Site access by email list: a code instead of a password
A shared password is convenient while there are three recipients. Beyond that, the familiar story begins: the password goes into an email thread, from there into a chat, and you no longer know who exactly is looking at your materials. To take access away from one person, you have to change the password for everyone.
The second gated access mode solves this differently: access is tied to an address.
What the visitor sees
A person opens the link, sees your login screen and enters their own email. If the address is on the list, a six-digit code arrives by email; they enter it and get into the site. No sign-up, no password, no app to install.
The response at the address step is deliberately neutral: “if the address is on the list, we’ve sent a code”. That way nobody can probe who is on your list at all. It’s your client base, and there’s no reason to reveal it to strangers.
What the owner gets
A named log. You see who signed in, when, and how many devices they use. You can put a name next to an address so the stats read “Irina, accounting” rather than just a mailbox.
Targeted revocation. Delete an address and that person loses access immediately, even mid-session. Everyone else notices nothing: there’s no shared secret to change.
Attempts from outside. If someone tries to sign in with an address that isn’t on the list, you see it. Sometimes it’s just a colleague using a different mailbox: add it and they’re in.
Limits worth knowing up front
- Up to 1,000 addresses per site. This is a tool for a group, not a mailing list.
- No more than three devices per address: a fourth one pushes out the oldest. Otherwise one code gets forwarded to ten people in turn.
- A code is valid for ten minutes and burns after three wrong entries; the visitor can request a new one.
- Emails go out from our domain, so sending is rate-limited: 3 emails per hour per address. We deliberately don’t offer a “let anyone in for an email address” mode: that would be an open relay, and those get used for things other than site access.
How it differs from a password
| Password | Email code | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | few recipients you’re in touch with | many recipients, changing group |
| What you share | the link and a secret | only the link |
| Revoke one person | change the password for everyone | delete one line |
| Who signed in | a sign-in count only | by name, with devices |
| Plan | from Start (or 199 ₽/month add-on) | from Pro (or 299 ₽/month add-on) |
Both modes lock the whole site and both support an access period, an open limit and your own login screen. You can switch from one to the other at any time: the address list is kept even if you temporarily go back to the password.
More: email code access, gated access overview and pricing (with approximate dollar and euro prices).