A website link is easy to share. Sometimes you want visitors to enter a password before they can open it: a client preview, an early design, or a page you're sharing with a small group.
Pagelet lets you add a password to a website from your dashboard. It covers the whole site, including its files and PDFs. Password protection is available on Free and Pro accounts for sites you own.
Add a password from your dashboard
Start with a published website that belongs to your account. If you've just uploaded a page as a guest, sign in and check that it appears under Your sites.
- Open your Pagelet dashboard.
- Find the website you want to protect.
- Choose More actions → Password protection.
- Enter a password with at least 8 characters.
- Choose Save password.
The dashboard shows a Password protected badge beside the site. You don't need to edit the HTML or upload your files again.
Use a password that's different from your personal account passwords. Everyone you share it with will use the same password to open this site.
Share the link and password
Send your visitors the website address and its password. When they open the link, their browser displays a sign-in prompt with two fields:
- Username: enter any name, such as
visitor. - Password: enter the site password you shared.
The username doesn't identify an account. Only the site password is checked, and visitors don't need a Pagelet account. They should use the shared site password, not their Google or Pagelet sign-in details.
After a successful sign-in, the page opens normally. Test the link in a private browsing window before sharing it so you can see the experience as a new visitor.
What password protection covers
The password applies to the entire hosted site. Opening a nested page, an image, or a downloadable file directly still requires access. A PDF publication is protected too; an old Pagelet PDF link redirects to the protected site.
If the site has a connected custom domain, that address also requires the password. Custom domains remain a Pro feature. A visitor may need to enter the password again when switching between the Pagelet address and a custom domain.
Enabling protection also removes the site from Pagelet's public showcase. A protected website can't request a showcase listing while the password is enabled.
Change or remove the password
Return to More actions → Password protection whenever you need to change access.
To change the password, enter a new one and choose Save password. Access granted with the previous password no longer works for new requests reaching Pagelet. Share the new password with anyone who should keep access.
To make the site public again, choose Remove protection. Visitors can then open it without a password. Removing protection doesn't automatically put the site back in the showcase.
If the site was already public
Adding a password protects subsequent requests that reach Pagelet. Content previously served publicly may still be in a visitor's browser or a CDN cache, and downloaded copies can't be taken back. A password also doesn't prevent someone who has access from saving or sharing what they see.
If you're preparing a preview, enable protection before sending the link. The site is public between publication and enabling its password, so this dashboard flow isn't a way to keep a file private from the moment it's uploaded.