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Set up login and registration

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Set up login and registration

Section titled “Set up login and registration”

You will end up with a site where visitors can create an account and log in using the style you chose: a popup that opens over the current page, your own login and register pages, or WordPress’s login screen with your branding on it.

Before you start

Section titled “Before you start”
  • Decide which style you want. You only need one.
  • If you want your own pages, create them first under Pages > Add New.
  • Know which community plugin you run, if any. BuddyNext has its own login screens, covered in the last step.

Steps

Section titled “Steps”

1. Open registration

Section titled “1. Open registration”
  1. Go to Settings > General.
  2. Find Membership and tick Anyone can register.
  3. Choose a New User Default Role. A low-access role such as Subscriber is the safe choice for most sites.
  4. Select Save Changes.

With BuddyNext, set this in BuddyNext instead: its Registration mode (in the setup wizard, or later under BuddyNext > Members > Registration & Login) switches Anyone can register on or off for you. Open registration turns it on. If the two ever disagree, BuddyNext shows a warning at the top of wp-admin with a button to fix it.

Without this, the Register button stays hidden.

2. Pick one style

Section titled “2. Pick one style”

Reign decides what the header Login and Register buttons open in this order. The first match wins:

  1. The sign-in popup, if it is on.
  2. A page you chose under Page Mapping.
  3. BuddyNext’s login screens, if BuddyNext is active.
  4. WordPress’s own login screen, branded if you styled it.

3a. Use the popup

Section titled “3a. Use the popup”
  1. Go to Appearance > Customize > General > Sign-in & Register Popup.
  2. Switch Sign-in Popup on.
  3. Leave Form Popup on Reign Login Form. Choose Custom shortcode only if you have your own form.
  4. Set Form Display to Login, Register or Both.
  5. Set Login Redirect Destination. Current page keeps people where they were. Custom page shows a Login Custom URL box for a page of your choice.
  6. Select Publish.

3b. Use your own pages

Section titled “3b. Use your own pages”
  1. Go to Appearance > Customize > General > Page Mapping.
  2. Choose your pages in Login Page and Registration Page.
  3. Select Publish. Keep the popup off, or it will win.

4. Brand the WordPress login screen

Section titled “4. Brand the WordPress login screen”

This screen still exists on every site. You see it at /wp-login.php, and WordPress sends logged-out people to it when they open the admin area.

  1. Go to Appearance > Customize > Branded Login & Register > WP Login / Register.
  2. Switch Custom Login Screen on. Nothing else in this panel works until you do.
  3. Upload a Custom Logo.
  4. For a ready-made design, open Themes, switch Set New Theme on and pick one under Choose Theme.
  5. Select Publish.

How each plugin signs people up

Section titled “How each plugin signs people up”

Reign’s header buttons, and most plugins’ “Log in” links, use the login and sign-up screens you chose above. A few plugins also have their own sign-up step, shaped for what they do:

Plugin What a logged-out visitor sees
BuddyNext, Jetonomy, MediaVerse, Listora, WB Gamification Your site’s login and sign-up screens, then back to the page they were on
Learnomy Enroll opens Learnomy’s own Student registration page, then returns to the course
Eventonomy Registers for an event right on the event page with an email address; no site account needed
WP Career Board Apply Now opens an application panel; no site account needed. Employers sign up on the Employer Registration page
WP Sell Services Signs in on WordPress’s login screen, then returns to checkout. Turn on Sell Services > Settings > Checkout > Account at checkout to let guests create their account at checkout instead

So one site can have more than one sign-up form. Each collects what that feature needs, and every one creates a normal WordPress account.

Check it worked

Section titled “Check it worked”
  1. Open a private (incognito) browser window, so you are logged out.
  2. Select Register, create a test account, then log out and log in again.
  3. Confirm you land where you chose in Login Redirect Destination.
  4. Visit /wp-login.php and check your logo and design appear.

There is no logout redirect setting. After logging out, people go to the page WordPress or your community plugin sends them to.

If something looks wrong

Section titled “If something looks wrong”
  • My login page is ignored. The sign-in popup is on. Switch it off, or drop the page mapping and keep the popup.
  • No Register button. Registration is closed. Tick Anyone can register under Settings > General, or with BuddyNext set Registration mode to Open registration.
  • Branding does not show. Custom Login Screen is off by default.
  • Members see BuddyNext’s screens, not mine. BuddyNext sends login, register and reset links to its own screens, so members rarely meet the branded WordPress screen. To send them to a page of your own instead, choose it as the Login Page under Page Mapping (step 3b).
Section titled “Related”