

• GoodMeet and GoodMeet Pro installed and activated
• An administrator account on your WordPress site
• A connected Google account. See How to connect your Google account to GoodMeet.
• For co-hosts: a paid Google Workspace plan that supports co-hosts (see Step 4)

Let’s get started.

Step 1: Open Access & hosts #

The site-wide defaults live in GoodMeet settings. Each meeting can override them later.

1. In the WordPress admin menu, go to GoodMeet > Settings.
2. In the settings menu on the left, click Access & hosts.
3. Check that the screen shows two groups: Page access and Default co-hosts.

Step 2: Choose who can open meeting pages #

Default access applies to every meeting set to Site default, which is every meeting until you change it.

1. Find Default access in the Page access group.
2. Pick one option:
   – Everyone: anyone with the link, logged in or not. This is the default.
   – Logged in: any user with an account on your site.
   – By role: only users with one of the roles you choose.
3. If you picked By role, click the Allowed roles field that appears and pick one or more roles, for example Subscriber and Customer.

Step 3: Add default co-hosts #

Default co-hosts join every new meeting with host controls, which suits a teaching assistant or an operations lead who helps run every call.

1. Find the Default co-hosts group.
2. Click Co-host users, type a name and pick a WordPress user. GoodMeet uses the email address on their account.
3. In Co-host emails, type any Google account email and press Enter. Repeat for each person.

Step 4: Check that your Google plan supports co-hosts #

Google only allows co-hosts on some plans. Checking now saves you from wondering later why nobody got host controls.

1. Read the note at the top of Default co-hosts. It lists the plans that support co-hosts and says: “Free @gmail.com and Starter accounts cannot add co-hosts.”
2. Click Check my plan. GoodMeet asks Google and shows the result under the note.

The possible results are:

• Co-host management supported on this account. You are ready.
• Co-host management not supported on this Google account (requires a paid Google Workspace plan with co-host feature). Page access still works, but co-hosts are not added.
• Reconnect Google Meet to grant the new permission scope required for co-host management. Reconnect your Google account in Settings > Connect, then check again.

Step 5: Save your defaults #

Your changes take effect only after you save them.

1. Look at the bar at the bottom of the screen. It shows the number of unsaved changes.
2. Click Save changes. To undo your edits instead, click Discard.

Step 6: Override access and co-hosts for one meeting (Access and controls) #

Some meetings need different rules from the rest of the site, such as a staff-only review on a public site.

1. Go to GoodMeet > All Meetings and edit a meeting, or click Add new.
2. In the steps on the left, click Access and controls. The step heading reads Who can join?

Set page access for this meeting #

1. Click the Page access field. Its hint reads Who can open this meeting’s page.
2. Pick an option:
   – Site default: follow Default access from Step 2. This is the default.
   – Public: anyone with the link.
   – Logged in: any logged-in user.
   – By role: only the roles you pick.

1. If you picked By role, pick roles in the Allowed roles field that appears. This list replaces the site’s roles for this meeting.

Set co-hosts for this meeting #

1. Click the Co-hosts field. Its hint reads Who gets Google Meet co-host controls in this meeting.
2. Pick an option:
   – Default co-hosts: use the people from Step 3.
   – Defaults plus extra: the defaults, plus people you add here.
   – Only these: only the people you add here. The defaults are left out.
3. For the last two options, add people in Co-host users and Co-host emails, the same way as in Step 3.

Step 7: Save the meeting #

Saving applies the page access rule on your site and sends the co-hosts to Google.

1. Click Update meeting at the top right. For a new meeting, click Create meeting.
2. Wait for the confirmation message. GoodMeet saves the page access rule, then adds the co-hosts to the Google Meet call.

What visitors see #

A visitor who is not allowed to open the meeting page never sees the meeting details or the join button. They see a short message inside your theme instead.

When the rule is Logged in or By role and the visitor is logged out, the page shows Login Required with a Log in button. After logging in, they come back to the same meeting.

When a logged-in user does not have an allowed role, the page shows Access Denied and You do not have permission to access this meeting.

How GoodMeet decides who can open a meeting page #

GoodMeet checks these rules in order:

1. The meeting’s host can always open it.
2. Site administrators can always open it.
3. If the meeting’s Page access is Site default, GoodMeet uses Default access from settings. Otherwise it uses the meeting’s own choice.
4. Logged in and By role send logged-out visitors to Login Required. By role sends logged-in users without a listed role to Access Denied.

Benefits of access rules and co-hosts #

• Members-only pages: Logged in and By role close the meeting page to everyone else.
• One rule, with exceptions: Default access covers every meeting set to Site default, and a staff-only meeting can still set its own roles.
• Help running the call: Co-hosts skip the waiting room and can admit, mute and remove participants.
• No dead ends: Logged-out visitors get Login Required with a Log in button and return to the same meeting afterwards.

Troubleshooting #

Visitors still open the meeting page without logging in #

The meeting’s own Page access wins over the site default.

Check that:

• The meeting’s Page access is not set to Public. Set it to Site default or Logged in and click Update meeting.
• Default access in Access & hosts is not set to Everyone, if the meeting follows the site default.
• You test in a private window. Administrators and the host always get in.

I set By role, and now nobody can open the page #

The visitors’ role is not in the list, or no role is picked at all.

Check that:

• Allowed roles lists the roles your visitors have.
• You edited the right list. A meeting’s own Allowed roles replaces the site’s list for that meeting.

Co-hosts were not added to the Google Meet call #

The connected Google account cannot add co-hosts, or it was connected before co-host permissions existed.

1. Click Check my plan in Access & hosts.
2. If it asks you to reconnect, reconnect in Settings > Connect.
3. Open the meeting and click Update meeting.

New default co-hosts are missing from older meetings #

Co-hosts are added when a meeting is created or updated, not when you save settings.

1. Open each older meeting.
2. Click Update meeting.

A person I removed is still a co-host #

GoodMeet removes co-hosts that are no longer listed only while at least one co-host is still listed for that meeting.

1. Remove the person in Google Meet or Google Calendar directly, or
2. Keep at least one co-host listed and click Update meeting.

The Access & hosts fields are greyed out #

GoodMeet Pro is not active. Activate GoodMeet Pro. Clicking a locked field opens the upgrade dialog.

Frequently asked questions #

Do restricted meetings still appear in Google Calendar? #

Yes. Page access only controls the meeting page on your site. Calendar invitations and the Google Meet link follow Google’s own rules.

Can a meeting host be locked out of their own meeting? #

No. The host and site administrators always pass the check, whatever the rule says.

Do co-hosts need an account on my site? #

No. Use Co-host emails for anyone with a Google account. Use Co-host users for people who already have a site account.

Is “Everyone” in settings the same as “Public” on a meeting? #

Yes. Both let anyone with the link open the page.

Does a free @gmail.com account support co-hosts? #

No. Co-hosts need a paid Google Workspace plan. Page access works with any Google account.

Security best practices #

• Start strict. Use Logged in or By role as the site default, and set Public only on meetings meant for everyone.
• Remember that page access protects the meeting’s own page. If you embed a meeting on another page with a shortcode, limit access to that page too. See How to show meetings on any page with GoodMeet shortcodes.
• Anyone who has the raw Google Meet link can still knock to join. Share the meeting page, not the Meet link, and let the host admit people.
• Give co-host controls only to people you trust. Co-hosts can admit, mute and remove participants.
• Review Default co-hosts when people leave your team, then click Update meeting on upcoming meetings so Google gets the new list.
• Test every rule in a private window as a logged-out visitor and as a user with each role.

You’re ready to control access and co-hosts #

Your meeting pages now open only for the roles you picked, and your co-hosts get host controls in Google Meet. Next, put meetings on your own pages and set up the pages your instructors and students use.

• How to show meetings on any page with GoodMeet shortcodes
• How to let instructors create meetings from the front end
• How to require registration for a meeting with GoodMeet
• How to connect your Google account to GoodMeet