LaughterOnWater

SanctumGate gives small websites an easy way to keep the majority of pages and posts private for active members without the complexity of a full-on membership system. With simple, granular access controls, you decide exactly what the public sees — and what stays reserved for your logged-in community.
Key Features: 
* Page-Level Control: Choose specific pages to make publicly accessible 
* Category-Based Access: Make entire categories of posts public 
* Category Archives: Public category archive pages for allowed categories 
* User-Friendly Interface: Checkbox-based selection instead of manual ID entry 
* Visual Feedback: See exactly what’s currently public at a glance 
* Lightweight: Minimal performance impact, perfect for smaller sites
Perfect For: 
* Small business websites 
* Community sites 
* Member-only content areas 
* Private blogs 
* Non-profit organization sites
<h3>Usage</h3>
<h3>Basic Setup</h3>
<ol>
<li>Navigate to Appearance → SanctumGate in your WordPress admin</li>
<li>You’ll see two sections: “Allowed Pages” and “Allowed Categories”</li>
</ol>
<h3>Making Pages Public</h3>
<ul>
<li>Check the boxes next to any pages you want to be publicly accessible</li>
<li>The home page is always public by default</li>
<li>Save your changes</li>
</ul>
<h3>Making Posts Public by Category</h3>
<ul>
<li>Check the boxes next to categories whose posts should be public</li>
<li>All posts in checked categories will be accessible without login</li>
<li>Category archive pages for allowed categories are also public</li>
<li>Save your changes</li>
</ul>
<h3>What Stays Private</h3>
Everything else on your site will require users to log in to access, including: 
* Unchecked pages 
* Posts in unchecked categories 
* All other post types and content
<h3>Support</h3>
For support, please visit the <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/sanctumgate/" rel="ugc">WordPress support forums</a> or check the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/sanctumgate/" rel="ugc">plugin documentation</a>.
<h3>Credits</h3>
Developed by LaughterOnWater 
Inspired by the need for simple, effective access control on small WordPress sites.

SanctumGate

Simple granular access controls for WordPress sites. Keep content private for members while selectively making pages and categories public.

AAM Plugin

Advanced Access Manager (AAM) introduces Access Governance for WordPress – a systematic approach to securing your site by controlling who can access what, when, and why.
Most WordPress security plugins focus on external threats like malware, firewalls, and brute-force attacks. AAM addresses the root cause of the #1 WordPress security risk: broken access controls, excessive privileges, and misconfigured roles.
Instead of reacting to attacks, AAM helps you design security into your WordPress site.
<h4>What Access Governance means in practice</h4>
<ul>
<li>Mitigate Broken Access Controls. Ensure roles, users, and permissions are correctly configured to prevent unauthorized actions and privilege escalation.</li>
<li>Eliminate Excessive Privileges. Identify overpowered users and reduce access to critical functionality, admin areas, and APIs.</li>
<li>Secure Content by Design. Control who can view, edit, publish, or delete posts, pages, media, taxonomies, and custom content types.</li>
<li>Govern Access with Policy. Define access rules using JSON Access Policies — portable, auditable, and automation-friendly.</li>
<li>Build Custom Security Logic. Use the AAM PHP Framework to create advanced, programmatic access controls tailored to your application.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Key Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Security Audit. Detect risky role assignments, misconfigurations, and compromised accounts.</li>
<li>Granular Access Control. Manage permissions for any user, role, or visitor with precision.</li>
<li>Role & Capability Management. Customize WordPress roles and capabilities beyond defaults.</li>
<li>Admin & Menu Control. Restrict dashboard areas and tailor the admin experience per user or role.</li>
<li>API & Endpoint Protection. Secure REST and XML-RPC access with fine-grained controls.</li>
<li>Modern Authentication Options. Support passwordless and secure login flows.</li>
<li>Developer-Ready Framework. Extend WordPress security using AAM’s powerful SDK.</li>
<li>Ad-Free & Transparent. – No ads, no tracking, no bloat.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Built for Security-Conscious WordPress Users</h4>
AAM is trusted by 150,000+ websites to deliver enterprise-grade access control without unnecessary complexity. Whether you’re a site owner, agency, developer, or security professional, AAM gives you full control over WordPress access — by design.
Most core features are free. Advanced capabilities are available via premium add-ons.
No hidden tracking. No data collection. No unwanted changes. 
Just security you can reason about, audit, and trust.

Advanced Access Manager – Access Governance for WordPress

This plugin made it so easy to create accounts for coworkers who only need to do one or two tasks on a website and it's so easy to do. :) 

I love this plugin!

Use at your own risk as the plugin author @vasyltech never replies to support messages on here.

No support

Access Governance for WordPress. Control roles, users, content, admin areas, and APIs to prevent broken access controls and excessive privileges.

SanctumGate vs Advanced Access Manager – Access Governance for WordPress