To make a page members-only, select it, go to Inspector > Page Settings > Password Protection, click Memberships, choose your membership site and tick each level that may see it. Do this on every members-only page: each page is protected on its own, even inside a directory. Then choose File > Publish Entire Site. Protection only works on your published website, not in Preview.
Before you start
- Build your membership pages and choose them in Membership Site Settings: see Build your members area in EverWeb: the Membership widgets, the pages you need and Membership Site Settings.
- Create your levels in the Client Area: see Plan your membership levels: free, one-time, monthly or yearly, trials, setup fees and coupons.
- Sign in at EverWeb > Settings > Account (Windows: Edit > Options > Account). Until you do, the list shows "Sign in to see membership sites".
Protect a page
- Select the page in the page list.
- Go to Inspector > Page Settings and open Password Protection.
- Click Memberships.
- Choose your membership site in the dropdown (it starts at No Selection). Your levels appear below.
- Tick each level that may see this page. Click a level's name to see its prices and schedule.
- Untick Include in Site Search in Inspector > Page Settings (see "What isn't protected" below).
- Repeat for every members-only page, then choose File > Publish Entire Site.
Levels missing or out of date? Click the refresh button (two curved arrows) to the right of the dropdown to load them from the Client Area again. Edit Membership Levels... opens the Client Area.
Which levels to tick
Tick every level that may see the page. A higher level doesn't automatically see a lower level's pages. With Free, Silver and Gold levels:
| Page | Tick |
|---|---|
| Members' home | Free, Silver and Gold |
| Silver lessons | Silver and Gold |
| Gold coaching videos | Gold |
Everyone allowed onto a page sees all of it. For different content per level, make a page for each.
Directories, Mobile Pages and your home page
- Directories: ticking levels on a directory doesn't protect the pages inside it. Tick the levels on each page. Leave the directory page itself unprotected: use it as your Login page or a public introduction.
- Your home page: don't protect it. Protected pages are published as .php, so it would become index.php, and many servers keep showing the old, unprotected index.html first. The same goes for a directory page that's already online.
- Mobile Pages: if the page has a separate page for phones (Inspector > Page Settings > Mobile Settings), tick the same levels on that Mobile Page too.
- Membership pages chosen in Membership Site Settings (Login, Sign Up, Payment and so on) can't be protected: EverWeb says "This page is used as a membership management page so it cannot be password protected."
What visitors see
| Visitor | Sent to |
|---|---|
| Not logged in | Your Login page (your home page if you haven't chosen one). After logging in, they go to the Login Success page, not back to the page they clicked |
| Logged in, level not ticked | Access Denied |
| Signed up for a paid level but hasn't paid | Payment |
| Hasn't confirmed their email | Email Validation |
| Suspended, for example after a missed payment | Account Suspended |
| Cancelled | Account Cancelled |
Protected pages stay in your navigation menu, and clicking one sends a logged-out visitor to Login. To hide a page from the menu, untick Include page in navigation menu.
Protected pages get a new address
EverWeb publishes a protected page as .php, so lessons.html becomes lessons.php. The code at the top of the page checks each visitor first.
- Publish Entire Site after protecting or unprotecting pages, so your menu and other pages link to the new address. See What's the difference between Publish and Publish Entire Site?
- Update links you typed yourself: full addresses on buttons, in emails and newsletters, and on social media.
- The old public copy stays online. Publishing never deletes files, so if the page was online before, its old .html copy still opens without a login. On EverWeb + Hosting, type the old full address under Redirect an existing URL on your website to this page in Inspector > Page Settings > Advanced Options, publish, and contact us to remove the old file. On another host, delete it with your host's file manager or FTP. See I deleted a page in EverWeb but it's still online.
- Remove File Extensions From URLs (EverWeb + Hosting, File > Edit Publishing Settings) works alongside protected pages, but their addresses keep .php.
Untick all the levels later, and the page goes back to .html at your next publish.
Test it on your published website
In Preview, protected pages open like any other page. Test on your published website in a private browser window while logged out: see Test your membership site before you launch, and fix common problems.
What isn't protected
Only the page itself.
- Site search text. With Include in Site Search ticked (it's ticked for new pages), EverWeb copies the page's text into a search file on your website that anyone can open. Untick it on every members-only page.
- Files and pictures. PDFs, MP3s, video files and pictures from your Assets list are stored in shared folders. Visitors who aren't logged in don't see the links, but anyone with a file's direct address can open it, so a member could share one.
- YouTube and Vimeo videos are only as private as their settings there.
Practical ways to handle it:
- Put the content that matters most as text on the page.
- Show videos in a shape with its Fill set to Video (see How do I add a video, a background video or music to my EverWeb website?). A YouTube Unlisted video stays out of search, but anyone with its link can watch. Vimeo can hide a video and let it play only on your domain (check which Vimeo plans include this).
- Worksheets and handouts: accept that a member could pass one on, and replace the file now and then.
- Send confidential documents by email or a file-sharing service with its own sign-in, not on your website.
Simple Password and memberships on one website
Simple Password, in the same section, protects directories with usernames you create, and only works on EverWeb + Hosting. You can use both on one website on different pages, such as a committee directory with Simple Password and members' pages with levels. Don't set both on one page. See Can I password protect my website? Simple Password and Membership Sites.
If something isn't right
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| No levels, or old ones | Click the refresh button. Check you're signed in at Settings > Account |
| "This page is used as a membership management page so it cannot be password protected." | The page is chosen in Membership Site Settings. Protect another page, or change your choice there |
| Publishing warns "One or more membership levels no longer exist or cannot be validated." | A ticked level was deleted, or you're signed in to another account. Click refresh, tick the levels again and publish |
| A protected page opens for everyone | Check its levels (and its Mobile Page's), choose File > Publish Entire Site, and test the .php address in a private window. An old .html copy may still be online |
| Members always get Access Denied | Check their level is ticked, and that your website is published on the domain in Setup |
| "An error has occured. Please try again later" | Contact us with the page's address and the number shown |
Related articles
- Members-only pages, logins and paid subscriptions: EverWeb Membership Sites
- Build your members area in EverWeb: the Membership widgets, the pages you need and Membership Site Settings
- Can I password protect my website? Simple Password and Membership Sites
- I deleted a page in EverWeb but it's still online
- Add a search box to your website so visitors can find any page