WordPress.com

1. halphillipsfamilytree
   Member
   May 3, 2009, 1:16 PM

   I'd like to have a private, password-protected blog, viewable only by people to whom I give the password. Is there a way to do this?

   If not, it seems like the best alternative would be to select "I would like my blog to be visible only to users I choose", create a user name, and make that the only user name with access. Instead of giving people a password to view the blog, I'd give them the login and password to sign on to this dummy user name, and they could then see the private blog-- which is less convenient than simply entering a password.

   Can I password-protect a blog? And if not, is there a better alternative than the one I described?

   Thanks! (And I apologize if this has been covered-- I looked around and couldn't find anything.)

   The blog I need help with is halphillipsfamilytree.wordpress.com.

2. jonasgrumby
   Member
   May 3, 2009, 2:27 PM

   I don't think you can do this on wordpress.com but you can certainly do it by installing WordPress on your own server and using a plugin that only allows users who are registered and logged in to see the site. All others would be redirected to the login screen. Test these plugins carefully. I tried the Registered Users Only plugin a while back and found that it didn't quite work properly.

   Something less exclusive (if you host your own site) would be to use the User Access Manager plugin to create access groups so that only people assigned to a given group could see pages or posts assigned to that group.

   If your site is on wordpress.com you could mark your posts or pages Private and then only users who have a role of Editor or Administrator would be able to see those posts or pages. Of course by doing that you'd be giving those people a whole lot of other privileges as well. You can't install plugins on sites hosted by wordpress.com.

3. panaghiotisadam
   Member
   May 3, 2009, 3:26 PM

   @halphillipsfamilytree: if you set your blog to private, then the users you choose won't even need a password.

4. perfectionistgal
   Member
   May 3, 2009, 3:55 PM

   Of course you can create a password-protected page. Edit the page you want to keep it as a private blog and on the right hand side there's a heading "Publish". Just look down below then you'll see three parts, "Status", "Visibility", "Publish...". Click "Edit" on visibility then you'll see words called "password-protected", enter the password you want then save the page. If you want a password protected "BLOG", this is the only option...you'll just need to do it page by page and create password protected pages.

5. jonasgrumby
   Member
   May 4, 2009, 4:38 AM

   @panaghiotisadam - setting your blog to private just adds noindex / nofollow tags to the pages & posts so that search engines won't index it. It does not make it so that unwanted visitors can't read it.

   @perfectionistgal - Yes, you're right. You can password protect individual pages and posts. It's not ideal because users will have to enter a password for every protected post or page that they want to read. Even if all of the pages/posts have the same password, users will have to enter it for each one.

   The original question was about how to password protect an entire wordpress site. I don't think it can be done on wordpress.com. If you host your own wordpress site, you can do it very easily with a plugin.

6. raincoaster
   Member
   May 4, 2009, 4:47 AM

   That's not correct. Setting the entire blog to private does indeed mean that people must be invited to see the blog.

   And here is the WP.com response on password-protecting the entire blog:

   http://support.wordpress.com/posts/post-visibility/

7. uselesspoliticalbios
   Member
   May 4, 2009, 11:14 AM

   Thanks.

   Setting the blog to private won't really get the job done, because most of the people I'd want to share the blog with probably don't have WordPress accounts. They'd have to set one up, I'd have to get their usernames and give them permission, and they'd have to log in. I'd also rather not password-protect each individual page separately and make people have to enter the password again with each individual click.

   It sounds like what I described in my second paragraph is my best bet. People would still have to log in, but at least there'd be an account ready for them to log in to.

8. halphillipsfamilytree
   Member
   May 4, 2009, 11:16 AM

   Oops. That was me, on a different account. Sorry.

9. jonasgrumby
   Member
   May 4, 2009, 4:38 PM

   Thanks raincoaster. That's another difference between wordpress.com and hosting your own WordPress site. When you host it yourself, the only privacy setting that is offered merely blocks search engines from listing and spidering the site. The third radio button that you get in a wordpress.com blog is not present in a self-hosted installation. The only way to make a self-hosted wordpress site completely private is with a plugin.

10. murraysholinder
    Member
    May 13, 2009, 5:13 AM

    I have reached the same conclusion. I have uploaded wordpress 2.7.1 to my own hosting site, got everything working and now want that third option under Privacy, "I would like my blog to be visible only to users I choose".

    What is the name of the plug-in that offers this option in Privacy?

11. thesacredpath
    Member
    May 13, 2009, 5:22 AM

    You will have to inquire over at http://wordpress.ORG/support/ which is where self-hosted blogs are supported. You can try a search in extend > plugins at .ORG and see what you come up with. I don't remember seeing anything there that will do that, but there could be something.

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