.htaccess Site Access Control
by Miina Sikk · Security
Also makes 9 other plugins · 7K+ 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 …
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 44/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
800+
≈850 estimated
Momentum
—
no download trend yet
Biggest opportunity: One page off on “htpasswd”. #16 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
44 health vs 66 average across 1,776 Security plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →7.7%
of downloads still active
At least 800 of 10.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Security plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,060 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Security plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
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.
Details
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
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 3826 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 4.4.34; the current branch is 6.8
4.0★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.09★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 3826 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| wpsos your tag | #1 | #1 | 0 |
| htpasswd your tag | #16 | #16 | down 1 |
| htaccess your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| securing your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| security your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- One page off on “htpasswd”. #16 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- “htaccess”, “securing” and “security” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 180 · peaks are release surges
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
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
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.
Crossed into this band 22 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 30 Jan 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ pcgardner10.0y 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 ↗ - ★★★★★ bill5710.4y ago
Ce plugin fait sont travail, protéger l’admin, créer des htaccess et htpasswd et en plus ça fonctionne
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ hendsiyas10.4y 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
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 5 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 5 of 5 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you have"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,504 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "htpasswd", "securing" do not.
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 after 1137 days in tier
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 700+ 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 -
Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) 3M+ installs · 4.9★ · 1 shared tag A -
Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ installs · 3.7★ · 1 shared tag B -
Redirection 2M+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A
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 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/htaccess-site-access-control
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