Description
Advanced Country Blocker helps you secure your WordPress site by restricting access based on the visitor’s geolocation (country) or IP address. Upon activation, the plugin detects the activating admin’s country and automatically sets that as the only allowed country. All other visitors from different countries are blocked, unless they use a secret key parameter to temporarily whitelist their IP.
Key Features:
- Automatically allows the admin’s country on plugin activation.
- Temporary access via a customizable secret URL parameter (e.g.,
?MySecretKey=1). - Manual blacklisting of specific countries or IP addresses for added security.
- Optional email alerts when new visitors are blocked.
- Admin bypass so logged-in admins can always access the site (toggleable in the code).
- Detailed logging of blocked attempts in a custom database table, displayed in the WP admin.
- Custom “Blocked” page functionality—show a custom message or redirect to a specific page instead of the default 403.
Use the plugin settings page (Country Blocker menu in WP admin) to configure the list of allowed countries, blacklisted countries, blacklisted IPs, and whether email alerts are enabled.
License
This plugin is open-sourced software licensed under the GPLv3 or later.
External Services
This plugin uses the free IP geolocation service provided by IP-API to determine the visitor’s country.
Data sent to IP-API includes:
– Visitor’s IP address (to determine the country of origin).
Learn more about their:
– Terms of Service
– Privacy Policy
Screenshots
Settings Page – Configure allowed/blacklisted countries, IPs, and email alerts. 
Blocked Attempts Log – View a list of recently blocked visitors.
Installation
- Upload the plugin folder to the
/wp-content/plugins/directory, or install via the WordPress “Add Plugin” feature. - Activate the plugin through the “Plugins” menu in WordPress.
- Upon activation, the plugin will:
- Detect the activating admin’s IP.
- Determine the corresponding country via the IP geolocation API.
- Set that country as the only allowed country in the plugin settings.
- Go to Country Blocker Settings in your WordPress admin menu to adjust configurations (e.g., secret key, blacklisted countries, blacklisted IPs, etc.).
FAQ
-
My IP geolocation is incorrect. How do I fix it?
-
Most IP geolocation services have occasional inaccuracies. You can manually add or remove countries on the settings page to adjust who is allowed or blocked.
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What if I accidentally block myself?
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You can add your IP manually to the temporary whitelist by using the URL parameter (
?YourSecretKey=1), or log in as an admin (if admin bypass is enabled). Alternatively, you can deactivate the plugin via FTP or your hosting control panel and adjust settings. -
Does this plugin store any visitor data?
-
The plugin stores IP addresses and (optionally) country codes in a custom log table when visitors are blocked. This is purely for security and administrative review. Remove or adjust this functionality as needed to comply with privacy regulations.
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Can I bypass the plugin if I’m an administrator?
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Yes, by default, if you are logged in with
manage_optionscapability. You can change or remove this bypass in the plugin code.
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“Advanced Country Blocker” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Advanced Country Blocker” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
2.0.2
- Added the blacklist mode
2.0.1
- Fixed WordPress Repo guideline issues
2.0.0
- Added logging to a custom database table.
- Added blacklisted country/IP feature.
- Added admin bypass for testing.
- Added email alerts.
1.1.0
- Defaulted to admin’s country on plugin activation.
- Introduced secret URL key for temporary IP whitelisting.
1.0.0
- Initial plugin release with basic country blocking and default country code.