{"id":7547,"date":"2026-04-10T02:44:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T00:44:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/?post_type=manual_kb&#038;p=7547"},"modified":"2026-04-10T02:44:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T00:44:49","slug":"restricted-site-access-quickly-block-access-to-your-website","status":"publish","type":"manual_kb","link":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/restricted-site-access-quickly-block-access-to-your-website\/","title":{"rendered":"Restricted Site Access: Quickly Block Access to Your Website"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Restricted Site Access<\/strong> (by 10up) is a powerful, lightweight security tool designed to shield your entire website from public view. As of <strong>January 2026 (v7.4.x)<\/strong>, the plugin remains the industry standard for securing staging environments, extranets, and private company portals on the <strong>mybox<\/strong> infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unlike &#8220;Under Construction&#8221; plugins that only hide the front end, this plugin provides a robust layer of protection that can also be used to whitelist specific IP addresses (like your office or home) while blocking everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/restricted-site-access-quickly-block-access-to-your-website\/#What_is_Restricted_Site_Access_and_When_Is_It_Useful\" >What is Restricted Site Access and When Is It Useful?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/restricted-site-access-quickly-block-access-to-your-website\/#Key_Features_at_a_Glance\" >Key Features at a Glance<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/restricted-site-access-quickly-block-access-to-your-website\/#Installation_and_Quick_Setup\" >Installation and Quick Setup<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/restricted-site-access-quickly-block-access-to-your-website\/#Multisite_What_to_Watch_Out_For\" >Multisite: What to Watch Out For<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/restricted-site-access-quickly-block-access-to-your-website\/#Caching_and_Proxy_Traps\" >Caching and Proxy Traps<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/restricted-site-access-quickly-block-access-to-your-website\/#Impact_on_SEO_and_Indexing\" >Impact on SEO and Indexing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/restricted-site-access-quickly-block-access-to-your-website\/#Comparison_with_Alternatives\" >Comparison with Alternatives<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/knowledgebase\/restricted-site-access-quickly-block-access-to-your-website\/#Summary\" >Summary<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_Restricted_Site_Access_and_When_Is_It_Useful\"><\/span>What is Restricted Site Access and When Is It Useful?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div id=\"mybox-2421377832\" class=\"mybox-content mybox-entity-placement\"><div class=\"early-access-banner-inpost\">\r\n  <div class=\"banner-left-inpost\">\r\n    <div class=\"icon-box-inpost\">\r\n      <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/square-info-icon.svg\" alt=\"Info\">\r\n    <\/div>\r\n    <div class=\"text-box-inpost\">\r\n      <span class=\"label-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Early access<\/span><\/span>\r\n      <h4><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Still need help?<\/span><\/h4>\r\n      <p><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Contact our customer service team.<\/span><\/p>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <div class=\"banner-right-inpost\">\r\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/panel.mybox.com\/helpdesk2\/v\/list\/\" class=\"banner-button-inpost\"><span class=\"translation-block translation-block-banner-text\">Message us<\/span><\/a>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"translation-block translation-block-merged\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"p-rc_2c744e6629fb2f23-199\">This plugin is a &#8220;global gatekeeper.&#8221; It restricts access to the entire site\u2014including the dashboard and all subpages\u2014to only logged-in users or visitors from permitted IP addresses.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Staging &amp; QA:<\/strong> Hide your test site from competitors and clients until it\u2019s ready for launch.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Intranets:<\/strong> Create a private company hub where only employees with a login can see content.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Site Redesigns:<\/strong> Allow your developers and designers to work on the live server via their IP addresses while visitors see a &#8220;Coming Soon&#8221; page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>SEO Protection:<\/strong> Automatically prevents search engine bots from indexing your development or staging site.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_Features_at_a_Glance\"><\/span>Key Features at a Glance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Flexible Redirection:<\/strong> Choose to send blocked visitors to the login screen, a custom URL (like your main site), a specific WordPress page, or a simple text message.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>IP Whitelisting:<\/strong> Grant permanent access to specific IP addresses or entire IP ranges. It includes a &#8220;Quick Add&#8221; button to add your current location with one click.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>HTTP Status Codes:<\/strong> You can set the redirect to <strong>302 (Temporary)<\/strong> for staging or <strong>301 (Permanent)<\/strong> for legacy sites, which helps maintain your SEO integrity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Preserve Path:<\/strong> If you redirect a user to a login page, they can be sent back to the exact URL they originally requested after they log in.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Installation_and_Quick_Setup\"><\/span>Installation and Quick Setup<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the <strong>mybox<\/strong> platform, the setup takes less than two minutes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Installation:<\/strong> In your dashboard, go to <strong>Plugins > Add New<\/strong>, search for <strong>&#8220;Restricted Site Access&#8221;<\/strong>, and click <strong>Activate<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Configuration:<\/strong> Navigate to <strong>Settings > Reading<\/strong>. You will see a new section titled <strong>Restricted Site Access<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enable Restriction:<\/strong> Check the box to enable the mode.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Handle Blocked Visitors:<\/strong> Choose your preferred method (e.g., &#8220;Show them a simple message&#8221;).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Add Your IP:<\/strong> Click the <strong>Add my current IP address<\/strong> button to ensure you don&#8217;t lock yourself out.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Save:<\/strong> Click <strong>Save Changes<\/strong>. Test the restriction by opening your site in a Private\/Incognito browser window.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Multisite_What_to_Watch_Out_For\"><\/span>Multisite: What to Watch Out For<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"p-rc_2c744e6629fb2f23-205\">In a WordPress Multisite network, Restricted Site Access adds a global panel to the <strong>Network Settings<\/strong>.<sup><\/sup> You can choose to enforce restrictions across all sites or allow individual site administrators to manage their own access rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"p-rc_2c744e6629fb2f23-206\"><strong>Important:<\/strong> If you use &#8220;Redirect to Login&#8221; in a multisite environment, ensure users have a role on the specific sub-site they are trying to access.<sup><\/sup> Otherwise, they may find themselves in an infinite redirect loop. For multisite, we recommend redirecting to an <strong>Informational Page<\/strong> with instructions on how to request access.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Caching_and_Proxy_Traps\"><\/span>Caching and Proxy Traps<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" id=\"p-rc_2c744e6629fb2f23-207\">Since the plugin works at the WordPress level, it can sometimes be bypassed by server-side caching.<sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Caching:<\/strong> If you are using a plugin like LiteSpeed or WP Rocket on <strong>mybox<\/strong>, you must clear the cache after enabling restrictions. Some &#8220;hard&#8221; caches might serve a cached page to a blocked user before the plugin can intervene.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reverse Proxies (Cloudflare):<\/strong> If your site is behind a CDN like Cloudflare, ensure your WordPress installation is correctly configured to see the <strong>Real Client IP<\/strong> (via the <code>X-Forwarded-For<\/code> header). If WordPress sees the CDN&#8217;s IP instead of yours, the whitelist will not work correctly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Impact_on_SEO_and_Indexing\"><\/span>Impact on SEO and Indexing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Restricted Site Access is an excellent tool for <strong>preventing duplicate content<\/strong> issues. By blocking access to your staging or development site, you ensure that Google never indexes your &#8220;work in progress&#8221; pages. This is much more reliable than using a <code>robots.txt<\/code> file, which bots can technically ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you are ready to go live, simply uncheck the &#8220;Enable Restriction&#8221; box in the Reading settings, and your site will be instantly available for indexing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Comparison_with_Alternatives\"><\/span>Comparison with Alternatives<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><td><strong>Plugin<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Use Case<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Complexity<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Restricted Site Access<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Global Block<\/strong> (Staging\/Private sites)<\/td><td>Very Simple<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Content Control<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Partial Block<\/strong> (Hide specific posts\/categories)<\/td><td>Moderate<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>MemberPress<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Monetized Access<\/strong> (Paywalls and subscriptions)<\/td><td>High<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Summary\"><\/span>Summary<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Restricted Site Access is the &#8220;on\/off switch&#8221; for your website&#8217;s visibility. It is a vital tool for the <strong>mybox<\/strong> professional who needs a secure environment to build and test before launching to the public. By combining IP whitelisting with easy redirection, it provides security without complicating the workflow for your team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","manualknowledgebasecat":[58,60],"manual_kb_tag":[419,5842,8605,9948,9949,9950,9951,9952,9953,9954],"class_list":["post-7547","manual_kb","type-manual_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","manualknowledgebasecat-web-applications-cms","manualknowledgebasecat-wordpress-plugins","manual_kb_tag-wordpress-plugin","manual_kb_tag-staging-environment","manual_kb_tag-staging-site","manual_kb_tag-restricted-site-access","manual_kb_tag-development-site","manual_kb_tag-site-restriction","manual_kb_tag-block-site-access","manual_kb_tag-ip-address-whitelisting","manual_kb_tag-whitelist-ip-addresses","manual_kb_tag-login-redirect"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/7547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/manual_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/7547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7548,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb\/7547\/revisions\/7548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"manualknowledgebasecat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manualknowledgebasecat?post=7547"},{"taxonomy":"manual_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybox.com\/help\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/manual_kb_tag?post=7547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}