How do I make my website private?

[tobiasjvockings]

Hi, so I have created my website and would like to publish it soon, but I was hoping someone might be able to help me before I do. I have just two questions.

My first question is: I would like my website when published, to only be visible or accessed by people who have the link. Is there a way to make it so the site is private and only viewable by people I give the link too? (similar to Soundcloud's private share feature) 

My second question is: If this is available as an option, can it be done under the free subdomain option or will I have to pay for the £5/mo starter plan?

I read somewhere that you can hide individual pages from search, but I was hoping to hide the whole site. I hope someone understands what it is I'm trying to achieve and I would really appreciate any advice on this matter.

Kind regards,

Tobias.

[Adam7 · Accepted solution]

Hey @tobiasjvockings! There's an option on the Settings tab to hide the entire site from search engines, which is what it sounds like you want to do. This will make it so only people that know your domain name or guess it will be able to see the site, since it won't be indexed by any search engines.

If you want to password protect your site so people need to enter a password to view it, enter site password in the field in Settings > General. For sites built using the newer Square Online website editor this is found in Website > General settings on the dashboard. Note that you may need to upgrade to use this feature.

[mgjones]

I want my site to only be accessible by people with the password. Is it possible that when people try to access the site they are asked for the password?

[Bernadette3]

Hi @mgjones You would need to be on a Pro plan or higher in order to do that. 

[diane31]

Hey!

Is there any way to make your website private or inaccessible to anyone (except yourself)? Like, without a password.

Thanks!

[Bernadette3]

You could set it to a very obscure subdomain and choose to hide from search engines. Although, the only guarantee no one would see would be to use password protection. 

[kdog1]

I have made one of my pages visible only with password.  That works fine - when users go to the password, they are greeted by the box that asks for the password.

Works great, just as advertised.

NOW, is there a way to embed the password in the link with some code at end of link (like "?password=xxxx") or something, so I can give the whole link to people I trust, and they do not have to enter the password?  They just type in the whole link, and the password is detected and they are granted accessed?  IS THAT POSSIBLE?

[Bernadette3]

That's a good question, @kdog. I'm sure there is probably a way to make this happen, although it would probably require some extensive coding. There is another thread that I believe asks a similar question, although no one has replied yet. I would recommend checking it out here: https://community.weebly.com/t5/Community-Feedback/Password-Protect-individual-pages/m-p/110397#M482...

I'll double check with Adam as well. He might have a suggestion for you.

[Adam7]

I don't think that would be possible; when you visit a password protected page, you're forwarded to a page to enter the password, then forwarded back to the original page. We don't expose the password in the query string since it needs to be encrypted.

[kdog1]

Thanks for the response!

[Adam7]

No problem! Thanks for posting.

[hellopie]

How do you do this?

[Bernadette3]

Hi @hellopie In order to password protect pages you will need to upgrade to a Pro/Professional plan or higher. Once you upgrade you can set the password from the Settings tab in the editor. 

[holly14]

Is the setting for hiding site from SEO available on the free plan?  I noticed to have the site password protection or membership feature requires Pro plan or higher. I have another weebly site and can't move content yet since it has to be done manually, so I was hoping to find a work around so I'm not paying for two sites right now but I need my old site to be private.

[Adam7]

Great question,@holly14. The option to block search indexing is available for all sites regardless of plan.

[danar1]

Hi Adam.

Could you please tell me where I need t go to hide my page from search engines ? Which tab is it in on the left hand side of the menu (I believe) ?

Thanks

[Adam7]

Hi, @danar. Welcome to the Community!

Open your site in the website editor, then go to the Settings tab there. Go to the SEO section and scroll down, then toggle on the "Hide site from search engines" option. Click the green save button afterward and your site will be prevented from being indexed by search engines.

[mccoabbi]

I'm writing this in 2022, and I'm not seeing these options, perhaps the interface has changed. Is this still a function of weebly to make a site unsearchable through search engines?