How to Password Protect a WordPress Page to Limit Content Visibility

In this article:

1. When Should I Control Access to a Page or Post?
2. How Do I Password-Protect a WordPress Page or Post?
3. How Can Visitors View a Password-Protected Page?
4. How Can I See Which of My Pages are Password-Protected?
5. How Do I Remove the Password Protection on a WordPress Page or Post?
6. Should I Use Password Protection for Personal Privacy?
7. Summary

At first, password-protecting a portion of your website may sound counterintuitive. After all, you want people to visit your website — why would you ever lock them out?

While it’s true that password-protecting your site isn’t usually necessary, there are some circumstances when doing so is a good idea. If you’re a photographer or designer, for example, you might need to protect some of your work or assets to safeguard your intellectual property. Alternatively, you might want to establish a password-protected page to limit how some of your private information is used.

By configuring a password “lock” on certain pages or posts, you restrict visitor access and allow only specific customers, coworkers, or associates to view them.

When Should I Control Access to a Page or Post?

If you’re a photographer or artist, it’s vital to control how your creative work is accessed by visitors. Although the majority of your site will be open to the public (including your gallery of past work), you may prefer to temporarily restrict access to other areas or subdirectories of it. For example, if you’re making adjustments to wedding images from a recent photo shoot, you may want to share your photos with the couple first, before the shots go live on your portfolio page.

If you’re a designer, you likely work on projects alongside various tradespeople or professionals who need access to your design details online. A properly secured page — along with the right terms and conditions — can protect your images, architectural plans, or decorating ideas from falling into the wrong hands.

As a bonus, password-protecting certain pieces of your work requires that potential clients get in touch with you, which enables you to add them to your email list, according to the blog Rise Design & Shine.

Regardless of your business, any “under construction” posts or pages that you’re collaborating on with a team should remain restricted or locked to everyone else until they’re ready to be viewed by the world.

How Do I Password-Protect a WordPress Page or Post?

To set up a password for a new page or post before publishing it (or to edit access to an existing one):

1. From your post or page editor, go to the Page tab in the sidebar.
2. Click on Public in the Visibility option.
3. Select Password protected.
4. Type a secure password into the field.

How Can Visitors View a Password-Protected Page?

After you restrict the visibility of a page on your WordPress.com website or blog, all visitors to the page will be prompted to enter the password to access the page.

How Can I See Which of My Pages are Password-Protected?

When viewing the list of all pages or posts in your WordPress admin area, password-protected pages will indicate their status, as shown here:

How Do I Remove the Password Protection on a WordPress Page or Post?

You can reverse the password-protected page setting by returning to the Visibility option when editing the page and choosing the Public setting.

Should I Use Password Protection for Personal Privacy?

If you upload photos of friends and family to your personal blog or website, you (or they) might not want the whole world to have access to the images. It’s smart and thoughtful to reserve a password-protected gallery page for the eyes of acquaintances and relatives only.

This way, everyone (from your fans to your family) can enjoy your content in ways that you’re all comfortable with. After all, there’s nothing wrong with a little online privacy in both your personal and business lives.

Summary

There are many good reasons to restrict access to the content of a page or post on your website. In this article, we’ve shown how easy it is to:

• password-protect a page
• see all pages you’ve protected
• and revert to a public page

You might also be interested in reading How WordPress.com Protects Sites from Common Security Issues