Thanks to the popularity of the Internet in today’s fast-paced digital world, millions of websites enjoy tons of visitors and clicks every day. Different types of websites are on the Internet, from e-commerce portals and social media platforms to educational and finance-based ones. Even though the Internet and its plethora of websites offer tons of advantages to netizens, it also comes with its own set of disadvantages. For instance, in some cases, it distracts individuals and prevents them from being productive. Besides this, it also makes users feel incompetent.
However, not all websites have a negative impact on users. Thus, users can choose to abstain from navigating to ones that deteriorate their productivity or are harmful to them. One of the most effective ways to do so is to block them. Thankfully, both major operating systems, namely Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s macOS, offer users the feature to block any website they want. This article will cover how macOS and Windows users can block websites on their respective devices without the hassle and what are some of the most important benefits of blocking websites. Let us dive right into it:
How to Block Websites on macOS and Windows:
macOS:
If you are a macOS user and are wondering how to block websites on Mac, there are numerous methods following which you can conveniently do so. For instance, if you prefer native utilities over third-party applications, you can block irrelevant and unnecessary websites on your Mac using Screen Time. The native utility is specially designed to help users to keep their Mac usage regulated. Besides facilitating users to block websites, the app also features the option using which they can block apps. To block a website using Screen time, all the user needs to do is open the Screen Time utility on their Mac, open the App Limits section, click on the “+” symbol, scroll down to the Websites section and check the boxes beside the app which they wish to block. Besides this, users can also choose to use third-party utilities to get the job done without hassle. Focus is a great website-blocking tool that works well with websites and apps. Besides this, users can also opt to use a self-control app like Session to block websites.
Windows:
According to Alphr, there are numerous ways following which users can block any website they want on their Windows PC. For instance, if you are a Windows user who uses Google Chrome as your daily driver for accessing websites on the Internet, you can use the app’s URL Blocking feature to block any website. All you need to do is sign in to your admin account in the Google Workspace, open the Settings section present in the Chrome tab of the Devices option, click on the “Users & browsers” options, select the organizational unit for blocking websites, tap on the “URL Blocking” option and input the websites’ URLs which you wish to block and complete the process by clicking on the “Save” option. Similarly, other popular browsers like Firefox and Opera also offer users the option to block websites.
Benefits of Blocking Websites:
Blocking websites offers tons of benefits to users. Here are some of the most prominent ones:
It Prevents Users from Getting Distracted – Numerous websites feature engaging content that consumes the user’s time. For instance, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram keep the users hooked to Mac or PC’s screen for hours, thanks to their smart algorithm and appealing UI. Moreover, similar websites prevent users from focusing on the tasks at hand. Hence, blocking them prevents users from getting distracted.
It Facilitates Them to Be More Productive – Once the user has blocked all the websites that distract them or limit their workflow, they can start utilizing the time that would otherwise have been spent on the websites to work and check things off their task list. Hence, blocking websites is a great way for users to utilize time productively and get more things done.
It Allows Users to Have More Control Over their Device – The website blocking feature present on both macOS and Windows facilitates administrators of the system to have more control over their devices. If multiple users share a Mac or PC, the admin controls which websites the others can access. For instance, parents can use the feature to block explicit and harmful websites to prevent their children from accessing them. Besides this, users can also block private portals containing sensitive information from other users. Hence, the website-blocking is a great addition that facilitates the owner or administrator of the device to have the upper hand when managing the device.
Thanks to the website-blocking features of macOS and Windows, users can conveniently block any websites they want and use the Internet’s capabilities more responsibly and productively. If you wish to block websites on your Mac or Windows PC, refer to the points listed in this article.