How to Password Protect Shopify Store: A Step-By-Step Guide

Password-protecting your store is a smart strategy to control access, safeguard sensitive content, and create an exclusive shopping experience. In this article, NextSky guides you through how to password protect your Shopify store detailing each step to secure your site effectively, alongside advanced strategies to maximize protection and ensure a smooth, user-friendly experience.

Why password-protect your Shopify store?

Password protection is a powerful tool that enhances the customer experience and helps achieve business goals. Here are the key reasons to consider it:

• Control access: Restrict who can view your store, ensuring only authorized users (e.g., VIP customers or staff) have access to sensitive content.
• Pre-launch secrecy: Keep your store hidden during setup or before a product launch to build anticipation and excitement.
• Exclusive experience: Create a sense of privilege for private sales, member-only content, or limited-time offers.
• Maintenance mode: Shield your store from public view during updates or redesigns, ensuring a polished experience upon reveal.
• Fraud protection: With e-commerce fraud projected to reach $91 billion by 2028, password protection provides an additional layer of defence against unauthorized access.
• Wholesale or B2B strategy: Limit pricing and products to approved wholesale customers or specific regions.

How to password-protect your Shopify store

Shopify makes it easy to secure your entire store or specific pages. Follow these steps to password-protect your store:

Step 1: Access the Shopify admin

Log in to your Shopify admin at admin.shopify.com. Navigate to Online Store > Preferences in the left-hand menu to manage visibility and security settings.

Step 2: Enable password protection

• Scroll to the Password protection section.
• Check the box labelled "Restrict access to visitors with a password".
• Enter a strong, unique password (avoid using your admin login credentials).

Step 3: Customize the password page

Add a custom message to inform visitors why the store is locked (e.g., "Our exclusive winter collection is coming soon! Enter the password for a sneak peek."). Click Save to apply changes.

Step 4: Test the setup

Open a new browser or use incognito mode to visit your store's URL. Verify that the password prompt appears as intended and the custom message aligns with your brand's voice.

Expert tip: Use secure methods, such as encrypted messaging or password managers (e.g., LastPass), to share passwords with authorized users, including staff and VIP customers.

How to protect specific pages or products on Shopify

While Shopify's default settings only allow locking the entire store, you can restrict access to specific pages or products using advanced tools or customizations. Here's how:

Option 1: Use Shopify apps for granular control.

Apps like Wholesale Lock Manager or Locksmith enable password protection for individual pages, products, or collections. Key features include:

• Hiding specific products or collections from unauthorized users.
• Restricting access based on customer tags (e.g., VIP or wholesale customers).
• Password-protecting specific URLs or content.
• Hiding prices or "Add to Cart" buttons for non-logged-in users.

How to use apps:

• Visit the Shopify App Store and install a reputable app, such as Locksmith.
• Follow the app's setup wizard to select the pages, products, or collections you want to protect.
• Set up passwords or access rules (e.g., login-based access).
• Test functionality to ensure only authorized users can access the content.

Option 2: Hide products or collections without apps

To hide products or collections from your storefront without an app:

Step 1: Go to Products > Products or Products > Collections in the Shopify admin.

Step 2: Select the items you want to hide.

Step 3: Click the three dots and select "Make unavailable for sales channels."

Step 4: Select Online Store as the channel to exclude.

Step 5: Save changes to ensure the selected products or collections no longer appear on the storefront.

Note: This method hides content from all visitors but doesn't allow password-based access. For proper password protection, use a password manager app.

Option 3: Customize code for advanced control

For tech-savvy store owners, editing theme code can hide elements like prices or "Add to Cart" buttons. For example, to hide prices:

Step 1: Go to Online Store > Themes > Actions > Edit code.

Step 2: Open the theme. liquid file. Add the following CSS above the </body> tag:

html

<style>

.product-card-wrapper .price,

.product .price {

    display: none !important;

}

</style>

Step 3: Save and preview your store to confirm the changes.

Warning: Incorrect code changes can cause your store to malfunction. Always back up your theme and consider hiring a Shopify expert if unsure.

Option 4: How to password protect only for specific pages

It takes a little more work to create a password for only specific pages but it can be done. You will have to mess with the code of the theme, so it is best that you make a backup version of it first.

We recommend that you reach out to a Shopify expert for such requirement to avoid unwanted hassel.

If you still want to do it yourself then here is how we password-protect specific pages on Shopify.

Step 1: Go to Settings → Custom Data → Pages → Add Definition in your Shopify admin.

Step 2: Set the Namespace and key to custom.password, choose Single line text, enable Storefronts access, and click Save.

Step 3: Navigate to Online Store → Pages, open the page you want to protect, scroll to the Metafields section, and enter your desired password.

Step 4: Go to Online Store → Themes → Actions → Edit code, search for page.json (or page.liquid) and paste the provided Liquid snippet to add a password prompt.

Paste this code at the top of the file:

{% capture contentForQueryString %}{{ content_for_header }}{% endcapture %}

  {% assign pageParams = contentForQueryString

    | split: '"pageurl":"'

    | last

    | split: '"'

    | first

    | split: '.myshopify.com'

    | last

    | split: '?'

    | last

    | replace: '\/', '/'

    | replace: '%20', ' '

    | replace: '\u0026', '&'

    | split: '&'

  %}

{% for param in pageParams %}

  {% if param contains 'password=' %}

  {% capture pagePassword %}{{ param | split: '=' | last }}{% endcapture %}

  {% endif %}

{% endfor %}

For the next step, search for “{{ page.content }}” in the same file and post the following code above it.

Paste this code at the top of the file:

{% else %}

  {% if pagePassword %}

  {{ section.settings.wrong_password_prompt_text }}

  {% else %}

  {{ section.settings.password_prompt_text }}

  {%  endif %}

  <input type="password" id="password-input" class="field__input" placeholder="Password" autofocus autocomplete="off" onkeypress="if(event.keyCode == 13){ window.location.href = '{{ request.path }}?password=' + this.value; }"/>

  <button type="button" class="button" onclick="window.location.href = '{{ request.path }}?password=' + document.querySelector('#password-input').value;">{{ section.settings.submit_password_text }}</button>

{% endif %}

• In the same file, search for {% schema %}, then paste the following lines below the “settings: [” line :

{

  "id": "password_prompt_text",

  "type": "text",

  "label": "Text to tell visitor to input password",

  "default": "Please input password to view this page"

},

{

  "id": "wrong_password_prompt_text",

  "type": "text",

  "label": "Text to tell visitor to input a correct password",

  "default": "Wrong password, please try again"

},

{

  "id": "submit_password_text",

  "type": "text",

  "label": "Text for the submit password button",

  "default": "Submit"

},

Step 5: Open the Theme Editor, customize the password text prompts under Pages → Default page, and test your setup to ensure the page is protected correctly.

Managing staff access to a password-protected store

If you have a team, you'll need to grant them access to the password-protected store. Here's how:

• Go to Settings > Users and permissions in the Shopify admin.
• Click Add staff and enter their details.
• Under Permissions, enable Access password-protected online store.
• Set appropriate access levels (e.g., order management but not store settings).
• Send the invitation and share the password securely.

Best practice: Use secure platforms like LastPass or 1Password to share passwords, avoiding unencrypted channels like email.

How to remove password protection from your Shopify store

When you're ready to make your store public, follow these steps:

• Log in to the Shopify admin.
• Go to Online Store > Preferences.
• In the Password Protection section, uncheck 'Restrict access to visitors with the password'.

• Click Save and test the store in an incognito window to confirm it's accessible.

Note: You must select a Shopify pricing plan before removing password protection. During the free trial, you won't incur subscription fees until the trial ends.

Advanced strategies to leverage password protection

Password protection is not only a security shield but also a marketing lever to create a memorable brand experience. Here are sophisticated ways to maximize its potential:

• Create a membership platform That Restricts access to premium content or products for logged-in customers with specific tags (e.g., "VIP"). This boosts loyalty and recurring revenue.
• Host private promotions: Use password protection for exclusive events, such as Black Friday sales, to reward loyal customers and create a sense of urgency.
• Geo-restrict content: Combine password protection with geolocation apps to limit access to specific regions, ideal for region-specific launches.
• A/B test the password page: Experiment with different messages, CTAs, or designs to optimize conversions. For example, test a "Join the waitlist" button versus "Get early access."

Case study: Nutmixr, a single-product Shopify store, utilized a password-protected page with a $100 discount offer and a countdown timer to drive email sign-ups, achieving a 25% conversion rate during its launch.

Learning how to password protect Shopify store is a simple yet effective way to control access, enhance security, and create memorable customer experiences. By following NextSky is guide and strategies, you can confidently manage your store's visibility while capitalizing on marketing opportunities.