How Do You Block a Website on Safari?
You may need to block a website on your Mac for several reasons. You may want to keep children away from adult content, or you may just need to ensure that you don’t spend too much time on unproductive websites. Whatever the reason, you can easily block a website on Safari.
Screen Time
Both macOS and iOS come with a tool called Screen Time that allows you to monitor your Mac usage and set limits on what it can and cannot access. It also includes parental controls that can help you restrict the websites your kids are able to visit.
However, Screen Time can be a bit of a blunt tool and sometimes you may not like the results. If you need to block websites on your Mac for a particular period of time, but don’t want to use Screen Time, there are third-party apps and browser extensions that can do the job for you.
SelfControl
Another great option for blocking unproductive websites is the free Mac app SelfControl. It can be installed on any Mac machine and works to stop your computer from allowing certain websites to be accessed during a specific period of time. Once the time period has passed, those websites will once again be accessible.
The program is simple to use and offers a number of features that can help you achieve your goals. One of the best features is the ability to create a whitelist.
Creating a whitelist is a convenient way to allow access to specific websites while keeping all others inaccessible. You can add as many websites as you like and specify the duration for which these sites should remain blocked.
This feature can be particularly useful for those who need to work on a project or schedule that requires a certain amount of focus. It can also help you get more done during the day by preventing you from checking Facebook or social media every few minutes.
To configure the app to block your desired websites, click on Settings and then scroll down to the Web Content tab. Under the Websites section, select the website you wish to block and then click on the Edit button.
If you need to add more websites, simply repeat the process and type in a new line of URLs. Be sure to include the local IP address of your Mac in each line before the corresponding site address.
Alternatively, you can open the hosts file on your computer and add the URLs that you’d like to block. This is a great option for those who have multiple machines and don’t want them all to be able to access the same websites.
Parental Lock
There are a few ways to block websites on your Mac, but one of the most effective is to use Apple’s Screen Time. If you have a Mac that’s running macOS Catalina or later, you can use this tool to limit the sites that your child is able to visit.
