Gated content
Gated content, without five different tools
Gated content is anything a visitor can see part of for free, then has to trade an email address to see the rest. It's the mechanic behind a lead magnet, a content upgrade, or a locked resource, and it can be built without a developer.
A checklist preview that unlocks the full list, a case study intro that unlocks the numbers, a webinar teaser that unlocks the recording. The mechanic is the same every time: show something real, then ask for something small in return.
Worth reading first if you're deciding whether this is right for your content at all: should you gate your content and gated vs. ungated content.
How the gate itself works
Rather than linking out to a separate locked file, a gated page shows the content and the gate lives inside it: a fade or lock point triggered by scroll depth, time on the page, or a click to reveal. The visitor submits their email right there, and the content unlocks in place, no reload, no separate thank-you page unless you want one. See how gating works for the three-step version of this, or inline gating vs. squeeze pages for the layout decision behind it.
Choosing the right gate trigger
| Trigger | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Scroll depth | Long-form articles, guides, checklists | Triggers once the visitor has read a meaningful portion, the strongest signal of real interest for text. |
| Time on page | Video, webinar replays | Triggers after a set duration, since a video doesn't generate a scroll signal the same way text does. |
| Click to reveal | Any content, when the visitor should decide | No automatic trigger; the visitor chooses to unlock, which removes any guesswork about timing. |
See time-on-page vs. click-to-unlock gating for the fuller trade-off between the last two.
What to gate, and what to leave open
- Good candidates: checklists, templates, swipe files, case studies, industry reports, webinar replays, anything with a clear, specific payoff.
- Weaker candidates: content that's mostly useful as search traffic (broad how-to articles), where gating trades away the SEO value for a smaller lead volume than leaving it open would generate in reach.
- A middle path: gate a blog post after the first few paragraphs rather than the whole thing, see gating a blog post after the first paragraphs, which keeps most of the SEO value while still gating the payoff.
Doing it without code
You don't need a developer for this. If your content already lives somewhere else, WordPress, Webflow, Squarespace, a Notion doc or a Google Doc, see gating content without code for the no-code path, or the platform-specific guides for WordPress, Webflow and Squarespace. If the source is a document rather than a page, see gating a Notion or Google Doc.
What happens after someone unlocks it
On Gatedleads, the default is an instant, same-page reveal, no redirect, no separate thank-you page unless you choose one. Every submission is recorded in a dashboard, exportable to CSV on any plan, or routed automatically via Zapier and webhooks on Pro. An optional double opt-in setting trades that instant unlock for a confirmation click in exchange for a cleaner list, see double opt-in explained.
Related reading
If you're building the gated page itself rather than gating something that already exists, start with the lead magnet builder overview, and once the page is built, what a lead magnet landing page needs to actually convert. For the broader mechanics of locking any kind of page or resource, see content gating.
Questions
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