{"id":171393,"date":"2018-04-02T13:00:49","date_gmt":"2018-04-02T13:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/premium.wpmudev.org\/blog\/?p=171393"},"modified":"2018-03-28T22:27:54","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T22:27:54","slug":"why-you-may-want-to-password-protect-your-wordpress-site","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/why-you-may-want-to-password-protect-your-wordpress-site\/","title":{"rendered":"Why You May Want to Password Protect Your WordPress Site"},"content":{"rendered":"

It may seem counterintuitive, but there will be times when you need to restrict access to the content on your WordPress site. You can do this through a variety of means. You can make a page private. You can set your site to \u201cnoindex\u201d. You can also create landing pages<\/a> that only select individuals are given a link to.<\/p>\n

But did you know you can also password protect content on your WordPress site?<\/p>\n

It may seem excessive to add password protection to WordPress if there are other ways to mask content on your site, but this option will come in handy under certain circumstances. Let\u2019s take a look at what those are as well as a few of the ways in which you can password protect different parts of your WordPress site.<\/p>\n

9 Reasons You Might Want to Password Protect a WordPress Site<\/h2>\n

You might be thinking, \u201cWhat\u2019s the point in developing WordPress sites if we\u2019re just going to hide them from public view?\u201d Well, I can give you a number of reasons why WordPress developers would want to do this:<\/p>\n

1. Privacy<\/b>
\nI once had a client who developed a really innovative piece of technology. However, he was in the process of securing a patent for it, so he wanted to password protect his site until it went through.<\/p>\n

Now, the reason he didn\u2019t just set the site to private or wait to have it built until the patent was secured was simple: he needed to be able to educate possible investors on his invention and a website was the best way to do it. So, once they signed an NDA, he could grant them a temporary password that gave them 24-hour access to explore the site.<\/p>\n

2. Exclusivity<\/b>
\nWhile you might not run into this often or at all as a WordPress professional, people who create websites for personal reasons or a highly contained audience may want it to be totally exclusive to that group. Think of like a site built for friends or family to gather, share pictures, and communicate.<\/p>\n

3. Paid Privilege<\/b>
\nThis is basically when you create an area on your site that can only be accessed by paying members. You\u2019ve seen this with WPMU DEV<\/a>. You may have also experienced this if you joined an exclusive gym or spa. They usually have special areas on the site where you can explore and sign up for their services, classes, etc.. Basically, if you have a reason for a members-only area of the site, you need to password protect it.<\/p>\n

4. Restricted Events<\/b>
\nNot every page on a WordPress site needs to be shared with the public, especially if it gives users access to privileged information. With this kind of reasoning, you\u2019ll usually have to password protect things like landing pages for exclusive events or a page containing special downloadable content offered to those who attended an invite-only webinar.<\/p>\n

5. Sensitive Content<\/b>
\nFor bloggers that write content not suitable for all audiences, they can password protect certain posts. This may be because it covers something inappropriate for a younger audience or maybe they\u2019re not ready to share something new they\u2019ve written with everyone.<\/p>\n

6. Educational Environment<\/b>
\nThere may be some educational materials, resources, forums, etc. that you want to restrict access to on a WordPress site. Let\u2019s say you\u2019ve built the site out for a teacher or a class, but want to ensure that outsiders aren\u2019t able to access the proprietary materials. Your clients can give out passwords to students in order to keep their content reserved for those it belongs to.<\/p>\n

7. Internal Communications<\/b>
\nFor WordPress websites built for private company operations and communications, you may find it beneficial to make the entire site password protected or to block off certain areas based on individuals\u2019 roles within the company. You could also use this on a regular company website to restrict access to an employee portal where team members can go to check job-related notices, reminders, events, etc.<\/p>\n

8. Private Sales<\/b>
\nThis one is for artists and photographers (and maybe even web developers if you flip websites) who create content and need a secure place to upload and share it with clients.<\/p>\n

Take for instance, a photographer who shot a wedding. He or she doesn\u2019t want to force the client to view thousands of photos on some random cloud storage site as they would prefer they still receive the fully branded experience. So, they share the content with the client through a password protected area of their site. They can even add a purchase button there, so clients can go ahead and buy the photos immediately upon approval.<\/p>\n

9. NDA Restrictions<\/b>
\nAs a WordPress developer, it probably won\u2019t be all too often you run into a client who requires you to sign an NDA. In the example of the inventor I mentioned above, we did have to sign one, which also meant we were not able to use his web designs in our online portfolio.<\/p>\n

However, let\u2019s say you have a looser NDA agreement with a high-profile client with a super recognizable name. You would love to use screenshots of their website to demonstrate to prospective clients how you were able to take an already top-ranking WordPress site from great to amazing\u2026 but they don\u2019t want it to be publicly available on your site.<\/p>\n

In this case, I say it never hurts to ask. See how the client feels if you suggest locking their website behind password-protected gate in your portfolio. That way, you can still benefit from showing off the work you did on their site, but it will only be to prospective clients you deem necessary to show it to.<\/p>\n

How to Password Protect Content on Your WordPress Site<\/h2>\n

Whatever your reason for hiding your site or pages of your site from general access, you should know how to use password protection to control visibility. The first place to start is by figuring out what exactly you want to restrict access to:<\/p>\n