Our readers often ask about customizing password-protected pages in WordPress. It’s a great way to enhance user experience and boost subscriptions. Additionally, you can promote other pages on your website.
The problem is that changing the design of locked pages isn’t easy. You often need a developer or coding knowledge, but don’t worry.
In this step-by-step tutorial, I’ll show you how to customize a password-protected page in WordPress. And you won’t need to write code.
When & Why Customize Password Protected Pages in WordPress?
If you want to create exclusive content on your WordPress site that only members or clients can access, WordPress’s password protection feature is a handy tool. It allows you to lock pages or even your entire website easily.
However, the default design for a password protected page is quite basic. It’s just a plain box asking for a password:
This is where customization can help. By tailoring the look and feel of password protected pages, you can:
- Create a more engaging experience for your visitors.
- Keep a consistent and professional brand identity.
- Guide users seamlessly towards entering the password or taking desired actions.
With this in mind, I’ll show you how to enable password protection and ways to customize the default page, specific pages, different sections, and your entire website.
How to Enable a WordPress Password Protected Page
To enable the WordPress password-protected page feature, follow these steps:
- Open the page or post you want to protect
- In the Publish meta box, click the Visibility option
- Choose Password Protected from the dropdown menu
- Enter the password you want users to enter to access the protected content
- Click the blue Publish button to save your changes
Although this method is easy, it has limited customization options. That’s why you should use one of the methods below. They help you create a completely customized password-protected page in WordPress.
Customize Default Password Protected Page Design
Our first solution is to edit your CSS with a visual editor plugin. This allows you to edit the CSS of any page without editing the code.
For this method, we’re using CSS Hero. It’s one of the best plugins for customizing your WordPress site by pointing and clicking.
CSS Hero is ideal for customizing the standard page. You see it when you password-protect WordPress using the default visibility option.
So instead of a password page like the one below, you can pinpoint each area and change the look.
Install CSS Hero
To get started, you can get CSS Hero here and install the plugin on your website. Then, navigate to your password-protected page in WordPress.
From the WordPress admin bar at the top of your page, click the Customize with CSS Hero option.
This reveals a simple point-and-click visual editor to edit and customize your WordPress page.
Customize Your Design
Click the header to open the options panel on the left. Then, you can choose a color from the color picker tool.
Click your page’s background. Choose a color or gradient from the list to change it. You can also add your background image.
The drawback of using CSS Hero is you can’t add elements like contact forms, signup forms, and social buttons. For those, we suggest using the SeedProd method below.
Continue customizing your page, clicking different elements, and adding custom colors and fonts.
Publish Your Changes
When you’re happy with your design, click the Save and Publish button. Then, click the Quit icon in the top-right corner of your screen.
This will take you to your newly edited locked page design, complete with its password form.
Customize Specific Password Protected Pages
The next method in this WordPress tutorial uses SeedProd. It’s the best WordPress website builder with a front-end visual editor.
SeedProd comes with Coming Soon and Maintenance Mode pages you can customize with drag-and-drop. It lets you customize your entire WordPress site in minutes, with no coding required.
Plus, it includes access controls. They let you password-protect whole sites and restrict access to protected pages. This ensures only the people you want can see the pages you’re working on.
You can also use SeedProd to:
- Create a custom WordPress theme
- Build custom WordPress sidebars
- Create eCommerce websites
- Showcase your WooCommerce products
- Design a custom homepage
- Create custom login pages
These features and functionality make SeedProd an essential tool and the best WordPress page builder. Let’s look at the steps to edit and customize protected pages in WordPress with SeedProd.
First, get started with SeedProd here. Then follow these instructions for installing a WordPress plugin.
Create a Coming Soon or Maintenance Mode Page
Next, create a coming soon or maintenance mode landing page. These are special access-controlled pages for restricting your website.
We’ll show you how to customize a password-protected coming soon page for this tutorial.
To do that, click the SeedProd icon from your WordPress admin dashboard. This takes you to the SeedProd dashboard, where you can add new pages and edit them in the customizer.
After that, click the Set Up a Coming Soon Page button.
Choose a Landing Page Template
Next, you’ll see several custom templates to use as a starting point for your page design.
For our example, we’ll use the Swipe coming soon template. To launch the template, hover your mouse over the thumbnail and click the tick icon.
Your coming soon page template will appear in the drag-and-drop page builder. Here, you can customize it to suit your brand.
Customize Your Protected Page Content
SeedProd’s page builder is like the WordPress customizer in that you can make changes in real time.
It also has WordPress blocks. They make it easy to customize messages for password-protected pages. You can do this without prior design experience.
You can choose from standard blocks like headlines, buttons, images, videos, dividers, etc.
Or you can use landing page blocks to drive more leads and conversions, such as:
- Giveaways – Add a RafflePress giveaway to your page with the ready-made giveaway block.
- Contact Forms – Add contact forms made with WPForms to your landing page.
- Optin Forms – Boost leads with sign-up forms that come with custom templates and styles
- Countdown Timers – Create a sense of urgency with live countdowns.
- Social Buttons – Grow your social media followers with social profiles and sharing buttons.
- And much more.
You can add these features to your page by dragging them from the left to your live page preview on the right.
Then, click any element to edit the content. You can also choose a custom block template and add advanced changes.
You can include a password input field on your page. Users have to type a password before clicking Submit to access your protected content.
To do that, drag the Custom HTML block onto your live page editor.
Then click the block to edit the content. Now paste this shortcode seed_bypass_form into the content editor with square brackets on either side.
You won’t see the password input field until you preview your live page. Then, the system will ask users to “please enter your password.”
Set Up Password Protection on Specific Pages
After customizing your page with the bypass form shortcode, you’ll want to set up password protection for specific pages of your WordPress site.
To do this, click the Page Settings tab at the top of the builder and select the Access Controls heading. Next, add a password in the ‘Bypass URL’ field. This acts as a password, and also a link clients and team members can use to get past the password protection and access the page.
You can also exclude pages from password protections, such as your dashboard, admin, and login, so you don’t get locked out of your site.
Now, you need to decide which pages will be password protected. This could be pages with members-only content, lead magnets, or even an unfinished landing page.
Simply find the ‘Include URLs’ heading and add the pages you want to restrict in the text box.
Publish Your Custom Password-Protected Page
Once you’re happy with the customizations for your protected WordPress page, it’s time to publish it.
To publish a password-protected page, click the down arrow next to the Save button, then click Publish.
You’ll see a lightbox popup telling you that your page is published. You can then click the See Live Page button to preview your changes.
To make your page live, head back to your SeedProd dashboard. Under the Coming Soon Mode section, switch the Inactive toggle to Active.
Your custom password-protected page is now live!
If you want to change your page again, click the Edit Page button in SeedProd. Then, you can change your page message, content, and style again.
Create a Custom Password Protected Page for Your Entire Website
You can also use SeedProd to customize and show a password protected page on every page of your website. That way, users will need to enter a password to access any of your content.
The steps to do this are the same as above. Go to SeedProd » Landing Pages, and in the Coming Soon panel, click Edit Page.
From there, click the Page Settings tab and find the Access Controls heading. Here, scroll to the ‘Include/Exclude URLs’ area and click the ‘Show on the Entire Website’ radio button.
Once you’ve saved the changes, your custom password page will appear on every page of your website.
Add Custom Password Protected Sections to WordPress
Offering exclusive content to specific users is a common need for many websites, particularly membership sites. This can range from protecting basic content and downloads to managing access for different membership tiers.
A popular approach is to use a WordPress membership plugin. That way, you can set different membership levels for access to your password protected content.
I’ll use MemberPress to do this for this guide. For help getting started with this plugin, see our guide on how to create a membership site in WordPress.
After setting up the plugin, you’ll need to add memberships to website. To do this, go to MemberPress » Memberships and click the Add New button.
Next, enter your membership level name, description, and price. Here, you can even change the billing type and edit the membership to be lifetime or expire after a certain amount of time.
Once you’ve saved and published your membership level, go to MemberPress » Rules and click the ‘Add New’ button.
On the next screen, click the dropdown menu under the ‘Protected Content’ heading. You’ll see several options to protect your content.
Since I want to password protect a single page, I’ll choose the ‘A Single Page’ option and enter the page title.
Next, set up the Access Conditions and degine who can view the restricted page. You can do this by membership level, user role, capability, and individual members.
I’ll set ‘Membership’ as ‘Premium.’ That way, only premium members can access the page. When you’re done, click the ‘Save Rule’ button.
Now, you can visit your website to view the password-protected page. Members must sign in to their accounts to view the contents of the page.
Best Practices for Secure Password Protected Pages
Ensuring the security of password-protected pages is crucial for maintaining the integrity of your content and protecting sensitive information. Here are some best practices to follow:
1. Use Strong Passwords
A strong password is the first line of defense for protected pages. Ensure that your passwords are:
- At least 12 characters long
- A mix of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters
- Not easily guessable (avoid using common words or phrases)
2. Regularly Update Passwords
Update your passwords periodically to enhance security. Regular updates reduce the risk of unauthorized access if a password is compromised.
3. Limit Access to Passwords
Restrict who has access to the passwords for your protected pages. Only share passwords with trusted individuals and avoid sending them via unsecured channels.
4. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Where possible, enable two-factor authentication for an added layer of security. 2FA requires users to provide a second form of verification, such as a code sent to their phone, in addition to the password.
5. Monitor Access Logs
Regularly check access logs to monitor who is accessing your protected pages. Look for any unusual activity that could indicate a security breach.
6. Use SSL Certificates
Ensure your website is protected with an SSL certificate. SSL encrypts the data transferred between your website and its visitors, adding an extra layer of security.
7. Keep WordPress and Plugins Updated
Regularly update WordPress and any installed plugins to their latest versions. Updates often include security patches that protect against vulnerabilities.
8. Customize Your Login Page
Consider customizing your WordPress login page to make it harder for attackers to target.
You can change the URL of the login page or add a security question.
9. Backup Your Website
Regular backups are essential. In case of a security breach, you can restore your website to a previous state. Use a reliable backup plugin or service to automate this process.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Use strong, unique passwords (combination of letters, numbers, symbols).
2. Limit login attempts to prevent brute-force attacks.
3. Consider two-factor authentication for added security.
4. Keep WordPress, themes, and plugins updated to patch vulnerabilities.
There you have it!
More WordPress Password Protection Tips
While customizing protected pages in WordPress can seem daunting, it doesn’t have to be. Using the methods above, you can create stunning, locked pages without writing a single line of code.
You don’t need to edit your PHP file or change any of your theme files manually. With SeedProd’s handy page builder, you won’t have to start from scratch and can include essential lead generation elements like opt-in forms to grow your business.
So what are you waiting for?
For even more tips on password-protecting your WordPress site, please see these expert guides:
- How to Password Protect a WordPress Site: The Ultimate Guide
- How to Password Protect a WordPress Page (Step by Step)
- How to Password Protect a WordPress Site While Under Development
- How to Secure Your WordPress Site from Hackers (17 Expert Tips)
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