How to Create a Login Page for Your WordPress Website
You may be familiar with websites that require you to either log in or register to view content. With a growing number of people moving to digital nomads lifestyles and businesses, remote work becoming the norm, and a growing number of people using mobile devices for browsing the internet, having a register or login page has become commonplace, and a convenient way to keep track of visitors to a website.
But what if you’re looking to take your blog or website to the next level and want to create a custom login experience that suits your needs?
In this article, you’re going to learn how to create a WordPress login page that will engage your visitors and encourage them to return.
Why a Login Page?
Having a login page on your site will give you the opportunity to engage with your audience and show them that you value their input. If you’re serious about wanting to grow your blog or website, creating a login page that encourages your readers to engage is a fantastic first step.
A login page shows your visitors that you’re serious about serving your community and want to create a safe space for people to engage. It also allows you to create more personalized experiences for your users by allowing you to track their activity on your site (e.g., what articles they look at, whether they make a purchase, etc.).
If you’re looking to take your blog or website to the next level, consider creating a custom login page that suits your needs. Once you have, you can use the logins you create to direct your visitors to the features on your site that you deem most important to your community.
The Four Steps to Creating a Custom WordPress Login Page
To create a custom login page for your WordPress site, follow these simple steps:
1. Choose a username and password
The first step in creating a login page is to choose a username and password. You may choose to use their real name or an alias, and it is a good idea to choose a complicated password (i.e., longer than 6 characters). A strong password will make it more difficult for someone to steal your identity if they do gain access to your username and password combination.
If you don’t have a decent password by now, you can use the “password generator” built into WordPress to create one.
2. Install WordPress plugins
Once you’ve chosen a username and password for your WordPress site, it’s time to install some plugins. Remember: WordPress is a platform and the plugins are simply tools for making your experience more convenient. You don’t have to use them all.
WordFence, for example, is a free basic security plugin for WordPress that you should install. It integrates with your Google accounts (e.g., Gmail) to notify you of any suspicious activity on your site. This could include someone trying to log in with a stolen Google account or someone trying to hack into your site (i.e., a targeted attack). You can also choose to integrate with your email provider so you can receive these alerts when someone tries to hack your site.
If you use a custom domain name for your site (i.e., if you have yoursite.com instead of www.yoursite.com or yoursite.org), you can also install the WordPress plugin Secure Domain to make sure your site is always accessible via a secure connection. Installing this plugin will ensure that your site will always load securely even if someone tries to connect to it via a non-secure connection (e.g., a shared WiFi network). If you use a different registrar than your hosting provider, you’ll also need to install the HTTPs Certificate plugin so your site will have a secure HTTPS connection when it’s accessed via a secure connection (e.g., HTTPS or a virtual private network (VPN))
3. Set the username and password
The second step in creating a login page is to set the username and password for the page. To do this, navigate to **Settings **in your WordPress dashboard and click the **General **tab. You’ll need to enter a username and password for the site and then confirm them by clicking the **Change** button next to the password field.
If you use a Google account to login to WordPress, the default username is **google** (this can be modified in your Google account) and the password is ***.*** (this can be modified in your Google account). You can also create a new user with the same email address as your Google account and the password ***.*** to have a user account on your site without having to log in each time you visit.
If you use GitHub to login to WordPress, the default username is **github**. (this can be modified in your GitHub account) and the password is ***.*** (this can be modified in your GitHub account). You can also create a new user with the same email address as your GitHub account and the password ***.*** to have a user account on your site without having to log in each time you visit.
4. Customize the theme
Step four of creating a login page is to customize the theme of the page. To do this, navigate to **Settings **in your WordPress dashboard and click on the **Theme **tab. You’ll need to check the box **Override Theme Layout** then click **Save** to complete the setup. Now when you log in to WordPress, you’ll see a layout that suits your needs (e.g., an image gallery, blog rolls, etc.).
If you use a custom domain name for your site (i.e., if you have yoursite.com instead of www.yoursite.com or yoursite.org), you can also install the WordPress plugin Redirection Password to redirect your users to a specific page when they login with a valid password. This would be a good choice if you’ve set up a password for this site and would like your readers to be directed to the page that matches their password when they log in.
If you’re looking to take your blog or website to the next level, consider creating a custom WordPress login page that suits your needs. Once you have, you can use the logins you create to direct your visitors to the features on your site that you deem most important to your community.