Sometimes, you might need to block websites forever on your Mac, such as adult and gambling sites. What about social media sites, news sites, etc.?

On the one hand, you may need to use social media sites to keep in touch with friends and family or share your thoughts and use news sites to read news and stay up to date. But on the other hand, these sites (especially social media sites) can be distracting.

You can block social media and news sites at certain times, like during work hours, to prevent them from distracting you when you use your Mac to get things done.

In this article, we’ll look at two different ways to block websites during certain hours on a Mac.

Method 1. Use a website blocker app to block a website at certain hours

There are several methods on how to block a website on Mac. The best way to do this is to use a website blocker app. Website blocking apps like Cisdem AppCrypt allow you to schedule website blocking and can help you do the blocking.

With this app, you first need to add the website of your choice to the block list and then set a schedule based on your needs. Here are the detailed steps.

Step 1. Download and install this app on your Mac.

Step 2. Open the app. When you open it for the first time, a window asks you to set a password. It’s recommended that you set a strong password.

Tip: If you are using this app for yourself, don’t set the password yourself. You can ask a friend or family member to do it for you. If you know the password, you can bypass the blocking.

Step 3. When AppCrypt is open, you can see a lock icon in the menu bar at the top of your Mac.

Click this lock icon and then choose the Open Main Window option.

Step 4. In the lock screen that appears, type the password and then click OK to access the main window.

Step 5. You can see two tabs in the main window: App Lock and Web Block. Please click the Web Block tab.

Step 6. Enter the website URL in the URL field and then click Add.

Now, this website is added to the block list. (By default, this website will always be blocked as long as this website blocker app is running.)

Step 7. In the Web Block tab, click this website to select it. Now, you can see a small clock icon on the left side of the website. Click this small icon to bring up the Custom Schedule window.

Step 8. In this window, toggle the Custom Schedule option on.

Step 9. Click the default schedule to make it editable, and then edit the schedule according to your needs.

For example, you can block the website from Monday through Friday between 9:00 AM and 11:30 AM and 2:00 PM and 5:30 PM.

You can set multiple schedules, like weekday and weekend schedules.

The blocking can apply to Safari, Chrome, and some other web browsers.

You can add the websites you want to make inaccessible to the block list and then create custom schedules separately. Also, you can choose to set the same general schedule for all these sites. The general schedule feature is in the toolbar at the top of the main window. Note that the general schedule applies to all the items on the block list.

Method 2. Use a website blocking extension to block websites during specific times

One of the benefits of using method 1 is that it has genuinely effective password protection. With that website blocker for Mac, if someone doesn’t know the password, he or she can’t bypass the blocking. If you don’t need a method as effective as method 1, you can consider method 2.

Some browser extensions are designed to help users block access to specific websites. Some of the extensions have the schedule feature. With this feature, you can easily schedule the blocking of one or more websites.

BlockSite is a website blocking extension with a schedule feature. Here’s how to use it to block websites.

Step 1. Install this extension on your web browser.

Step 2. Go to the options page of the extension.

Step 3. On the left side of the page, click the Block Sites tab.

Step 4. On the right side of the page, click Add to Block List.

Step 5. In the field at the top, type the domain name (or half of the domain name) of the site that you’d like to limit access to, and a list of website suggestions will appear. In the list, click the Add icon on the right of the website you must block.

Step 6. Click Done.

Step 7. Click the Schedule button in the top right corner of the options page.

Step 8. In the Set up blocking schedule window, create a schedule.

Step 9. After you finish creating the schedule, click Set Schedule.

Good to go

From now on, the website you choose will be blocked for the specified period (s) and then unblocked for the rest of the time.

Regardless of the method you use, preventing access to certain websites during certain hours has more than one benefit.

• Avoid getting distracted by social media sites, news sites, or other websites during times you need to be focused on your work, study, or other tasks

• Help parents prevent their children from spending too much time on certain websites, like gaming sites

• Help reduce social media addiction by limiting time spent on those sites

• Help reduce screen time and internet usage

Both methods are easy to use and access, helping you effortlessly block a website during certain hours. They allow you to easily add/remove websites to/from the block list and edit/add/delete the blocking schedules. Both offer a great solution to help you block or control website access.