When working on a new project or when an existing WordPress site is getting a new design, you might want to keep it hidden from public eyes while working on it and, at the same time, keep it accessible for some visitors and yourself as admin.
A maintenance plugin might be a good solution in some cases, especially for short interruptions. But password protecting the whole site is more radical and effective in other instances.
Password Protected is a very useful free plugin for such cases.
When enabled, the plugin offers several useful options such as: allowing Admins, Logged in Users or specific IP addresses to bypass the password protection and the “Remember Me” checkbox for which you set the amount of days a given visitor’s password is remembered and thus allowing him to access the website without entering his password for this period of time.
As a reminder that the plugin is active at your site, a green padlock will always display on top of your Dashboard.