WordPress Custom Login Page

WordPress is a popular Content Management System with a dashboard back end with many tools and settings for web administrators. That’s why the WordPress dashboard is also known as the administration area. The content publishing process and website configuration are done in this WordPress administration area.

Users or website administrators need to log in first before they can create web content or configure WordPress website settings. WordPress provides a login page by default, by adding /wp-admin/ to the end of your URL, you can access the WordPress backend and log in.

WordPress Custom login page can be customized for many purposes and in this article, you will learn why you need to customize the WordPress login page and how to customize it with several methods.

By default, the WordPress login page appearance is typical with basic standard login fields, which you would access for the first time right after a new WordPress installation. It is quite simple and lacks the branding or design styling of your website.

A WordPress custom login page is needed in special cases or specific website requirements. It’s where a default WordPress login page is enhanced with a particular design style, improved with a safer security system, or some other further customization to make it better.

Better Branding & Personalization

After installation, WordPress's front-end appearance as a content management system is quite simple. You can use it as a ready-made platform to further customize and brand your website, as well as the login page. Sometimes a WordPress website doesn’t give access to the login page for general users but in other cases, this login page access is required.

Types of WordPress websites that provide login page access would be eCommerce or any type of membership website. Leaving a WordPress login page without proper design or branding consistency would be a bad idea. This is why customizing a WordPress login page will promote better branding and website personalization in general.

You can start it by replacing the WordPress logo with your company’s logo, and changing the style of the field forms and the submit buttons. More advanced customization could be changing the login page background and its position. The modification of this particular page will depend on your creativity to personalize it to stay consistent with your brand.

Adding Extra Information

The WordPress login page can also be used to add extra information for member users or new users. If you have an eCommerce WordPress, you can include promotional banners of new products or services or important notifications to make sure any web users of yours will not miss it while they’re logging in.

As the default WordPress login page is pretty simple, you can customize it with specific instructions or provide additional options for the users. It can be a registration link or buttons to log in using social media account for instance.

Giving options to users to log in using social media accounts from the WordPress login page will increase user engagement and provide better UX. It will be more practical for users as they don’t have to memorize different passwords for different websites.

Improving Web Security

Another reason for customizing the WordPress login page is to improve the website's security. Some methods can be done for this WordPress login page security and one of them is adding CAPTCHA. A website is shielded from bots and other automated malicious malware by this security tool. The CAPTCHA is simple for humans to complete but difficult for bots.

Some more examples or methods to improve web security on the WordPress login page are to limit login attempts, change the URL of the login page, and set up Two-factor Authentication. These actually can be done by installing WordPress plugins to ensure that your website is safe from spammers.

WordPress login page customization can be done in several ways and in this section, we will learn more about it.

1. CSS and PHP

On your website, the WordPress login page is similar to the other pages which are controlled by CSS and PHP. The web elements styling and colors on the login page such as the logo, form fields, and buttons can be modified using CSS. PHP hooks and filters are responsible for changing the functionality and layout modification of the WordPress login page.

There are specific CSS selectors that control the WordPress login page elements and use some of them to start styling the login page. You also need to add a custom CSS file and include it first at the head of your login page using PHP before it works. As for the login page functionalities modification, use the functions.php to do so.

2. WordPress Plugins

The easiest way to modify the WordPress login page is by using WordPress plugins. Web builder-based WordPress plugins often offer a custom login page form feature besides other types of WordPress forms. While some login page customizer plugins are more straightforward in functionalities and might provide better security options Here are some of our best plugin recommendations that you can try.

Essential Addons for Elementor

As a web builder addons for Elementor, Essential Addons give you great options to customize the WordPress login page. There is an option to hide all forms from logged-in users and redirect the form after login.

Ultimate Member

The Ultimate Member plugin provides different types of forms and one of them is a Login Form. It’s a great plugin if your website requires a membership login. The integration to your WordPress editor uses a simple shortcode that you can insert using a WordPress shortcode block. There’s also an option to redirect the form after login.

User Registration

When you need a simple and quick configuration for your login page and that any users can register to your website, User Registration is most recommended. It is bundled with the User Registration form and by default, the login form shortcode is included in the My Account page. Just disable the default WordPress login page and next, you can configure the rest of it.

Nextend Social Login and Register

The plugin allows visitors to log in and register on your website using their social media accounts (such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc.) which saves them from having to spend significant time filling out the standard registration form. The plugin integration uses a shortcode and widget.

Custom Login Page Customizer

You can customize your login page right from your WordPress Customizer with the Custom Login Customizer plugin. It’s pretty simple if you need to do quick customization for your login page. There’s a log-in order option where you can use only your Username only your Email Address or both.

Login Designer

Similar to the previous plugin, you can customize your login page right from your WordPress Customizer. The login Designer plugin focuses on the appearance customization and the styling of the default login forms. There’s also an option where you can import and export Login Designer plugin settings.

LoginPress

Still a login page customizer, the LoginPress WordPress plugin is rich in features for styling the login page. There are settings to set the session expiration, auto ‘Remember Me’, custom password fields, log-in order, and reset to default settings.

Pros and Cons of LoginPress

The WordPress login page customization would able to make your website look more professional and reliable. Besides maintaining brand consistency, having a customized login page will improve the user’s familiarity with your website and feel safe inputting their login details.

As customizing the WordPress login page can also improve your website security, several configurations can be done for the login page to limit login attempts, installing Google reCAPTCHA and hiding the login access from public access if necessary. Select one of these WordPress plugin features when security is the main concern for your website.