.htaccess Site Access Control
by Miina Sikk · Security
Also makes 7 other plugins · 7.0K+ installs across the portfolio →
Using the password protection will give you extra security layer of protection from brute force hacking attacks. Additionally, it's also an easy …
44 health vs 64 average across 997 Security plugins
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 10+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.4.34, well behind 6.8.
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Under-optimized
Biggest win: Update recency
To rank higher: Last updated 3762 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Daily downloads
Since 2022-10-05 · 1,425 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peaks are release surges
132
now · peak 180
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “800+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.
Install history · since 2016-01-30 · 1,422 observations
Estimated value
What this plugin might earn a year, and what it might sell for. Modeled from public signals; we don't see anyone's books.
Est. annual revenue
Est. acquisition value
No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price. A small install base leaves thin data to model from.
Details
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ pcgardner9.8y ago
The purpose of this plugin is to create additional password protection for the wp-login page, or the wp-admin folder, or even your entire site. It does this by the standard method of adding code to the .htaccess file that gets an additional username and password from a .htpasswd file (in which the MD5 hash of the password is used rather than the password itself). So far so good: it works, but it could be better – hence four stars. When you open the plugin’s settings page, it asks you to enter a new user. At first I thought I had to enter my WordPress username, but in fact it wants the new username that you want to use for the additional login box. I realised that when I thought about it, but it should be made clearer. More seriously, it puts the .htpasswd file in the same directory as the .htaccess file that it has modified. That is within the webroot, and so is accessible via http – although the plugin author has attempted to mitigate this by adding some more code to .htaccess preventing Apache from serving .ht* files. Much better is to put the .htpasswd file into the private folder, which is outside the webroot. I did that manually by moving the file and altering the location in .htaccess, both of which can be done using FTP, but it’s not convenient. Conclusion: using the plugin is quicker than doing the whole thing manually. It would be quicker still if the settings page allowed you to choose where .htpasswd should be placed. The main advantage of the plugin is that it creates the .htpasswd file automatically; otherwise you would need console access to the server in order to run a script to create the file, or the ability to calculate the MD5 hash of the password if you want to create the file in a text editor.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ bill5710.2y ago
Ce plugin fait sont travail, protéger l’admin, créer des htaccess et htpasswd et en plus ça fonctionne
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ hendsiyas10.2y ago
I try to manually set password on the wp-admin page but did not work, this plugins work, but with some bugs. First GUI bug, if I disable some option, it ask for password even when the user and password form not showed. And 2nd bug is with woocommerce. If I enable Protection for wp-login, when buyer logoff their account, this plugin ask for password. The only solution is disabled wp-login protection and only enable it on wp-admin page. Not perfect but this plugins work. Hope you fix the bug and get more download.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-12-31 900+ → 800+ down after 291 days in tier
- 2024-03-15 1K+ → 900+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-14 900+ → 1K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-13 1K+ → 900+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-12 900+ → 1K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-11 1K+ → 900+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-10 900+ → 1K+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2024-03-08 1K+ → 900+ down
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
htaccess protect 800+ installs · 3.8★ · 3 shared tags D -
Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A
-
Hostinger Tools 3M+ installs · 3.6★ · 1 shared tag B
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Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ installs · 3.8★ · 1 shared tag A
-
Redirection 2M+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for .htaccess Site Access Control into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/htaccess-site-access-control" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title=".htaccess Site Access Control — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> .htaccess Site Access Control: 800+ active installs, 4.0★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-29. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/htaccess-site-access-control