Creating a password protected page or post in WordPress is easy and a default tool within WordPress.
When Would I Need This?
The most common reasons for creating a password protected page are as follows:
a. You have private content you don’t want the general public to see, but want to be able to provide it to your customers.
b. You have private downloads you don’t want the general public to access.
* PLEASE NOTE: If you have downloads on this page, this will not prevent someone from copying the download link and posting it elsewhere. Only the page itself will be password protected. If you need a solution for password protecting the actual page and files, there are various plugins that can help. Contact us today for options.
Instructions
Follow these easy steps within your admin tools:
- Add a “new page” or “edit” an existing one.
- On the right hand column under the “Publish” options, click EDIT next to the “Visibility” settings
- Select “Password protected” option, then enter a password of choice into the new field.
- Finish creating / editing your page, then click the PUBLISH / UPDATE button.
- Once the page refreshes, click ‘VIEW’ to view the new page. This will be the URL you will send to others.
SEO Plugins Extra
If you have an SEO plugin installed, here is an extra step to take to ensure this page isn’t spidered by the search engines. Continuing from the steps above:
- Scroll down to bottom of your page / post and look for an area likely named “YOAST SEO” or “ALL IN ONE SEO”.
- Ensure this is expanded, and click on the ADVANCED OPTIONS area.
- Look for a section that says “Allow search engines to show this” and set to “NO” or “FALSE”.
- Downloads: If your page contains downloads, look for an option similar to “should search engines follow links on this page?” and set to “NO” or “FALSE”.
- Save the page / post.
