Site Secrets
Site Secrets is a simple plugin to keep your WordPress site private. When active, it will redirect all unauthenticated users to the login screen.
Consider an alternative
Site Secrets shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 7 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (10+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in 6 years
- Only tested up to WordPress 5.4 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Site Secrets stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| collaboration | >100 |
| private blog | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
About Site Secrets
From the official readme · v0.2.0Description
Site Secrets is a simple plugin to keep your WordPress site private. When active, it will redirect all unauthenticated users to the login screen.
By default, Site Secrets requires that the user has been added to the site. You can broaden the permissions model to any logged-in users with the following snippet added to your theme’s functions.php file or a mu-plugin:
add_filter( 'site_secrets_requires_membership', '__return_false' );
We’re happy to receive feedback, questions, feature suggestions, and pull requests
Installation
The easiest way to install this plugin is to go to Add New in the Plugins section of your blog admin and search for “Site Secrets.” On the far right side of the search results, click “Install.”
Activating the plugin will make your site private.
If the automatic process above fails, follow these simple steps to do a manual install:
- Extract the contents of the zip file into your
/wp-content/plugins/directory - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
- Enjoy the merits of a secret site!
Changelog
0.2.0 (Dec. 29, 2016)
- Requires authentication for REST API requests.
0.1 (Feb. 26, 2014)
- Initial release with basic ability to make a WordPress site private.
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Site Secrets alternatives
All collaboration plugins →
FAQ
Site Secrets: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026
Is Site Secrets free?
Yes. Site Secrets is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Site Secrets safe to use in 2026?
Site Secrets shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 10+ sites and was last updated 7 years ago, and scores 23/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Site Secrets?
Site Secrets is active on 10+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 67,582 times since it launched in February 2014. It was downloaded 3,200 times in the last 30 days.
Does Site Secrets work with WordPress 7.1?
Site Secrets is officially tested up to WordPress 5.4.23, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Site Secrets last updated?
The latest version, 0.2.0, was released on March 9, 2020 (7 years ago).
Who makes Site Secrets?
Site Secrets is developed and maintained by Daniel Bachhuber.
What are the best alternatives to Site Secrets?
The most popular alternatives to Site Secrets are BuddyPress Docs (6K+ installs), Peter’s Post Notes (3K+ installs) and WP Document Revisions (2K+ installs).
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