Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI vs Limited Admin Menu Access by URLs

Limited Admin Menu Access by URLs is built for site owners and administrators who need to give support agents, clients, or junior staff a tightly controlled window into the WordPress admin — without handing over full access. The typical use case: you have a support agent who needs to handle WooCommerce orders, or a client who should only see their own content settings, or a developer you want to restrict to specific tools. Instead of creating a custom role from scratch, you simply select the user and click the pages they are allowed to visit. The plugin hides everything else from their sidebar and blocks any attempt to navigate to restricted pages directly by URL. Key Features User Targeting — Select one or more users from a searchable, filterable list. Filter by role (Administrator, Editor, Author, Subscriber) with live AJAX search by name or email. Visual Link Picker — Hold CTRL (or CMD on Mac) to activate an interactive overlay on the admin sidebar. Click any link to instantly add it to the allowlist. Added links are highlighted green; click again to remove. URL + Title Tags — Allowed URLs are stored with their menu title for a human-readable allowlist display and a friendlier Access Denied page. Menu Hiding — All admin sidebar menu items not in the allowlist are automatically hidden for targeted users. Hard URL Blocking — Direct navigation to a blocked URL is intercepted at admin_init and returns a styled 403 Access Denied page — even if the user tries to type the URL directly into the address bar. Access Denied Page — A professional full-page block screen lists all pages the user is allowed to visit, with titles and URLs as clickable links. Empty Dashboard Option — A single checkbox removes all dashboard widgets for restricted users, leaving a clean empty dashboard while keeping the page itself accessible. Plugin Self-Protection — When a restricted user is granted access to the Plugins page, the Deactivate and Settings action links for this plugin are automatically removed from their view. A server-side guard additionally intercepts and blocks any direct deactivation request, even if crafted manually, ensuring the plugin cannot be disabled by a restricted user. Backwards Compatible — Existing plain-text URL lists from earlier versions are automatically migrated to the new JSON format on first save. Clean Uninstall — All plugin data is removed from the database when the plugin is deleted. Primary Use Case: Granting Limited Admin Access to Support Agents When a support agent needs to help with order management, content issues, or plugin configuration, giving them full admin access is a security and compliance risk. This plugin solves that problem cleanly: Create a WordPress account for the support agent (any role). Open Limited Admin Access in your sidebar. Check the agent’s name in the Target Users list. Hold CTRL and click the exact sidebar pages they need — Orders, a specific settings tab, the media library, whatever the job requires. Click Apply Restrictions. The agent now sees only those pages in their sidebar, and any attempt to navigate elsewhere returns a branded Access Denied screen listing exactly where they are allowed to go. No custom roles, no code, no guesswork. Other Use Cases Give a client access to only their WooCommerce orders page and nothing else. Restrict a content author to only the post editor and media library. Limit a junior developer to only the tools relevant to their current task. Prevent non-technical staff from accidentally accessing sensitive settings. Provide a contractor with a scoped admin view for the duration of a project. How It Works Go to Limited Admin Access in the WordPress admin sidebar. Select one or more users to restrict using the Target Users panel. Hold CTRL and click sidebar links to add them to the allowlist — or type URLs manually. Optionally check Hide All Dashboard Widgets to give restricted users a blank dashboard. Click Apply Restrictions. From that point on, restricted users will only see the allowed menu items and can only navigate to allowed pages. Attempting to visit any other admin URL returns a 403 page with links to permitted pages. Security All inputs are sanitized using WordPress-native functions (sanitize_text_field, esc_url_raw, absint, wp_unslash). URL scheme validation rejects javascript:, data:, and other non-HTTP schemes from the allowlist. AJAX endpoints are protected with nonces and current_user_can('manage_options') checks. URL matching uses exact path + query-string comparison — substring matching is not used, preventing crafted URL bypass attacks. The plugin page render callback has an explicit capability gate independent of the menu registration. Restricted users who are granted access to the Plugins page cannot deactivate this plugin — the Deactivate and Settings action links are stripped from the plugin row for those users, and a server-side admin_init guard verifies WordPress’s own deactivation nonce before intercepting and blocking any direct deactivation request. All data is removed on plugin deletion via uninstall.php.

Improve your SEO with real-time feedback, schema, and clear guidance. Upgrade for AI tools, Google Docs integration, and 24/7 support, no hidden fees. Yoast SEO: The #1 WordPress SEO Plugin Since 2008, Yoast SEO has helped millions of websites worldwide improve their visibility and SEO performance. Our mission is SEO for Everyone — from small local businesses to some of the most visited sites on the web. Yoast SEO gives you everything you need to manage your on-site SEO effectively. The Yoast SEO Premium plugin and its extensions unlock even more advanced and AI-powered tools. Handing you the competitive edge SEO is the most consistent and cost-effective source of website traffic — but it can be complex. Whether you’re just starting out or an advanced user, Yoast SEO helps you handle SEO confidently and efficiently. Don’t have time to stay on top of AI search and best practices? Keeping Yoast SEO updated means you automatically benefit from ongoing technical improvements, schema updates, and AI advancements — all guided by our signature traffic light approach. Empower search engines to better understand your website using Schema.org structured data integration, and access in-depth content and readability analysis tools that help you create content designed to perform well in search. Quick and easy setup Setting up Yoast SEO is quick and straightforward — no technical background required. Our step-by-step configuration wizard walks you through essential setup details so Yoast SEO can generate accurate structured data that helps search engines understand your site. Switching from another SEO plugin like Rank Math or AIOSEO? Migration is seamless. Import your existing SEO data and settings safely with our built-in import/export tools. Content and AI features Unlock your content’s full potential with Yoast SEO’s advanced content analysis and AI-powered tools. Content optimization features: – Detailed SEO analysis to guide keyword targeting and site performance. – Readability analysis for clear, engaging, and user-friendly writing. – SERP previews for both desktop and mobile results. – HowTo and FAQ blocks with built-in schema support. – Breadcrumbs block for improved navigation. – Inclusive Language Analysis to make your content more considerate and accessible. – Semrush integration for keyword research directly in Yoast SEO. – Wincher integration to track keyword performance inside your dashboard. – Elementor integration for seamless optimization within your favorite builder. 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Key technical SEO features: – Automated meta tag optimization right out of the box. – Canonical URLs to prevent duplicate content issues. – Advanced XML sitemaps for clear site indexing. – Best-in-class Schema.org integration to improve search understanding and appearance. – Complete breadcrumb control for visitors and crawlers. – Performance improvements that help reduce load times. – Crawl settings to manage how bots access your site and reduce environmental impact. – LLMs.txt management to guide how large language models interact with your content. Every update delivers ongoing technical SEO enhancements automatically. Keep your website in perfect shape Whether you’re a creator, business owner, or developer, Yoast SEO helps maintain your website’s SEO health: Cornerstone content tools to organize and prioritize key pages. Front-end SEO inspector to view and edit titles, descriptions, and schema live. SEO roles to delegate plugin access securely across teams. Regular 2-week update cycle to ensure compatibility with the latest SEO standards and search engine changes. Powerful integrations Yoast SEO works seamlessly with popular WordPress tools to enhance your workflow and results: Google Site Kit: Access insights from Search Console, Analytics, and PageSpeed directly inside WordPress. Advanced Custom Fields (ACF): Combine with ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO for advanced field optimization. Elementor: Use full Yoast SEO functionality inside Elementor’s editor. Algolia: Enhance internal search accuracy and performance. Semrush: Discover and optimize for high-value keywords. Wincher: Track keyword positions and trends in Google Search. Jetpack: Manage SEO and social previews all in one place. Easy Digital Downloads (EDD): Improve digital product visibility with integrated schema. Mastodon: Verify your website on Mastodon with Yoast SEO Premium. WooCommerce: Optimize ecommerce SEO with the dedicated WooCommerce extension. Yoast SEO Premium – AI-powered SEO for WordPress Yoast SEO Premium enhances everything in Yoast SEO with advanced automation, AI tools, and professional support. Trusted by millions, it helps you optimize efficiently for both traditional and AI-driven search. Tackle your SEO challenges: – Keep pace with algorithm and AI search updates. – Target the right audience effectively. – Automate redirects, crawl controls, and internal linking. – Identify orphaned content and improve site structure. – Get support when you need it. Premium highlights: – AI-generated titles and meta descriptions. – Smart internal linking suggestions. – Social previews for Facebook and X. – Redirect Manager with bulk tools and automatic prompts. – Bot Blocker for AI crawlers (GPTBot, CCBot, Google-Extended). – IndexNow integration for fast content updates. – Front-end SEO Inspector for real-time editing. – SEO Workouts to improve orphaned and cornerstone content. – Google Docs add-on for seamless SEO writing in Docs. – 24/7 premium support from SEO specialists. Includes at no extra cost: – Yoast Local SEO: Optimize for local audiences and Google Maps. – Yoast Video SEO: Ensure Google understands your videos with video sitemaps and schema. – Yoast News SEO: Increase visibility in Google News and Top Stories. Yoast WooCommerce SEO – Advanced SEO for Online Stores Yoast WooCommerce SEO builds on Yoast SEO Premium with ecommerce-specific tools to improve your store’s visibility and conversion potential. Key ecommerce SEO features: – WooCommerce-specific XML sitemap excluding non-shopping content. – Product structured data for enhanced rich results (price, reviews, availability). – Canonical URL management to prevent duplicates. – Ecommerce-focused content analysis for GTINs, SKUs, and short descriptions. – AI Generate for ecommerce – Instantly create optimized titles and meta descriptions for product and category pages. Benefits: – Improve product visibility with automated structured data. – Enhance crawl efficiency for large catalogs. – Save time through metadata templates and automation. – Increase engagement with AI-optimized ecommerce metadata. Built for WooCommerce, trusted by thousands of online stores worldwide. For Developers Yoast SEO is built with developers in mind. With modern APIs, hooks, and a unified indexables system, you can extend or integrate SEO functionality across custom themes, plugins, or headless setups. REST API Retrieve SEO metadata for any post or URL, including meta tags, Open Graph, Twitter Cards, and Schema.org data. Learn more about the REST API. Surfaces API Access SEO data directly in code via YoastSEO()->meta->for_current_page(). Supports titles, descriptions, canonicals, and schema. Read the Surfaces API documentation. Metadata API Use the Metadata API to filter, override, or extend meta tags with WordPress hooks such as wpseo_title, wpseo_metadesc, and wpseo_canonical. Schema API The Schema API lets you modify or extend Schema.org graph pieces, including Article, Organization, Person, Breadcrumb, and WebPage entities. Block Editor compatibility Yoast SEO integrates directly with the WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg). It outputs schema for HowTo and FAQ blocks by default, and developers can extend schema for custom blocks. Indexables At the core of Yoast SEO lies the indexables system, unifying all SEO data for faster queries and consistent metadata across outputs. Ongoing support and education Yoast is powered by expert developers, testers, and SEO specialists who keep improving the plugin. We’re committed to helping users grow their SEO skills with resources such as: Yoast SEO Academy: Free and premium SEO courses (included in all paid plans). Yoast SEO blog, newsletter, and webinars. Yoast SEO Update podcast for the latest SEO insights. Bug reports on GitHub (for issue tracking, not support). Yoast SEO — built to make search optimization accessible, reliable, and ready for the future of AI search.