One of the most common reasons you may want to restrict age is to prevent minors from accessing sites with adult-themed content. Some industries require age verification by law, including sellers of alcohol, tobacco, betting, cannabis, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As you can imagine, the ramifications of not verifying a user\u2019s age could hit you incredibly hard. Fortunately, WordPress lets you implement this with ease. Let\u2019s take a look at some of the standout plugins to choose from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Best WordPress Age Verification Plugins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The five plugins below aren\u2019t presented in any order, so check each one out, and weigh up the pros and cons of each before settling on a solution. Let\u2019s take a look!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Age Gate<\/a> is a completely free age restriction plugin that lets you brand your restriction dialog, and choose other custom styles and images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You also have control over what type of verification is used \u2013 drop-down menus, text fields to type in a birthdate, or \u2018Yes\/No\u2019 buttons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, you can also choose a specific redirection URL, add legal notifications to your splash page, and a number of other features to help create a verification page that meets your requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The simply named Age Verification<\/a> plugin is another fairly new solution to opt for. It adds a pop-up to your site prompting the user to confirm their age before entering your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can easily customize the pop-up\u2019s appearance \u2013 including the background image \u2013 and also lets you set a minimum age requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overall, this is a very simple plugin that could be just the ticket if you need to get up and running quickly. However, given the limited features, it may only be suitable as a stop-gap solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The premium-only Age Checker for WordPress<\/a> plugin offers plenty of customization scope, and is a solid choice for verifying a user\u2019s age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It lets you choose the cookie duration (i.e. how often a user will be asked to re-enter their age between site visits), as well as three types of age verification methods, and custom visual options. You can also change the date format, and preview your changes instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The basic version of the plugin costs $19<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a nutshell, ID verification is similar to its age-based sibling, but looks to verify an entire person<\/em>, rather than just their age. As such, the process by which this takes place is usually more complex, both on the front and back ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, you\u2019ll often find that a specific system needs documentation, photographs, and other personal details in order to build a profile \u2013 some solutions piece a user together based on online accounts to create a more comprehensive identity profile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ID verification exists for many of the same reasons age verification is used. There\u2019s usually a legal need to restrict access to certain websites. For example, think about states where cannabis is legalized. It\u2019s important that only authorized people have access to legal forms of the drug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there are also a purely business reasons for employing the technology. Take, for example, military discounts. If ID checks were not present, it could mean that a business takes a hit due to fraudulent customers\u2014ID verification protects both the consumer and business in various ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below are three of the top ID verification plugins available. As with age verification, they\u2019re presented in no particular order, so feel free to check each one out in turn before making a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Token of Trust Identify Verification<\/a> is a premium service that offers ID verification for online use. They have easy-to-use software for safe, encrypted submission of ID documents, which should result in a smooth verification process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s a free WordPress plugin<\/a> available to help connect the service to your WordPress site. Currently, you can integrate Token of Trust with membership plugins such as BuddyPress<\/a> and Ultimate Member<\/a>. You also have the option to configure a custom setup using shortcodes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Token of Trust in currently in a private beta stage, so if you\u2019re interested in testing the service, contact them for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another way of verifying a user\u2019s ID is by using the Single Sign On (SSO) protocol. This verifies whether a user has another account that uses ID verification, such as Facebook or Google. For example, if a service requires a phone number upon registration, you can be more certain that the account belongs to a real person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The SAML SP Single Sign On \u2013 SSO<\/a> plugin is a relatively simple way to set up the protocol on your WordPress site. It offers a number of different authentication methods \u2013 in fact the developers state \u201call known\u201d solutions are supported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The service lets you implement complex authentication methods<\/a> using a visual interface. Once you configure your settings<\/a>, the login is placed on your site with a simple shortcode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, the basic plugin is free, but a premium version starts at<\/a> $99 per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our final plugin on the list is BlueCheck\u2019s Photo ID verification<\/a>. The premium solution offers custom photo ID verification tools for WordPress websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The service collects a user\u2019s ID, compares it to multiple datasets, is then manually reviewed, then either approved or rejected. The service can also be integrated with some WordPress eCommerce plugins, such as WP EasyCart<\/a>. Overall, it\u2019s a robust solution that also offers age verification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, there\u2019s no explicit pricing mentioned, which usually means a price is customized based on your needs. As such, we\u2019d recommend this if you\u2019re a medium- to large-scale business with a budget to match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the solutions for implementing age and ID verification can be straightforward, you still need a quality host behind you to make the most of your site\u2019s features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WP Engine offers the resources that both strong developers and stellar site owners need to create an incredible experience for visitors. Our WordPress hosting<\/a> platform is custom-built for WordPress, and is pioneering in the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Age](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/agegate.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n1. Age Gate<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Age](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/ageverification.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. Age Verification<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Age](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/agechecker-1024x489.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n3. Age Checker for WordPress<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
WordPress ID Verification<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Best WordPress ID Verification Plugins<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Token](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/token.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n1. Token of Trust Identity Verification<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"SAML](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/saml.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. SAML SP Single Sign On \u2013 SSO<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"BlueCheck](\"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/bluecheck.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n3. BlueCheck Photo ID Verification<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Enhance Your Digital Experience With WP Engine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n