Unlike WordPress membership plugins, adding password protection to your WordPress site does not require the user to register or log in, which is useful in a number of cases. You can block access to certain private WordPress posts and pages with a simple password. Sometimes when setting up a private site for internal discussions and communications or while your website is under development, you may want to password protect your entire WordPress site. This way, anyone with the password can log in without having to register.
There are many plugins to password protect your entire WordPress site. In this post, we will discuss the top 3 password protection WordPress plugins that are worth your consideration.
1. Password protected
The password protected plugin protects your entire WordPress site with a single password. All you have to do is activate the configuration option and then enter the password. As a consequence, your home page and the rest of the pages on your site will be blocked from the public.
This plugin enables administrators and registered users to access your entire WordPress website without having to enter a password. There is an option to keep your RSS feeds public even if your site is protected. Simple and straightforward, Password Protected is ranked the number one password protected plugin in the WordPress plugin repository, having received many 5-star reviews.
On the downside, the plugin does not provide any additional features regarding password protection. At the same time it comes with a rather outdated user interface.
Pros
- Simple and easy to use
- Grant automatic access to administrators or registered users
Cons
- Protect WordPress content with only limited options and no other features
- Come with an outdated user interface
2. Hide my site
Hide My Site offers a more advanced solution to password protect your site from the public or search engines.
Even though you can enable site-wide password protection simply by checking a configuration checkbox, the plugin doesn't stop there. It enables your users to stay connected for a period of time. In other words, users can re-enter the site without entering the password until the preset time has passed.
At the same time, you can set a password hint that reminds your visitors of the password. It could be a simple question or hint with a maximum of 53 characters that only your authorized users would know. If you fear that unwanted users might guess the password based on the hint, you can leave it empty.
Your site could be configured as accessible to users who are logged in as administrators or come from specific IP addresses. The latter is a useful feature not found in similar plugins. Also, Hide My Site offers a brute force protection option that helps prevent hackers from guessing your password using the "brute force" method.
Last but not least, there is an option to display a notification message on the login page to let users know that this is a private website or that the site is under development. When upgrading to the Premium version, you can display a custom notification message at the top of your login page. The Premium version of Hide My Site at the same time provides several eye-catching login page themes for you to choose based on your website design.
Despite those advanced features, there is still room for improvement, especially in terms of the user interface. Configuration options, for example, could be grouped into sections to make it easier for users to navigate.
At the same time, like other password-protected plugins, Hide My Site does not protect images or other attachments. If people could somehow find the exact URL of a media file, they can simply go in and download it.
Pros
- Provide various login page themes
- Customize notification messages
- Allow access from specific IP addresses
Cons
- User interface could be improved
- Does not protect attachments
3. Password protected WordPress
Password Protected WordPress Plugin provides another interesting solution to password protect your entire WordPress site. All content on your website, including pages, posts, and other types of custom posts, except media files, are protected. For security reasons, the password is encrypted. In other words, it is not visible to anyone, including administrators. The downside is that you have to reset the password in case you forget it.
While protecting the entire website, you can exclude one or more specific pages. Instead of displaying the login page directly, you might want to display a next page or landing page so that visitors know that this is a private site.
Equivalent to the Duration feature of Hide My Site, Password Protect WordPress frees users from having to enter the same password again until password cookies expire. You can change the expiration time on the plugin settings page.
In addition to site-wide protection features, Password Protect WordPress includes many other advanced features. The plugin enables you to set multiple passwords per page and post. At the same time, each user role at the same time can have a different password, in other words, one for subscribers and another for publishers.
Server-side caching and caching plugins can cause clashes with password protection features. Password protected WordPress solves that with minor settings.
the Password Protection Pro The version goes even further and enables you to not only manage all passwords in one friendly pop-up, but at the same time create unlimited passwords per user role or the same password for multiple pages. At the same time you can customize the error messages.
Although this plugin does not protect uploaded files and images, it can be integrated with Avoid direct access to gold to block direct URL access to all media files, including images, videos, or PDF.
Password protected WordPress is relatively new to most users. Having said that, its modern UI offers an unfair advantage over the previous 2 plugins. The different sections, drop-down options, and toggle buttons are straightforward and easy to use.
Pros
- Able to exclude specific pages from site-wide protection
- Provide other password-protected functions
- Integrate with Prevent Direct Access Gold to protect file uploads
- It comes with a modern and easy-to-use user interface
Cons
- There are no options to customize the login page
- Relatively new for most users
Summary
In short, the 3 plugins mentioned are great options for password protecting your entire WordPress site. Password Protected may be the most popular password protection plugin, but it comes with an outdated user interface and limited options. Hide My Site, apart from this, provides a more complete solution to password protect the entire WordPress site, including granting access to specific IP addresses. Finally, Password Protect WordPress enables you to not only exclude some specific pages from password protection throughout the site, but at the same time password protect pages and posts by user roles.
So what is the most suitable plugin to password protect the entire WordPress site? Let us in the comment section below.
