WordPress pages and posts are public by default. In most cases this is the preferred setting and all an editor needs to do is either “publish” or “update” the page after a change.
It is possible to restrict access to pages in a few ways. That said, never put confidential or sensitive information on your WordPress site. If you need a secure place to host internal documents, or need fine-grained control over who can see what on your site, contact [email protected] to discuss alternatives to WordPress.
Require login to view page (a Williams-specific setting)
It is possible to require that a visitor log in with a Williams student/faculty/staff account to view a page. To do this, go to the page options box while editing the page (it’s usually below the main editing area) and check the “Require login to view page” box. After you publish/update the page, it will show a message to anonymous visitors indicating they must log in to access the content. The message includes a log-in link. Once the visitor has logged into WordPress, they will see the page content.
WordPress visibility settings
You can set the privacy settings of any post or page by editing its Visibility
(outlined in red, right). Clicking on the edit link next to Visibility will reveal additional options.
Public
Visible to everyone. This is the default setting.
Password protected
Visitors must enter a password. The password is not related to a user’s Williams or WordPress password — it’s a single password chosen & distributed by you to all the people who should be able to access the page. This feature provides minimal security, and is not recommended.
Private
Only users who have permission to edit the page will be able see it, and only when they are logged into the site. This is primarily useful as a way to allow collaborators to preview a work in progress. Note that you cannot perform certain actions on posts or pages while they are set to Private (e.g., add it to a menu, link to it internally).
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