In short
- Passcode: anyone with the code gets in. Quickest. On Page Lemon it works on every plan, Free included, once you've kept the site.
- Invite-only: only the email addresses you name get in, after they sign in. Paid plans.
- Locked section: one part of the site, like
/clients, is private and the rest stays public. On higher paid plans. - Share links from AI chats usually can't be locked. Publish the page as a website first.
Why a share link isn't private
The Publish or Share buttons in AI chats make a link. Whoever has the link can usually open it, and links get forwarded. Gemini's public links have no passcode option. Claude's Team and Enterprise plans keep artifacts inside the organisation, which helps colleagues but not clients. So when only certain people should see a page, publish it as a website you control, then lock it.
Not sure how to get it online first? See the guides for ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
Pick the right lock
| Passcode | Invite-only | Locked section | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good for | Client previews, a party page, a draft | Staff pages, investors, a class with named students | A private area for your users on a public site |
| Visitors need | The code | To sign in with an email you added | The section's passcode or an invited email |
| Can be forwarded? | Yes, the code can be passed on | No, each person signs in as themselves | Depends on which lock it uses |
| Remove one person | Change the code (everyone has to re-enter it) | Remove them; they're signed out at once | As for the lock it uses |
A passcode on the whole site
With your AI connected to Page Lemon, ask:
- Protect this site with a passcode
- Open the private link your AI gives you. It works once, for 15 minutes.
- Type the passcode there: 6 digits, or a password of 8 characters or more. The passcode never goes through the chat.
- Send visitors the link and the code. They see a page asking for it. Once they type it, that browser stays unlocked for 30 days.
Page Lemon stores only a scrambled form of the passcode, so it can't show it to you again. Note it down. Search engines see only the passcode page, marked not to be indexed.
Invite-only, by email
- Make my site invite-only and let in alex@example.com and claire@example.com
You approve the list once in your browser. Each person gets an email invite and signs in with that address. Everyone else sees a sign-in page. You can also let in a whole company by its domain, like acme.com (not free email providers such as gmail.com). Invite-only replaces a site passcode, so remove the passcode first.
Lock one section
- Put a passcode on the /lessons page
The rest of the site stays public. Depending on your plan, all locked sections on a site share one protection (the same passcode, or the same email list), or each section has its own.
What you need
A passcode on the whole site works on every plan, Free included, once you've kept the site with a free account. Invite-only visitors and locked sections come with paid plans, each with its own limits. See pricing
Good habits
- Send the code separately from the link, for example the link by email and the code by text message.
- Give people a way to reach you. The passcode page tells visitors without the code to ask whoever runs the site.
- Shared computers: visitors can lock the site again in their browser at
/__pl/logouton your site. Ask your AI to add a "Lock" link to that address. - A lock is not a vault. Don't publish passwords, card numbers or ID documents on any website, locked or not.
Questions
Can I password-protect a site for free?
Yes. A passcode on the whole site works on Page Lemon's Free plan, once the site is kept with a free account.
What happens if my paid plan ends?
You get 14 days with everything working. After that, locked sections over your plan and invite-only on a plan without it go offline. They are never made public.
Can I make it public again?
Yes. Say "Make my site public again" and approve it once in your browser.
Who can see what's protected?
Ask your AI "Who can see my site?", or open the site's Access tab in the Page Lemon app.