The digital world is one of the most evolving in the world. You may have searched a website, and you noted that it is blocked from your country. There are multiple reasons why we are required to block IP’s from certain countries. Let’s understand some.
Why do people block out countries from a website?
Well, here are some reasons.
To begin with, most of these websites are product websites.
- One of the main reasons they block out a certain number of countries is because their products are not available even for shipping to the countries blocked.
- It also works for websites that might blog entirely in a language that certain people do not understand.
- They also block out countries because unsolicited traffic from people, not your target audience, gives inflated analytics, so it becomes quite challenging to show the website’s real performance for sales.
- For security reasons, some people want to block out countries because they have concerns about spamming or hackers. Some countries are crime hotspots, especially for websites, so blocking out the countries acts as a firewall.
How to block out countries from your website
One of the first recommended ways is to look for the country’s IP address. The Ip To Country Database is usually available on numerous sites online like DB-IP; also, you can google search for more detailed results.
Proceed to select then the IP of the countries you want to block. There will be a part asking you to choose the format. In this part, select Apache .htaccess Deny. The other option is Apache .htaccess, which allows you to access it. Read well to ensure that you select the right choice.
Click on the Create ACL option, and the ACL will produce results on the screen’s right side. Then copy the results to the clipboard so that you can use this later. It completes the section about retrieving the IP addresses.
The next step in the process is to open up your PC and find the file manager. Then find your way to the public_html in your domain and find the .htaccess file. Double click on it and paste the information you had copied on the IP addresses. Then click on Save and close it down. This process works best for Hostinger and other domain service providers that look alike.
The other option includes using Cloudflare. Before you consider this option, it is wise to note that the user is required. You can create the account, secure it, and then begin the process. Another thing to note is that these options give you more than blocking countries. You can block out individual IP addresses that are causing harm to your website.
After creating the account, go to the dashboard on the top of the page. There, you will note the Threat Control options. Then proceed to Add Custom Rule box and add in the IP address or the country you want to block. Then click block, and it is done.
The other step is using both the Apache and .htaccess together. It is one of the most convenient and flexible ways to block the countries. DB-IP offers an updated IP To Country Database and Geolocation that allows you to see the requests for your site.
The headers provided work well in blocking regional access by using .htaccess Deny rules.
Blocking out countries or entire regions is something we have already witnessed happening for a while now as a method that has proven productive in marketing and achieving sales for products and services.
Conclusion
If you are not a computer guru, you might want to consider consulting the experts to ensure that you do not click on links that cause more harm than damage. The IP To Country Database can be quite overwhelming. Cybersecurity as well as other elements are essential in today’s world. You can visit DB-IP for more information.
