Keeping your WordPress development website password protected is an important requirement that shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s a useful way to keep progress and information secure from outside sources should they stumble onto your development domain.
Previously I have been using the WP Maintenance Mode plugin to achieve this. And whilst it’s good at what it does, it requires you to login to the admin area first before being able to view the frontend. This just creates another step, and I have recently had a few scenarios where this is not needed or has become a hindrance.
My new plugin choice for this task is Password Protected by Ben Hudson. It’s lightweight and very simple to setup whether you are a developer or not.
It has a couple of key options which are helpful:
- A simple on off toggle
- Bypassing for logged in admins and users
- IP address white listing
- Remember me option with control over the number of days
The Password Protected plugin can be found here: https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/password-protected/