Your blog’s privacy settings determine who can find and read your content. You’ve got three main options: completely public, totally private, or somewhere in between with password protection.
Most people go public because they want readers. But maybe you’re testing things out first, or you’re building a private blog for family, or you just don’t want search engines crawling your site yet. Whatever your reason, changing your blog privacy takes about 30 seconds.
Here’s what we’re covering: how to access privacy settings, what each option actually means, and when you’d pick one over another.
What You’ll Need
- Access to your Badass Network dashboard (log in at badassnetwork.com/login)
- A clear idea of who should see your blog
- About 5 minutes
That’s it. No technical knowledge required.
Understanding Your Privacy Options
WordPress gives you three privacy levels. Let’s break down what each one does before you start clicking buttons.
Public (Default)
Your blog’s visible to everyone. Search engines like Google can find it and index your posts. Anyone with the URL can read your content. This is what most bloggers want—maximum visibility, maximum potential audience.
Private
Only people you specifically invite can see your blog. They’ll need a WordPress account and you’ll have to add them as users. Search engines won’t index anything. Random visitors who type in your URL won’t see your content—they’ll get a login screen instead.
Password-Protected
Anyone can access your blog if they know the password. You share one password with everyone you want to give access to. They don’t need a WordPress account, just the password. Search engines still won’t index your content, but it’s easier to share access than the fully private option.
Accessing Privacy Settings
We’ve got two places where privacy controls live. Yeah, this confused us at first too—WordPress splits blog privacy across two different settings screens.
For search engine visibility:
Head to your WordPress dashboard. Look in the left sidebar and click Settings, then Reading.
Scroll down until you spot “Search Engine Visibility” with a checkbox next to it.
For visitor access control:
Some WordPress setups have this under Settings > Reading as well, while others put it in Settings > General or offer it through specific privacy plugins. On Badass Network, you’ll usually find the main controls in Settings > Reading.
Making Your Blog Public
This is the default setting for most blogs. If you want people to find your content through Google, social media, or direct links, keep it public.
Go to Reading Settings
In your dashboard, go to Settings > Reading.
Find Search Engine Visibility
Find the checkbox labeled “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” or something similar.
Uncheck the Box
Make sure it’s UNCHECKED. If there’s a checkmark in that box, click it to remove the checkmark.
Save Changes
Scroll to the bottom and click Save Changes.
That’s it. Your blog’s now public. Search engines can crawl it, index your posts, and show them in search results. Usually takes a few days to a few weeks before Google starts ranking your content, depending on how often you publish.
Making Your Blog Private
Private blogs work best when you’re sharing with a specific group—family updates, team collaboration, personal journaling, whatever needs restricted access.
Go to Reading Settings
Go to Settings > Reading.
Select Private Option
Look for privacy options. Depending on your WordPress setup, you might see radio buttons for Public/Private, or you might need to check a box that says “I would like my site to be private, visible only to users I choose.”
Save Changes
Click Save Changes at the bottom.
Now only logged-in users that you’ve added to your blog can see your content. Everyone else gets redirected to a login screen.
Adding users to your private blog:
Navigate to Users
Head to Users > Add New in your dashboard.
Enter User Details
Enter their email address and choose a role (usually Subscriber if they’re just reading, or Author if they can contribute posts).
Send Invitation
WordPress sends them an invitation. Once they accept and create their account, they’ll be able to log in and access your blog.
Password-Protecting Your Blog
This middle ground option works well when you want to share access with people who don’t need WordPress accounts. You set one password, share it with your intended audience, and they’re in.
I’d recommend this for things like client preview sites, event-specific blogs, or content you want to control access to without managing individual user accounts.
Setting a site-wide password:
This functionality depends on your specific WordPress setup or available plugins. On Badass Network, you typically handle password protection through Settings > Reading (if available as a privacy option), or through individual post/page settings.
Password-protecting individual posts or pages:
This is more common and easier to control.
Edit Your Post
When you’re writing or editing a post, look for the Visibility settings in the right sidebar.
Change Visibility
Click Public to reveal visibility options.
Select Password Protected
Select Password Protected.
Enter Password
Enter your chosen password in the field that appears.
Publish or Update
Click Update or Publish to save.
Now anyone who visits that post needs the password to view it. The rest of your blog can stay public while specific content stays locked.
Search Engine Visibility vs. Access Control
Here’s where people get confused. These are two different things that work together.
Search Engine Visibility (Settings > Reading)
Controls whether Google, Bing, and other search engines can crawl and index your blog. When you check “Discourage search engines,” you’re asking them to stay away. Most respect this, but it’s a request, not a lock. Technically, someone could still find your blog if they knew the URL.
Access Control (Privacy Settings)
Actually restricts who can view your content. Private blogs require login. Password-protected content needs the password. This physically blocks access.
For maximum privacy, you want both:
- Check “Discourage search engines” so Google doesn’t try to index you
- Set your blog to Private or use password protection so visitors can’t view content even if they find your URL
Most people either want full public visibility (both unchecked/public) or full privacy (both enabled). The in-between scenarios confuse search engines and readers alike.
When to Choose Each Privacy Level
Go Public if:
- You’re blogging to build an audience
- You want traffic from search engines
- You’re okay with anyone reading your content
- You’re building a brand, business, or personal platform
- You want your posts shared on social media
Go Private if:
- You’re sharing family updates with specific relatives
- You’re collaborating with a team on internal projects
- You’re journaling and want total control over who reads
- You’re testing your blog before launching publicly
- You’re creating member-only content for specific users
Use Password Protection if:
- You want easy sharing without user account management
- You’re creating content for a specific event or group
- You need temporary privacy but plan to go public later
- You’re giving clients preview access to content before it goes live
- You don’t mind everyone using the same password
Common Situations
Yep. Change your privacy settings anytime in Settings > Reading. Just remember: once you go public and search engines index your content, you can’t easily “un-index” it. They’ll eventually drop your pages if you switch back to private, but it takes time.
If someone bookmarked your blog or subscribed via RSS while it was public, they’ll lose access once you switch to private. They’ll need to be added as users to regain access. Might want to give them a heads-up before you make the switch.
Usually no. Your site-wide privacy setting applies to everything. But yeah, you can override it on individual posts/pages using the Visibility controls in the editor. Handy when your blog’s mostly public but you’ve got a few posts you want to keep private or password-protected.
Sometimes. “Discourage search engines” is a request, not a command. Most major search engines respect it, but smaller crawlers or aggressive bots might ignore it. If you need guaranteed privacy, use actual access controls (private or password-protected), not just the search engine setting.
Yeah, absolutely. Search engines can’t index content they can’t access. If SEO matters to you, keep your blog public. Password protection’s for when privacy outweighs discoverability.
Yep. Keep your blog’s overall privacy setting on Public, then use the Visibility controls on individual posts to make specific ones private or password-protected. Best of both worlds.
Testing Your Privacy Settings
After you change your settings, test them to make sure they’re working how you expect.
For public blogs:
Log out of your WordPress account (or open an incognito/private browser window). Visit your blog URL. You should see your content without needing to log in. If you’re prompted for a login, something’s misconfigured.
For private blogs:
Same thing—log out or use incognito mode. Visit your blog URL. You should get redirected to a login screen. Try logging in with a user account you’ve added. You should see the content. Try accessing without logging in—you shouldn’t be able to.
For password-protected content:
Visit the protected post or page while logged out. You should see a password form. Enter your password. The content should appear. Enter a wrong password—you should stay locked out.
Privacy and SEO Impact
Let’s be real: privacy settings and search engine rankings don’t play nice together.
If your blog’s set to discourage search engines or you’ve made it private/password-protected, you’re essentially invisible to Google. That’s the point, but it also means zero organic traffic, no search rankings, and no SEO benefits.
You can’t have both maximum privacy and maximum discoverability. Pick your priority:
Need readers and traffic? Go public and optimize for SEO.
Need privacy and control? Accept that you won’t rank in search results.
Somewhere in between? Maybe run a mostly public blog but password-protect a few specific posts. Or start private while building content, then flip to public when you’re ready to grow your audience.
What You’ve Done
You now know how to control who sees your Badass Network blog. Whether you’re keeping it public for maximum reach, locking it down for privacy, or using password protection for controlled access, you’ve got the tools to match your blog’s visibility to your goals.
Privacy settings aren’t permanent. Change them whenever your needs change. Testing out content privately before going public? Smart move. Ready to grow an audience? Flip it to public and start optimizing for search engines.
Next step: If you’ve gone public, focus on creating content and SEO. If you’re staying private, invite your users and start sharing content with your specific audience.
Related Resources
- Configuring Your Blog Settings — Comprehensive guide to all blog configuration options
- Setting Up Blog Title, Tagline, and Basic Info — Configure your blog’s identity and basic information
- Managing User Roles and Permissions — Add users to your private blog and control what they can do
- Writing SEO-Friendly Blog Titles — Optimize your content for search engines if you’re going public
Need Help?
Privacy settings not working how you expected? Something looks weird?
Contact Badass Network Support with:
- What privacy level you’re trying to set (public, private, password-protected)
- What’s actually happening when you test it
- Your blog URL
- Screenshots if something’s not displaying right
We’ll help you figure it out.