Make My WordPress Website Private

In the ever-evolving landscape of online security, ensuring that your website remains private and accessible only to authenticated users is a top priority. With the Advanced Access Manager (AAM), achieving this level of privacy becomes a seamless process that takes just two minutes. In the video above, we'll guide you through the steps to safeguard your WordPress website.

# Step 1: Managing Visitors with AAM

When we talk about making a website private, we mean restricting access to users who haven't authenticated. To initiate this process, navigate to AAM and switch to managing your visitors.

# Step 2: Utilizing URL Access Service

For the specific use case of restricting access, AAM provides a "URL Access" service. Here, you'll create a rule that denies access to everything on your website and redirects users to the login page.

On the "URL Access" tab, you'll set up a wildcard rule * that denies access to all pages and redirects to the login page. If you have a custom login page, you can redirect to it, ensuring a seamless user experience.

# Step 3: Fine-Tuning Access Rules

After denying access to everything, you'll explicitly allow access to the necessary pages, such as the login page. Whether you're using the default WordPress login page or a custom one, AAM allows you to tailor the authentication process to fit your specific requirements. Choose between redirecting to an existing page with a login form or providing a link to a custom login URL if you are using a custom login functionality.

# Additional Considerations

The tutorial briefly touches on protecting physical files or media library items. For a more in-depth guide on this topic, refer to the "Introduction to AAM Protected Media Files add-on" article.