Instead of making a WordPress website limited to a number of users, we can easily configure it to allow user registrations and logins. Enabling visitors to register on the site means they can use the created accounts to login and then comment or even submit content/articles.
The in-built features of WordPress are enough to allow visitors to register and submit content. They will get access to a member control panel which is similar to the admin dashboard. Only the features and access are limited in the dashboard. You can also control how much authorization a newly registered member gets by giving them a membership role.
We can also add additional features and change the cosmetics where users can login and submit content.
You may be interested in: How to Configure WordPress Login, Registration Pages to Use the Current Theme
In this post, we will just see how it can be made possible for visitors to register, login and use the membership dashboard to submit articles.
Enabling Membership Registrations
- In your admin dashboard, open Settings > General.
- Check the box next to Membership that says Anyone can register.
- Set the New User Default Role:
- Subscriber: Only able to register and have a profile for commenting.
- Contributor: Can submit content but a higher member has to publish it.
- Author: Can submit and publish their own posts.
- Editor: Submit, publish posts as well as edit posts of other users.
- Administrator: Access to all the admin features.
Choose the role carefully. You might not want to choose administrator, editor or author. Basically, choose between subscriber or contributor depending upon what you are trying to achieve.
Registration Link
For the registration link just use: http://www.yoursite.com/wp-login.php?action=register
You can also simply use the link: http://www.yoursite.com/wp-register.php
For generating the registration link in PHP use
[php light=”true”]<?php echo wp_registration_url(); ?>[/php]
Login Link
The login links for any WordPress site are:
- http://www.yoursite.com/login/
- http://www.yoursite.com/admin/
- http://www.yoursite.com/wp-login.php
- http://www.yoursite.com/wp-admin/
For generating login link in PHP for templates
[php light=”true”]<?php echo wp_login_url(); ?>[/php]
Logout Link
The logout link can be generated for linking in template files by using the PHP code:
[php light=”true”]<?php echo wp_logout_url(); ?>[/php]
Lost Password Link
The lost password link is:
http://www.yoursite.com/wp-login.php?action=lostpassword
For templates use the PHP code:
[php light=”true”]<?php echo wp_lostpassword_url(); ?>[/php]
Notes:
- Be sure to adjust the URL if your site is accessed through a sub-domain or located inside a sub-directory.
- Place the registration and login link in the menu, sidebar or widgets at any other location to give it public access.
Membership Dashboard and Content Submission
After a user with the member role of subscriber or contributor logs in, the person will be redirected to the user dashboard by default. If the admin bar is present, then the users will be able to easily navigate around the site, user area and there will also be a logout link.
A member with the authorization of contributor or higher will be able to submit posts from the membership dashboard. As a contributor, a member will see the button Submit for Review after she or he finishes writing a post. Higher level members will see it as pending posts in the admin dashboard. The content can then be taken over and published after the necessary review process.
Managing Users
In admin dashboard, go to Users > All Users and it will list every user that has signed up on your site. You can edit the profile easily. Make changes to the name, email, password and other information easily. From this area, the roles can also be switched or upgraded. It is also possible to remove the user permanently from the user management page.