Hosted Document Library Pro lets you password-protect your libraries so only people with the password can open them. This is handy for a team-only document hub, a private set of files alongside your public library, or any download area you want to keep out of public view. This guide walks through how to set it up from your hosted dashboard.
Access control is available on the Advanced plan, and it is managed entirely from your hosted dashboard. There is no WordPress admin to log into and no code or shortcodes to add.
How password protection works
Open Access Control in your dashboard. You will see a list of all your libraries: your main All documents library at the top, followed by any separate libraries you have built. Each one can be set to public or password protected on its own. Libraries without a password stay public.
For visitors, a protected library shows a branded password form. They enter the password once and the library opens. The unlock is remembered without using a browser cookie, so it works the same whether the library is on your hosted website or embedded on your own site.
Protect a library
On the Access Control page, find the library you want to protect, type a password into its box, and select Protect. That library is now private. You can change or remove its password at any time with the Change en Remove buttons.
Each library is protected on its own. Password protecting your “All documents” library does not lock your other libraries, and protecting one library does not affect the rest, so you choose exactly which ones need a password.
Lower down the same page, the Password entry form settings let you customize the wording visitors see on the password form, including its title, message, and button text.
A password protects the library, not the document
A library password controls who can open that library. It does not lock an individual document wherever it appears. If the same document is also listed in a public library, it stays public there. To keep documents private, make sure they only appear in the protected library and are not also published in a public one.
Two things to keep in mind so private content does not slip into a public view:
- Embedding: embed the specific library you want, using that library’s own embed code. Do not use the all-documents embed code if any of your content is private, because that view lists every document.
- Your hosted website: by default your website’s home page lists all of your documents. In Bibliotheek publiceren, under Your website, set the Home page to a specific library, so the all-documents view is never shown publicly.
Hidden from search engines
Password-protected libraries are kept out of search results automatically. Hosted Document Library Pro adds a noindex instruction so private content is not indexed by Google or other search engines.