How to Hide A Page in WordPress (With Actionable Steps)?

We all love sharing our stories, ideas, and creations with the world, right? One popular method of sharing ideas with the entire world is blogging. And WordPress is the name that comes to our minds first when we say blogging! It is undoubtedly the best CMS out there.

But sometimes, there are moments when you want to keep something hidden from the public eye. Maybe it’s a page you’re still working on, an exclusive section for VIPs, or content that’s just not ready to be revealed yet. Whatever the reason, knowing how to hide a page in WordPress can be super useful.

In this blog, we’ll discuss different methods WordPress development experts use to hide pages. But before we dive into the how-to’s, let’s explore why you might want to hide a page and how it can benefit your site.

Why Would You Want to Hide a Page in WordPress?

You might want to hide a page on your WordPress site for several reasons. Let’s explore some common scenarios where hiding pages can be useful:

• Work in Progress: When you’re developing a page that’s not quite ready for the public, such as during a product or service launch, you can hide it until it’s fully polished and ready to go live.
• Exclusive Access: Some content might be meant for specific users, like a members-only section, training materials, or pages intended only for certain stakeholders. Hiding these pages ensures that only those with the right permissions can access them.
• Private or Sensitive Information: If a page contains private information, like user profiles or internal resources, hiding it protects this sensitive data from being accessed by the wrong people.
• Temporary Pages: Some pages, like those created for verification purposes (e.g., SSL certificate verification) or temporary campaigns, don’t need to be visible to visitors. Once their purpose is fulfilled, you can hide them to maintain a clean and organized website.
• Testing Layouts or Changes: When you’re testing new designs or making changes to a page, you may not want your visitors to see an incomplete or messy version. Hiding it allows you to work behind the scenes without disrupting the user experience.
• Marketing Campaigns: If you’re running a targeted marketing campaign with a specific landing page, you might want to hide it from the main navigation to keep it separate from your regular pages. This way, only those who are directed through specific channels, like ads or emails, can access it.
• Restricting Access for eCommerce or Membership Sites: In cases where certain pages are exclusive to registered members or paying customers, hiding them from the public ensures that only authorized users can access those pages.

By understanding these scenarios, you can effectively use WordPress to hide pages, giving you greater control over your content and helping to manage your website’s overall appearance and functionality. Whether it’s for maintaining professionalism or offering exclusive content, hiding pages can be a valuable tool.

Hiding Pages Via WordPress Settings

WordPress offers built-in settings that allow you to control the visibility of your pages without needing any plugins.

Whether you want to hide a page from the general public or restrict access to specific users, WordPress has two primary options: setting a page to “private” or “password protected.” Let’s break down both methods and how to use them.

1. Setting Page Visibility to Private

By setting a page to private, you ensure that only logged-in users with certain permissions (like administrators or editors) can view it. This is an easy way to hide pages from visitors while still allowing access to those who need it.

Here’s how you can set a page to private:

• Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
• Go to the Pages section and open the page you want to hide.
• In the right sidebar, find the Publish box.
• Under the Visibility section, click the Edit link next to Public.

• Choose Private from the dropdown options.
• Click Update to save the changes.

Once a page is set to private, it will not appear in your site’s navigation or search results. Only logged-in users with the appropriate permissions can access it via the page URL.

You can refer to our guide on WordPress user roles and permissions for more info.

2. Setting Page Visibility to Password Protected

If you want to hide a page but still allow specific users to access it via a password, you can use the “password protected” option. This method is great when sharing content with select individuals, such as clients or team members.

Here’s how to password-protect a page:

• Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
• Go to the Pages section and open the page you want to hide.
• In the right sidebar, find the Publish box.
• Under the Visibility section, click the Edit Link next to Public.

• Select Password Protected from the dropdown.
• Enter your desired password in the field that appears.
• Click Update to save the changes.

Now, anyone trying to access the page will need to enter the correct password. This option is perfect for sharing temporary or exclusive content without user accounts.

By using WordPress’s native visibility settings, you can easily control who gets to see your content. This gives you flexibility when managing your website and ensures that only authorized individuals can access hidden pages.

3. Removing Page From the Navigation Menu

Sometimes, you might want a page to remain live on your website but not be easily accessible through the main navigation. This is a common approach for pages that serve a specific purpose, such as landing pages for SEO or marketing campaigns, but aren’t intended to be cornerstone content.

To hide a page from the navigation menu while keeping it accessible online, follow these steps:

• Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
• Go to Appearance → Menus.
• Locate the menu where the page is listed.
• Find the page you want to hide and click the small down arrow (or triangle) to expand the options.

• Click Move to Trash to remove the page from the menu.
• Make sure to click Save Menu to apply your changes.

With this method, the page will no longer appear in your navigation, but users can still access it if they have the link or through search engines if it’s indexed. This is a great way to keep certain pages accessible without cluttering your site’s main menu.

Now that you know how to hide a page from the navigation, let’s look at some plugin options that offer even more advanced ways to hide pages in WordPress.

Hiding Pages With a Plugin

WordPress plugins can add powerful functionalities to your website, including the ability to hide pages easily. Using a plugin can provide more customization options than the built-in settings, making it an excellent solution if you need more control.

When selecting a plugin to hide pages, it’s important to consider the following factors:

• Compatibility: Ensure the plugin is compatible with your current WordPress version and any other themes or plugins you have installed.
• Features: Look for a plugin that offers necessary features, such as the ability to hide pages based on user roles, add password protection, or set custom visibility rules.
• User Reviews and Ratings: Check what other users have said about the plugin to gauge its reliability and effectiveness.
• Active Development: Opt for a plugin that is regularly updated by its developers, ensuring long-term compatibility with future WordPress updates.

One popular plugin for hiding pages is Yoast SEO, which includes an option to mark specific pages as “noindex,” meaning they won’t appear in search engine results. This is particularly useful for pages with duplicate or thin content or pages that aren’t intended to drive SEO traffic.

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to hide a page from search engines using the Yoast SEO plugin:

• Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
• Go to Plugins → Add New.

• Search for Yoast SEO, install it, and then click Activate.
• Navigate to the Pages section and select the page you want to hide.
• Scroll down to the Yoast SEO settings box located beneath the content editor.
• Open the Content Types tab within the Yoast SEO box.

• You’ll see a setting labeled Search Appearance.
• By default, this option is set to Yes. To hide the page from search engines, switch it to No.
• After selecting No, click Update to save your changes.

By setting the page to “noindex,” search engines like Google will no longer include it in their results, effectively hiding it from public view while still keeping it live on your site for direct visitors.

Plugins like Yoast SEO offer a flexible solution to control the visibility of your pages with more precision, allowing you to hide pages without removing them entirely from your website. In the next section, we’ll explore some advanced methods for hiding WordPress pages.

Hiding Pages With Advanced Methods

If you’re looking for more control and customization when hiding pages in WordPress, advanced techniques can provide that flexibility. These methods go beyond basic settings and plugins, allowing you to manage the visibility of specific elements or pages in unique ways.

Let’s explore two advanced methods: hiding pages with CSS and hiding pages via the robots.txt file.

1. Hiding Pages with CSS

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) allows you to control the visual aspects of your website. With CSS, you can hide specific elements of a page without altering the content itself, which is useful when you want to keep certain sections invisible to users but still functional on the backend.

Here’s how you can hide elements of a page using CSS:

• Identify the Element to Hide: Use the browser’s developer tools (right-click the element and select “Inspect”) to find the CSS class or ID of the element you want to hide.
• Add Custom CSS: In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Appearance → Customize, and then go to the Additional CSS section.

• Write the CSS Code: Target the element you want to hide and set its display property to “none.” For example:

.page-element-class {
  display: none;
}

• Save Your Changes: Click Publish or Save, and refresh your website to see the element hidden from view.

While this method hides content visually, keep in mind that the element is still in the page’s code, and tech-savvy users might be able to access it. Also, use this method carefully, as it may affect the layout and functionality of your site if used improperly.

2. Hiding Pages Using the robots.txt File

For a more SEO-focused approach, you can use the robots.txt file to instruct search engines not to index specific pages. This method is particularly useful if you want to prevent certain pages from appearing in search results without changing their public visibility on your site.

Here’s how to hide a page using the robots.txt file:

• Access your website’s root directory via a file manager or FTP client. The robots.txt file should be in the root directory (e.g., /public_html/).
• Open the file and add the following lines of code:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /your-page/

• The asterisk (*) applies this rule to all search engine bots.
• Replace /your-page/ with the specific page URL you want to hide. For example, if the page you want to hide is http://example.com/2024/03/my-page/, you would write:

User-agent: *
Disallow: /2024/03/my-page/

• Once you’ve added the disallow rule, save the file and, if working locally, upload it back to your server.

While this method tells search engines not to index your page, keep in mind that the robots.txt file is publicly accessible. This means anyone can view the pages you’re disallowing from search engines. Additionally, some search engines may still index the page even if you disallow it.

FAQs on How to Hide A Page in WordPress

Conclusion

Hiding a page in WordPress is easier than you might think, and there are several methods to suit different needs. Whether you’re looking to make a work-in-progress page private, protect sensitive content with a password, or simply remove a page from your navigation, WordPress offers built-in tools and powerful plugins to get the job done. For those who need even more control, advanced techniques like CSS and editing the robots.txt file provide additional flexibility.

By understanding and applying these methods, you can manage your site’s visibility with confidence, ensuring that your content is accessible only to the right audience.

For advanced customizations in your WordPress site, you can trust our WordPress development services.