In short. Turn off Elementor Site Lock or Privacy mode and clear WordPress's search visibility restriction before public crawling.
Definition: An Elementor-hosted site can remain inaccessible to search crawlers when its hosted Site Lock setting is enabled. Elementor's newer documentation calls this setting Privacy mode: it blocks site traffic at the server level and allows access only after a four-digit PIN.
Key facts
- Elementor says an enabled Site Lock makes an Elementor-hosted website private and requires changing the Site Lock options before the site is fully public and discoverable on search engines. Elementor's site launch documentation states this directly.
- Site Lock uses a PIN and temporarily prevents search engines such as Google from discovering the site, according to the same Elementor documentation.
- Elementor's current explanation calls Site Lock Privacy mode and says the mode blocks the site from search engines and visitors while allowing access only with a four-digit PIN. The Privacy mode documentation describes this behavior.
- Turning the hosted setting off is separate from WordPress's Reading setting. Elementor says the WordPress option “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” must also be unchecked for search engines to crawl the website. Its launch instructions identify the setting and path.
How does the hosted gate affect crawling?
Site Lock is an access control on an Elementor-hosted website. Elementor describes the current Privacy mode as blocking traffic at the server level. A crawler requesting a page therefore meets the hosted access gate before it can read the page content. The documented visitor flow requires a four-digit PIN, while the mode is described as blocking search engines as well as visitors.
This is different from a page-level noindex directive. The Elementor documentation describes an access restriction and a PIN prompt, rather than a robots directive. It also treats the hosted gate and the WordPress Reading setting as two separate controls. A site can therefore have the hosted gate removed while the WordPress setting still discourages indexing.
How is Site Lock removed before public access?
Elementor's launch procedure starts in the My Elementor dashboard. The documented sequence is to open the dashboard, hover over the website card, choose “Manage this website,” switch the Site Lock button to Off, and confirm the choice. The newer terminology is shown in the corresponding hosted-site path:
My Elementor dashboard
Sites > Hosted sites > website card > Privacy mode: Off
The same launch documentation gives a WordPress dashboard route. From the Elementor Dashboard, the site owner opens the WordPress Dashboard, selects the green Site Lock mode status, scrolls to Site Lock settings, moves the toggle, and confirms the change. The exact control can therefore appear through the hosted dashboard or through WordPress administration.
What must be checked after the PIN gate is removed?
The hosted setting is only one part of Elementor's documented launch checklist. In WP Admin, the path is Settings > Reading. The checkbox named “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” must be unchecked. Elementor's Privacy mode page repeats this requirement and says it is needed to fully enable search engines to crawl the website.
The two settings answer different questions. Site Lock or Privacy mode controls whether visitors and search engines can pass the hosted access gate. The WordPress Reading option controls whether the WordPress site asks search engines not to index it. Both controls need the public-facing state described by Elementor before a crawler can read the site's pages under this documentation.
Related terms
- Where is the search engine visibility setting in WordPress?
- How is lazy loading controlled for Elementor background images?
FAQ
How do I make my Elementor-hosted site public?
Turn off Site Lock, or Privacy mode in Elementor's newer wording, from the hosted site controls. Then open WP Admin, Settings > Reading, and clear “Discourage search engines from indexing this site.”
Does removing Site Lock remove the WordPress search visibility setting?
No. Elementor documents the hosted toggle and the WordPress Reading checkbox as separate steps in the launch process.
What PIN does a crawler use?
Elementor documents that Privacy mode allows access with a four-digit PIN. Its launch instructions do not describe a crawler authentication flow, so public access requires turning the mode off.
Sources
Check how a page reads to answer engines. Open the GEO score analyzer