Every membership site needs a login page for members to enter their username and password.
Here is a deeper look at how to set up a login page for your WordPress membership site.
Wondering how your members will log out? Check out this tutorial: How to Set Up Log Out Links In Your Membership Site
ARTICLE CONTENT:
How a Login Page Works
For a login page to work:
- AccessAlly has to know which page the login page is (you communicate this by properly assigning the page inside the General Settings area)
- There must be an AccessAlly login widget on the page (so users can enter their login credentials)
- The page must be visible to users who are not logged in (aka you should not tell AccessAlly to “protect” the page, or no one will be able to access it)
Step 1: Insert The Login Shortcode To The Page
AccessAlly’s Setup Wizard will automatically create your login page for you in a draft mode. Once the page is in draft, you can edit the design, content, and layout.
You can insert the login shortcode using AccessAlly’s shortcode adder.
Important: you cannot use another WordPress login widget or theme login block. These other ways of allowing members to login via WordPress may cause issues with proper login and redirects.
Please do not use the Divi login widget or any other custom-coded solutions.
There are a few settings that need to be customized when adding the AccessAlly login widget:
Show When The User Is/Is Not Logged In
By default, the boxes are checked so that the login widget will be visible, regardless of whether a user is logged in or not.
We do recommend that you keep both boxes checked.
The Snappy Login™ Option:
AccessAlly’s Snappy Login Links™ allow a user to receive a one-time-use login link delivered to their inbox. If you choose to include the Snappy Login™ feature on your login page, users no longer need to remember their username and password.
For setup, you have three choices:
- Show Snappy Login™ Option
- Do not allow Snappy Login™
- Only allow Snappy Login™
When you’re ready, you can click on the yellow Insert Shortcode button and save the page.
By default AccessAlly’s Login shortcode will use tables to display the text, inputs, and button. If you’d rather use CSS to better control the look and feel of the login widget, use the additional shortcode argument: layout=”vertical”.
For example, your shortcode might look like this:
accessally_login use_https=’no’ show_logged_in=’yes’ show_not_logged_in=’yes’ button_text=’Login!’ username_label=’Email’ password_label=’Password’ rememberme_label=’Remember Me’ lost_password_label=’Lost your password?’ snappy_login=’allow’ layout=’vertical’
Step 2: Do Not Require Users to Log In
In the AccessAlly Member Permission area of your login page, make sure that the box is NOT checked next to “Visitors must log in to view this page”.
Step 3: Set Your Login Page in the General Settings Area
Once your Login Page is designed and published, go to: AccessAlly > General Settings > Initial Setup > Special Pages.
Here, you’ll want to make sure that your new login page is selected in the “Login Page” area.
Step 4: Configure Pages for “After Logging In”
In the same area as Step 3 (AccessAlly > General Settings > Initial Setup > Special Pages), you will want to double-check where those members will go once logged in. The most common pages that members go to upon login are:
- Dashboard page
- My Account
Getting a Login Error?
If the site is hosted on WPEngine (or other platforms with similar symptom), when attempting to login through the login page, it will show an “No data received” error.
This is caused by a custom login protection put in place by the host. You need to contact WPEngine support and ask them to “Disable login protection for my custom login to function properly”.
This will NOT weaken the security protection. It will just allow the custom login widget to function.
