PathGuard Redirects

FAQ

What URL format should I use in the blocked URLs list?

Enter paths relative to your site home, one per line. Example:

/secret-page/
/members-only/
/private-area/

If you paste a full URL, it is converted to its path when you save. Paths are matched with or without a trailing slash and regardless of case.

If WordPress is installed in a subdirectory (e.g. https://example.com/blog/), enter paths relative to that directory: /secret-page/, not /blog/secret-page/.

Will administrators be blocked?

No — by default the Exclude Admins option is enabled, which means logged-in users with the manage_options capability can always access blocked URLs. You can uncheck this option to apply blocking to administrators as well.

What is the difference between the two redirect actions?

• Custom URL (302 redirect) — the visitor’s browser is redirected to the URL you specify. The blocked URL disappears from the address bar.
• Not Found (404 page) — the browser stays on the blocked URL but receives an HTTP 404 status and sees your theme’s 404 template. No redirect occurs.

Can I redirect to another website?

Yes. Enter any full URL (e.g. https://example.com/). You can also enter a path such as /home/, which is resolved against your site home.

What happens if I choose “Custom URL” but leave the destination field blank?

The plugin falls back to serving the 404 page so the blocked URL is never accidentally left accessible. The same happens if the destination is itself a blocked URL, which would otherwise cause a redirect loop; the settings page shows a warning in that case.

Does this plugin affect REST API or admin requests?

No. The block logic runs on the template_redirect hook which only fires for standard frontend page requests. REST API, WP-CLI, and admin requests are unaffected.

Does blocking a URL make its content private?

No. PathGuard Redirects blocks the URL, not the content. A blocked page’s content can still be reachable through the REST API (e.g. /wp-json/wp/v2/pages), RSS feeds, site search, and XML sitemaps. To keep content private, set the post to Private or password-protect it.

Does it work with page caching?

The plugin purges supported page caches when you save, so pages cached before a rule was added are not served. Caches that run outside WordPress (server-level caches such as Varnish or Nginx FastCGI cache, or a CDN) must be purged manually after changing rules.

Will my settings be lost if I deactivate the plugin?

No. Settings are kept on deactivation. They are removed from the database only when you delete the plugin from the Plugins screen.

Does the plugin block query strings?

No. Only the path portion of the URL is compared (e.g. /secret-page/). Query strings like ?preview=true are ignored, which means /secret-page/?anything=value is still blocked by the rule /secret-page/.