Every setting of a gate
What each field of the gate editor does, what it starts at, an example value, and what the editor's messages mean when it refuses to save.
You reach the gate editor with Edit gate on the Gates tab, or through Add gate for a new one. At the top it says which family the gate belongs to: Page-first confirmation (the page loads, then the question appears) or Server access gate (the page is not sent until the rule passes). The bar under it jumps to the editor's parts: Message, Scope & access, Appearance, Rules, Preview and Save.
Only the fields that belong to the gate's kind are shown. The tables below say for which kinds a field appears.
Message and appearance
| Setting | What it does | At the start | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keep this gate enabled for normal visitors | Shown on a gate that is switched on. Untick and save to switch it off without deleting it. A draft shows a note instead: it is switched on in the review step. | on (for an enabled gate) | |
| Internal name | Your name for the gate in the list. Visitors do not see it. | the kind's name | Age confirmation (21+) |
| Minimum declared age | Age confirmation only. The age the visitor confirms. 1 to 120. No birth date is kept. | 21 | 18 |
| How visitors answer | Age confirmation only. Yes or No (a declaration), or Date of birth: the visitor types day, month and year (in the order of your site's date format); their browser works out the age and lets them in from the minimum age on, and under it counts as No. The date is not sent to your site or kept; only the answer is remembered, as with Yes. Changing this asks visitors again. | Yes or No (a declaration) | Date of birth |
| Question / heading | The heading of the dialog or screen. Empty uses the translated text shown under the field. | empty | Are you 21 or older? |
| Explanation | The text under the heading. Plain text only (no links or formatting), up to 4,000 characters. Empty uses the translated text. | empty | We sell vaping products to adults only. |
| Continue / Yes label (confirmations), Primary action label (access gates) | The main button. Empty uses the translated text. | empty | Yes, I am 21+ |
| Leave / No label (confirmations), Back / Exit label (access gates) | The second button. Empty uses the translated text. | empty | No, take me back |
| Full policy URL | Policy acknowledgement only. The policy, opened in a separate tab. Exclude that page from this gate. | empty | https://yourstore.com/terms/ |
| Required acknowledgement label | Policy acknowledgement only. The tick box text. Empty: "I have read and acknowledge this policy." | empty | I accept the rental terms. |
| Routing choices | Visitor routing only. One choice per line as Label | address, up to 20. Choosing one is routing, not proof of anything. |
empty | Retail | https://yourstore.com/shop/ |
Where it applies
| Setting | What it does | At the start | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page scope | All public pages, except exclusions, or Only included paths. | All public pages, except exclusions | Only included paths |
| Allow this gate on the homepage too | Off: the home page is never gated by this gate. On: the home page follows the scope and exclusions like any page. | off for an age confirmation, on for the other kinds | off |
| Included paths | Used with Only included paths. One path per line, starting with /: an exact address such as /shop/, an address and everything below it such as /product/* (this covers /product/ itself too), or / for the home page. A star is allowed only at the end. A selected-pages gate needs at least one before it can be switched on. |
empty | /wholesale/* |
| Excluded paths | Pages this gate never covers. Exclusions always win. Keep your login page, your policy page and the page visitors are sent to when they say No reachable. | empty | /privacy-policy/ |
| Search this site (under each paths box) | Type part of a page's title, choose the page, and its path is added to the box as a new line (a path already there is not added twice). | ||
| Skip this gate for logged-in visitors | Confirmations only. Signed-in visitors are not asked. Checked live on every visit, not from a cached page. | on for an age confirmation, off for the other confirmations | on |
| Evaluation / display order | Lower numbers run first. 0 to 9,999. Access gates are checked on the server before any confirmation is shown. | 10 | 5 |
Answers and return visits (confirmations)
| Setting | What it does | At the start | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ask again after no site clicks | Minutes without a click or tap on your site after which the visitor is asked again. 0 keeps the answer only while the browser is open. Up to 10,080 (7 days). | 60 | 120 |
| Offer "Remember this browser" | Adds an unticked box to the dialog. A visitor who ticks it is not asked again on that browser until the time below has passed, however long they stay away. | off | on |
| Remember for this many days | How long a remembered answer lasts. 1 to 365. Visits do not extend it. | 30 | 30 |
| No / Leave destination | Where a visitor who answers No is sent. A complete address starting with http:// or https://. Empty opens a blank page. | empty | https://yourstore.com/sorry/ |
Changing the question, the age, the policy or the routing choices asks every visitor again. Changing the home page setting or the colors does not.
Access rule (access gates)
| Setting | Kinds | What it does | At the start | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Send noindex while access is blocked | all access gates | Tells search engines not to list the blocked page, only while the gate blocks it. | on | on |
| (no fields) | Login required | A visitor who is not signed in gets the access screen and a sign-in link that brings them back. Any signed-in account passes. | ||
| Allowed WordPress roles | Role restriction | The roles that may enter. Guests are asked to sign in first. At least one role before the gate can be switched on. | none | Shop manager |
| Manage credentials (link) | Access codes & invitations | Opens the Access tab for this gate, where codes and invitation links are made. | ||
| Set / replace legacy code | Access codes & invitations | One older-style code, kept for sites that used it. 4 to 128 characters. New gates use the codes on the Access tab. | empty | |
| Keep successful credential access for | Access codes & invitations | Minutes a browser keeps access after a valid code or link. 0: while the browser is open. Up to 43,200 (30 days). Revoking the code ends this access too. | 720 (12 hours) | 1440 |
| Allow visitors to request access | Access codes & invitations | Adds a form (name, email, message). You approve a request into a one-time invitation link. | off | on |
| Approved request link lifetime | Access codes & invitations | Minutes the link sent for an approved request stays valid. 5 to 43,200. | 2,880 (48 hours) | 2,880 |
| Verification method | Email verification | Six-digit code, Magic link or Code and magic link. | Code and magic link | Six-digit code |
| Allowed email addresses | Email verification | One per line. Empty here and below: any valid address can verify. | empty | |
| Allowed email domains | Email verification | One per line, such as company.com; addresses at its subdomains count too. It proves the visitor can read that inbox, not who they are. |
empty | harborandpine.com |
| Verification message lifetime | Email verification | Minutes the emailed code or link works. 5 to 60. | 10 | 15 |
| Keep verified-email access for | Email verification | Minutes a browser keeps access after verifying. 0: while the browser is open. Up to 43,200. | 720 | 720 |
| Open at, Close at | Scheduled access | In your WordPress time zone. Either may be empty; the closing time must be later than the opening time. At least one before the gate can be switched on. | empty | Open at 1 Nov 09:00 |
| Back / Exit destination | all access gates | Where the second button leads. Empty: your home page. | empty |
Content and site behavior (access gates)
| Setting | Kinds | What it does | At the start | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protect | Login required, Role restriction, Access codes & invitations, Email verification, Scheduled access, Recorded policy acceptance, Location eligibility | Whole matching pages, or Only attached protected blocks / shortcodes: then nothing is closed until you put the gate around part of a page with the Gate Manager Protected Content block or the shortcode (private areas). | Whole matching pages | Only attached protected blocks / shortcodes |
| Policy version | Recorded policy acceptance | Your name for the version. A new version asks everyone to accept again. Required. | 1 | 2026-10 |
| Full policy URL | Recorded policy acceptance | The policy. A policy page on your own site is automatically exempt from this gate. | empty | https://yourstore.com/terms/ |
| Required acknowledgement | Recorded policy acceptance | The tick box text. | empty | |
| Save acceptance to signed-in customer accounts | Recorded policy acceptance | The acceptance follows a signed-in customer to any browser. Guests get a browser cookie; nothing about them is stored. | on | on |
| Browser access duration (minutes) | Recorded policy acceptance | How long a browser keeps the acceptance. 0: while the browser is open. | 720 | 720 |
| Gate screen page | Coming Soon, Maintenance | Use the gate message above, or a published public page shown on the screen. | Use the gate message above | Opening soon |
| Screen layout | Coming Soon, Maintenance | Inside the gate card, under the heading and explanation, or The whole page, as your site shows it: the page through your theme's own template for it, exactly as when you open it, without the card's heading, explanation and Sign in button (Coming Soon); a page made with Elementor shows as Elementor shows it. Without a gate screen page, the card is shown. | Inside the gate card, under the heading and explanation | The whole page, as your site shows it |
| Roles that may still enter | Coming Soon, Maintenance | "Administrators can always enter. Optionally allow these signed-in roles too:" tick the roles. | none | Shop manager |
| Activate at (optional), End at (optional) | Coming Soon, Maintenance | When the screen starts and stops by itself. Your WordPress time zone. | empty | |
| Retry after (seconds) | Maintenance | Tells browsers and search engines when to try again (Maintenance answers "503, temporarily unavailable"; Coming Soon answers with a normal page). 60 to 86,400. | 3,600 | 1,800 |
A Location eligibility gate also has its countries and regions here (country codes such as US, regions such as
US:MO; at least one country before it can be switched on), and needs a location source on the Geography tab.
Rules
Rules come on top of Where it applies. Empty rules mean the paths alone decide.
| Setting | What it does | At the start |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced rule builder | Groups of conditions joined with ALL, ANY or NOT, nested if needed: page, visitor, request, time, another gate, and with WooCommerce products, carts and customers (store and site). | empty |
| If a condition cannot be determined | Do not apply this gate or Apply this gate, for when a condition has no answer (for example no location). For restrictions, Apply is the safe choice. | Apply this gate (access gates), Do not apply this gate (confirmations) |
| Enforce matching WooCommerce rules during purchase | When the gate has WooCommerce conditions, it is also checked at Add to cart, in the cart and at checkout. No effect without WooCommerce conditions. | on |
| Rule definition (JSON fallback) | The same rules as text, for when the visual builder cannot load. |
Addresses, referrers, cookies and "new or returning browser" are things a visitor can change. Use them to decide when to ask, never as proof that someone may enter.
Saving, resetting, deleting
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Save draft and review | For a new or switched-off gate: saves it switched off ("Draft saved and disabled. Test and review it below.") and opens the review, where you switch it on. |
| Save gate | For a gate that is on: saves the changes. They apply at once ("Saved. Clear page/hosting caches after changing public gate settings."): empty your page cache so visitors get the new version. |
| Require a fresh answer / access grant for this gate | Under Reset answers or delete this gate: every visitor answers the question again, and browsers that got in with a code, a link or a verified email lose that access and enter again the same way (codes still work until they expire or are used up). Tick I confirm this action. |
| Delete this gate | Removes the gate (also needs I confirm this action). A gate another gate's rules depend on cannot be deleted until that rule is removed. |
| Preview saved gate | Opens the saved gate on your site as a visitor would see it, without changing anyone's answers or access. |
When the editor refuses to save
The message is shown at the top of the editor. Nothing was changed.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| Add at least one included path before enabling a selected-pages gate. | Add a path under Included paths, or set Page scope to all public pages. |
| Use site-relative paths such as /shop/ or /product/*. Do not include a domain, query string, fragment, spaces or path traversal. | Write paths as they appear after your domain, starting with /, without ? or # parts. |
| A path wildcard is allowed only at the end, for example /product/*. | Move the * to the end, or list the addresses one by one. |
| Use a complete http:// or https:// URL without embedded credentials, or leave the field empty. | Write the whole address, starting with https://, in the destination or policy field. |
Enter each routing choice as Label | https://destination.example/path/. Every choice needs a label and valid destination. |
One choice per line, label, a vertical bar, then the full address. |
| Add at least one destination before enabling a visitor-routing gate. | Add a routing choice. |
| Select at least one allowed WordPress role before enabling this restriction. | Tick a role under Allowed WordPress roles. |
| Access codes must be between 4 and 128 characters. | Use a longer (or shorter) code. |
| Add at least one active code or magic link, keep the legacy code, or enable access requests before enabling this gate. | Make a code on the Access tab first, or switch on Allow visitors to request access. |
| Use a valid date and time for scheduled access. / The closing time must be later than the opening time. / Set an opening time, a closing time, or both before enabling scheduled access. | Correct Open at and Close at. |
| Enter a policy version before saving. | Fill in Policy version. |
| Choose a published, public WordPress page for the gate screen. | Publish the page (without a password), or choose Use the gate message above. |
| Use country codes such as US and region codes such as US:MO. / Select at least one allowed country before enabling this gate. / Every region must belong to a listed allowed country. | Correct the location lists. |
| A gate cannot use its own grant as an advanced condition. | Remove the rule that points at this same gate. |
| Review this imported gate's links, roles, IDs, provider and credential requirements, then confirm that review before enabling it. | A gate from another site: check it and tick I reviewed this gate for this site. |
| This configuration changed in another tab or request. Reload the screen before saving again; the newer settings were not overwritten. | Someone (or you, in another tab) saved in the meantime. Reload and make your change again. |
| The gate was removed, or the configuration has reached the 50-gate safety limit. Reload the list before continuing. | Reload; delete gates you no longer use if you have 50. |
| Another gate depends on this gate grant. Remove that condition before deleting this gate. | Find the gate whose rules mention this one and remove that rule first. |
| Gate Manager cannot read the saved configuration. The original data has been preserved. Use a compatible plugin version or restore a verified database backup before editing. | The saved settings are damaged or from a newer version. Nothing was overwritten; restore a backup or install the matching version. |