Private static sites, from password to geo-lock
Not every site is meant for the open web. On VibeDeploy each site carries one of five visibility modes, from a shared password through invite-only access to geo restrictions, enforced at the server and served from European data centres. Changing the mode is a dropdown, not a project.
Five visibility modes, one dropdown
Every site has exactly one mode at a time, switchable whenever you like:
Public
The default: the site is on the open web for anyone to visit.
Password
One shared password gates the whole site; visitors enter it once per browser.
Private
Visible only to you and your team after logging in; the public web gets nothing.
Invite-only
Named viewers you invite sign in individually; everyone else is turned away.
Geo-restricted
Viewing is limited to the countries you select; requests from elsewhere are refused.
Password protection without writing auth code
Select password mode, set the password, save: that is the entire implementation. The gate runs in the server in front of your site rather than as a JavaScript overlay inside the page, so there is nothing for a curious visitor to view-source around, and nothing in your site code to build or maintain.
Works on your custom domain too
Visibility follows the site, not the address it answers on. The identical password, invite or geo gate applies on your own domain and on the platform subdomain alike; add the domain in the site settings and SSL issues automatically while the access rules stay in force.
Client previews and staging links
A password-protected link is the cleanest way to show work in progress: the client sees the real site, the public sees nothing. On plans with staging, production stays public while the staging copy sits behind its own gate for review. Studios running whole client rosters this way should read the agency page.
Internal tools on a static site
A surprising share of internal tooling is static at heart: the team handbook, an onboarding guide, a reference of exported figures, a members page for a club. Set such a site to private and every logged-in colleague can read it while it stays invisible to the public web; invite-only extends that to named people outside the team.
Geo and IP restrictions for stricter setups
Geo-restricted mode limits site viewing to the countries you select. For organisations that go further, the Business tier adds IP allowlisting so the dashboard itself is reachable only from approved networks such as the office or a VPN; the Business page lists the full governance set.
What Netlify and Vercel charge for this
Fair is fair: both are excellent developer platforms. But site-wide password protection sits behind paid add-ons or higher tiers at Netlify, and Vercel reserves deployment protection features for its paid plans. On VibeDeploy, visibility modes are part of every paid plan, from Maker up. The detailed match-ups are in VibeDeploy vs Netlify and VibeDeploy vs Vercel.
Frequently asked questions
Is the password mode appropriate for sensitive data?expand_more
It gates who can view the site and the gate is enforced server-side, which suits previews, internal pages and anything you simply want off the public web. For regulated or genuinely sensitive material, prefer private or invite-only mode so each viewer authenticates individually, and apply your own judgment about what belongs on a website at all.
Can viewing be limited to certain countries?expand_more
Yes: the geo-restricted mode ties visibility to a list of countries you choose. A request from outside that list is refused before the site is served, which covers cases like a promotion that may only run in one market or an internal page meant for one office region.
Do the visibility modes work on a custom domain?expand_more
They do. Visibility is a property of the site, not of the URL it is reached on, so the same gate applies whether visitors arrive via your own domain or the platform subdomain. Adding a custom domain, with automatic SSL, changes nothing about the access rules.
Can a whole team view a private site?expand_more
Yes. Private mode admits every logged-in member of your team, so an internal handbook or tool is readable by all colleagues while remaining invisible to the public web. For access by named outsiders instead, invite-only mode is the fit.
Put your next site behind a gate
Deploy a site, pick a visibility mode, add your domain. EU infrastructure, 14-day trial, no card required.