LaughterOnWater

<p>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.</p>
<p><strong>Key Features:</strong><br />
* <strong>Page-Level Control</strong>: Choose specific pages to make publicly accessible<br />
* <strong>Category-Based Access</strong>: Make entire categories of posts public<br />
* <strong>Category Archives</strong>: Public category archive pages for allowed categories<br />
* <strong>User-Friendly Interface</strong>: Checkbox-based selection instead of manual ID entry<br />
* <strong>Visual Feedback</strong>: See exactly what’s currently public at a glance<br />
* <strong>Lightweight</strong>: Minimal performance impact, perfect for smaller sites</p>
<p><strong>Perfect For:</strong><br />
* Small business websites<br />
* Community sites<br />
* Member-only content areas<br />
* Private blogs<br />
* Non-profit organization sites</p>
<h3>Usage</h3>
<h3>Basic Setup</h3>
<ol>
<li>Navigate to <strong>Appearance <span aria-hidden="true" class="wp-exclude-emoji">→</span> SanctumGate</strong> 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>
<p>Everything else on your site will require users to log in to access, including:<br />
* Unchecked pages<br />
* Posts in unchecked categories<br />
* All other post types and content</p>
<h3>Support</h3>
<p>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>.</p>
<h3>Credits</h3>
<p>Developed by LaughterOnWater<br />
Inspired by the need for simple, effective access control on small WordPress sites.</p>


SanctumGate

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

Mohamed Shili

<p>🔐 Block or allow visitors by country. Track access attempts. View analytics. Stay in control — effortlessly.</p>
<h3>🧠 Description</h3>
<p><strong>Geo Blocker</strong> gives you full control over who can access your WordPress site — based on visitor country and IP. Whether you’re protecting content, reducing attack surface, or managing regional access, this plugin does it with precision and clarity.</p>
<p>🎯 Designed for performance, security, and ease of use.<br />
📊 Built-in analytics and access logs.<br />
🧭 Never get locked out — admin-safe bypass included.</p>
<h3>🚀 Features</h3>
<h3>✅ Access Control That Makes Sense</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Block Selected Countries</strong> – deny access to specific regions  </li>
<li><strong>Allow Selected Countries</strong> – restrict site only to approved countries  </li>
</ul>
<h3>🧩 Smart Blocking Actions</h3>
<ul>
<li>📜 Show custom message  </li>
<li>🔁 Redirect to a URL  </li>
<li>🚫 Send HTTP 403 Forbidden response  </li>
</ul>
<h3>🌐 Visual Country Selector</h3>
<ul>
<li>Flag icons & search bar for quick targeting  </li>
<li>Filter by continent (Africa, Asia, Europe, etc.)  </li>
<li>One-click select/deselect all  </li>
</ul>
<h3>📈 Analytics Dashboard</h3>
<ul>
<li>Summary cards: total visits, blocks, IPs  </li>
<li>Hourly charts for real-time insights  </li>
<li>Filter by date range & data type (accesses, unique IPs, etc.)  </li>
</ul>
<h3>📋 Detailed Logs</h3>
<ul>
<li>See IP, country, URL, status, user agent  </li>
<li>Filters out common junk (favicon, robots.txt)  </li>
<li>Admin visits are auto-ignored to reduce noise  </li>
</ul>
<h3>🛠️ Admin-Proof Bypass URL</h3>
<ul>
<li>Special URL with bypass parameter to access login anytime  </li>
<li>Prevents accidental lockouts  </li>
</ul>
<h3>🔄 Data Export & Log Management</h3>
<ul>
<li>Export logs in CSV or JSON  </li>
<li>Clear logs with a single click  </li>
<li>Sort & search logs in the UI</li>
</ul>
<h3>🌐 External Services</h3>
<p>This plugin uses a third-party API to determine the visitor’s country based on their IP address.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Service used:</strong> <a href="https://ipwho.is" rel="nofollow ugc">IPWho.is</a>  </li>
<li><strong>Purpose:</strong> To perform IP geolocation and detect the country of each visitor, allowing the plugin to block or allow access accordingly.  </li>
<li><strong>Data sent:</strong> The visitor’s IP address is sent to the IPWho.is API on page load when geo-blocking is active.  </li>
<li><strong>Terms of Service:</strong> <a href="https://ipwhois.io/terms" rel="nofollow ugc">https://ipwhois.io/terms</a>  </li>
<li><strong>Privacy Policy:</strong> <a href="https://ipwhois.io/privacy" rel="nofollow ugc">https://ipwhois.io/privacy</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>🖥️ Screenshots</h3>
<ol>
<li><strong>📊 Dashboard Overview</strong> – See country blocks, allowed hits & total attempts   </li>
<li><strong>🔧 Blocking Rules</strong> – Choose block mode, action type, and targets. Enable or disable countries visually</li>
<li><strong>📉 Analytics Graphs</strong> – View access by time, state, and IP 5. <strong>📑 Logs Table</strong> – Deep insights with full logs of visitor attempts. Export CSV/JSON logs with one click</li>
</ol>
<h3>📦 Installation</h3>
<ol>
<li>Upload the plugin folder to <code>/wp-content/plugins/geo-blocker</code>  </li>
<li>Activate via <strong>Plugins <span aria-hidden="true" class="wp-exclude-emoji">→</span> Installed Plugins</strong>  </li>
<li>Go to <strong>Settings <span aria-hidden="true" class="wp-exclude-emoji">→</span> Geo Blocker</strong>  </li>
<li>Enable Geo Blocking using the toggle  </li>
<li>Choose between <strong>block</strong> or <strong>allow</strong> mode  </li>
<li>Select countries using the visual interface  </li>
<li>Pick your blocking action (message, redirect, or 403)  </li>
<li>Save settings — done!</li>
</ol>
<h3>❓ Frequently Asked Questions</h3>
<h3>How does Geo Blocker detect country?</h3>
<p>It uses the reliable <strong>IpWhoIs API</strong> to fetch country data based on the visitor’s IP.</p>
<h3>Will it slow down my site?</h3>
<p>Nope. It’s optimized with <strong>transient caching</strong> and smart triggers — no unnecessary lookups.</p>
<h3>Can I lock myself out?</h3>
<p>No. There’s a <strong>login bypass URL</strong> generated for administrators — shown right on the dashboard.</p>
<h3>Can I block specific pages?</h3>
<p>Not yet — current version works site-wide. Per-page rules may come in a future update.</p>
<h3>Can I export visitor logs?</h3>
<p>Yes. Logs can be exported in <strong>CSV or JSON</strong> format directly from the Logs tab.</p>
<h3>Does it work with caching plugins?</h3>
<p>Yes, but you may need to <strong>exclude the plugin’s logic</strong> from caching. Dynamic geo checks should not be cached.</p>
<h3>🗂️ Changelog</h3>
<h4>1.0.0</h4>
<ul>
<li>🎉 Initial release with all core features</li>
</ul>
<h3>🛡️ Additional Notes</h3>
<h3>Emergency Bypass</h3>
<p>Every admin gets a custom bypass link to avoid accidental lockouts. It’s always visible in the dashboard.</p>
<h3>Blocking Actions</h3>
<p>Choose the experience blocked users receive:<br />
– Custom message<br />
– Redirect to another URL<br />
– Send 403 Forbidden header</p>
<h3>Logs & Privacy</h3>
<p>Logs are stored locally in your WordPress database. The plugin sends only the visitor’s IP to IPWho.is — no personally identifiable information is shared or stored externally.</p>
<h3>💡 Enjoying Geo Blocker? Try Our Other Free Plugins</h3>
<p>Looking for even more control and peace of mind? Check out our other tools:</p>
<p>🔕 <strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/notification-blocker/" rel="ugc">Notification Blocker</a></strong> – Hide annoying plugin notices from your dashboard without hacking core files.</p>
<p>🛡️ <strong><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/fortress-login-pro/" rel="ugc">Fortress Login Pro</a></strong> – Obscure your login page, add brute-force protection, and block unauthorized access attempts with ease.</p>
<p>If you like Geo Blocker, you’ll probably find these just as helpful. Try them out!</p>


Geo Blocker – Control Site Access by Region and IP

🔐 Block or allow visitors by country. Track access attempts. View analytics. Stay in control — effortlessly.

SanctumGate vs Geo Blocker – Control Site Access by Region and IP