Chrome does not include a built-in way to block a website during certain hours. There is no schedule in Settings, History, or the site permissions panel. To block a site from 9 AM to 5 PM on weekdays—and leave it available in the evening—you need an extension that can enforce a time window.
The fastest path: install SiteKeeper, add the site, and set a time window for the hours you want blocked. The rest of this guide covers that setup, what Chrome can and cannot do on its own, and how scheduled blocking differs from a daily time limit.
What Chrome Can and Cannot Do
Chrome can:
- Show you which sites you visited (History)
- Let a parent manage a supervised account
- Run extensions that intercept navigation
Chrome cannot:
- Block
youtube.comonly between 9 AM and 5 PM - Apply one schedule on weekdays and another on weekends
- Count remaining minutes inside a scheduled window
That gap is why “how to block a website during certain hours” is such a common search. People do not want a permanent blacklist. They want work hours protected and evenings left alone.
Block a Site During Certain Hours With SiteKeeper
Time windows are SiteKeeper’s schedule. Each window has days of the week, a start time, an end time, and an optional cap for that window. Outside the window, your normal daily or weekly limit applies—or the site stays open if you have not set one.
1. Install the extension
Add SiteKeeper from the Chrome Web Store. You can set your first limits without creating an account.
2. Add the site you want to control
Open the extension and add the domain (twitter.com, youtube.com, reddit.com). You can pick from sites you already visit or type the host yourself.
3. Create a time window
In the site’s limit settings, add a time window:
- Choose the days (weekdays, weekends, or specific days).
- Set a start time and an end time. End time must be later than start time on the same day—windows do not wrap past midnight.
- Set the cap for that window. Use 0 hours and 0 minutes for a full block during those hours. Use a small cap (for example 10 minutes) if you still want a short check-in.
Example: Monday–Friday, 09:00–17:00, limit 0:00. Twitter is blocked all workday. After 5 PM, the window ends.
4. Let the schedule run
You do not toggle anything each morning. When the window starts, SiteKeeper enforces it. If you hit the cap (or the cap is zero), Chrome shows a blocked page with the limit details.
If you truly need a few more minutes, the blocked page lets you extend the session. Most of the time the reminder is enough to close the tab.
Example Schedules
Deep work (weekdays)
Mon–Fri, 09:00–17:00, limit 0:00 on social and news sites. Evenings and weekends stay open, or use a looser daily cap.
Evenings only
Every day, 18:00–21:00, limit 0:30 on YouTube. You get a half hour after work; the rest of the day the global limit (or no limit) applies.
Study block
Mon–Fri, 08:00–12:00, limit 0:00 on entertainment sites. Afternoon access is unchanged.
School nights
Sun–Thu, 20:00–23:00, stricter cap on games and social. Friday and Saturday use a separate, more relaxed window.
If you need an overnight block (for example 22:00–08:00), split it into two windows: 22:00–23:59 and 00:00–08:00. A single window cannot cross midnight.
Time Windows vs Daily Time Limits
These two features solve different jobs. Use both when you need a schedule and a budget.
| Goal | Use |
|---|---|
| Block a site only during work hours | Time window with cap 0:00 |
| Allow 30 minutes a day, any time | Daily time limit |
| 10 minutes during work, 45 minutes after | Window cap + a higher daily/weekly cap outside the window |
| Full block until tomorrow | Daily limit of 0:00 (no window required) |
A daily limit is a budget. A time window is a calendar. “Block during certain hours” is the calendar problem.
Other Ways People Try This in Chrome
These can work in narrow cases. They are usually the wrong tool for a personal work-hours schedule.
Hosts file or router rules. You can black-hole a domain at the OS or network level. There is no weekday clock, and turning it off is a chore. Fine for a permanent block, not for 9-to-5.
Family Link / supervised accounts. Built for parents managing a child’s Google account. Not a self-imposed work schedule on your own Chrome profile.
Block-only extensions. Tools such as StayFocusd or BlockSite can limit or block sites. Many are daily allowances (a timer that resets at midnight) rather than hour-of-day schedules. If your search is specifically “during certain hours,” check that the tool supports a clock-based window, not only a daily cap.
Willpower and closing the tab. Cheap, and it fails the moment a notification appears.
If you already track where time goes, pair this schedule with automatic website time tracking so you set windows from data, not guesses.
Common Questions
Does Chrome have a built-in way to block websites during certain hours?
No. Chrome has no scheduled site block in settings. You need an extension (or a system/network block, which is not hour-based).
Can I block a website only on weekdays?
Yes. In SiteKeeper, set the time window’s days to Monday–Friday. Weekends ignore that window. You can add a second window for Saturday–Sunday if you want different hours.
What happens when the blocked hours end?
The window stops applying. If you also have a daily or weekly limit, that cap still counts. If you do not, the site is available again.
Can I block a site overnight?
Not with a single window that starts at night and ends in the morning. Create two windows: one until 23:59, one from 00:00.
Is this the same as a website blocker with a timer?
Not quite. A timer is usually a daily allowance (30 minutes, then block). Blocking during certain hours is a schedule. SiteKeeper does both: daily/weekly limits and time windows.
Will this work in Incognito?
Only if you allow the extension to run in Incognito (Chrome → Extensions → SiteKeeper → Allow in Incognito). Otherwise private windows bypass the schedule.
Next Steps
Start with one site and one window—for example, block your most distracting site Monday–Friday 09:00–17:00. After a week, check your dashboard and tighten or relax the window from real usage.
Install SiteKeeper or read the website limits feature overview if you want the product picture before you set a schedule.
Related: How to set website time limits, How to track time spent on websites, Complete guide to path analysis.