The theme of some sites suggests that visitors have reached the age of majority. If your web portal is one of them, install an age check. The age widget is one of the easiest ways to add a window to your site to verify your visitor’s age. The widget will help make your site accessible to adult visitors and hide it from minors.
You can set any age limit, choose the verification format, and embed the widget on everything or only on some specific site pages. Also, you can choose the user’s action after access is denied. The pop-up window will fit perfectly into the design of your site and will make it easier to check the age of your visitors.
While age is not required in most major jurisdictions, many companies in adult industries choose to set an age threshold on their websites. Such industries often include alcohol and tobacco industries, gambling, etc. Regardless of your reason, adding age verification to your site is a relatively simple task that can be done using free services.
Benefits of Free Age Verification Plugins
We have described the leading functions that distinguish the free age verification widget. They help you stay ahead of the competition in the following ways:
- Two widget action scenarios for underage website visitors.
- Automatic start of the test.
- They might include an optional exit button that redirects users to the desired URL.
- The plugin can be integrated on all pages or only on certain pages.
- You can add a background image or your logo.
- There are three options for age verification.
You can set age-limit texts and customize their appearance and format. In addition, you can exclude specific posts, pages, or products from the age gate if they are associated with an underage audience. You can also restrict access to the gate to unregistered users.
Services for free age verification on the website
Below, we have selected three free plugins with which you can create a module window for checking age.
1. Age Verify
Age Verify is a free WordPress plugin that allows you to control the age limits of website visitors. The plugin has one drawback, but let’s focus on its merits now. The strength of the plugin is its flexibility. You can control absolutely everything — where, how, and how often the age confirmation window will be displayed. You can do the following:
- Require age only when accessing certain content.
- Allow registered users to enter the site without age verification or require verification for all users.
- Choose how long to keep visitors’ ages until the subsequent age verification request.
You can also customize the message that will be displayed in the age verification window. The downside is that you can’t add images. You must also add CSS styles to make the window look attractive.
2. Age Gate
This is a relatively new plugin that has an intriguing set of features. The plugin has good ratings, and the developer is constantly releasing new releases. Let’s start with the most helpful feature. The plugin sets exceptions for robots and bots so they don’t run into problems crawling your site. The plugin also allows to:
- Choose between restricting the entire site or only certain content;
- Add age verification separately to your registration forms;
- Enter age using three different methods;
- Add an optional “Remember me” field that users can enable to avoid subsequent age checks;
- Exclude registered users from age verification;
- Exclude bots and crawlers from age verification (useful for SEO).
In addition to these features, you can add your logo to the age verification form and customize the output text.
3. Dispensary Age Verification
The plugin is not limited in its functionality. Dispensary Age Verification is a flexible, lightweight solution for adding simple age verification to your site. The plugin will display a notification during the visitor’s first visit to any area of the site. You have full control over the window design with the age check, implemented through the WordPress customizer.
After activating Dispensary Age Verification, you can go to “Appearance –> Customize –> Age Verification” to set:
- logo;
- header;
- message text;
- minimum age.
Since the parameters are set in the WP customizer, you can view the changes made immediately. The confirmation window will appear on the site when you activate the plugin. If you no longer need it, you can simply disable the plugin.
How to Set Up the Free Age Verification Plugin
First, you have to open the “Settings” page and fill in the suggested fields:
- Require verification for (a place checkmark will be displayed: when you enter the site or go to a particular content).
- Verify the age of (who should verify the age: guests or all visitors).
- Visitors must be (indicate the age acceptable to enter the site).
- Remember visitors for (specify the time for which you need to “remember” the visitor).
- Membership (tick the box if you want visitors to verify their age before registering on the site).
The following settings are available in the Display Options block:
- Overlay Heading (heading: enter your choice or leave the suggested one);
- Overlay Description (add a description to the option);
- Verify ages using (select age verification format);
- Styling (use inline CSS styles: checking this box is recommended).
Here, you can also choose the color of the text and background. After that, save your changes. If you selected specific content for required verification, when adding a new entry, you must check the required age verification for this content checkbox before clicking “Publish”.
Conclusion
As regulators increasingly look at it, age verification is an important process that businesses need to pay close attention to. Numerous strategies exist for confirming a person’s age. Companies not complying with age verification rules face serious consequences, including fines and reputational damage.
However, age verification has several benefits, including improved compliance, increased security, and customer trust. In general, businesses should prioritize implementing age verification solutions to ensure their services’ security and compliance and maintain customer trust.
