How to Implement Custom Login/Register Forms in WordPress

Posted on 19th June 2023

In this article, we will show you how to create custom login and register forms for your WordPress site.

Why Use Custom Login and Register Forms?

The default WordPress login and registration pages are not very user-friendly. By creating custom login and register forms, you can make the process much simpler and easier for your users.

In addition, custom login and register forms can be a great way to branding your site. You can match the forms to your site’s design and make them feel like a natural part of the experience.

Creating Custom Login and Register Forms

There are two ways to create custom login and register forms in WordPress. You can either use a plugin or edit your theme’s code.

Using a Plugin

There are a few plugins that allow you to create custom login and register forms. One of the most popular is the Theme My Login plugin.

Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, you’ll need to visit the Settings » Theme My Login page to configure the plugin.

On the Theme My Login page, you’ll see a number of tabs. The first tab is the General tab. Here you can choose whether to enable the custom login form and the custom registration form.

You can also choose whether to use the WordPress default styling for the forms or whether to disable it.

If you want to use your own styling, then you’ll need to add your CSS in the Custom CSS tab.

The next tab is the Messages tab. This is where you can customize the error messages that are displayed when users try to log in or register.

The next tab is the Redirects tab. This is where you can choose where users are redirected after they log in or register.

The final tab is the Permissions tab. This is where you can control who can access the custom login and register forms.

Once you’ve configured the plugin, you’ll need to add the shortcodes to the pages where you want the forms to appear.

The shortcode for the login form is [theme-my-login].

The shortcode for the registration form is [theme-my-login-register].

Editing Your Theme’s Code

If you don’t want to use a plugin, then you can edit your theme’s code to create custom login and register forms.

You’ll need to edit the header.php file and add the following code to it:

Replace “Display the login form” with the code for your login form and “Display the logout form” with the code for your logout form.

You can find the code for the default WordPress login form here.

You can find the code for the default WordPress logout form here.

Once you’ve added the code to your theme, you’ll need to add the following code to your functions.php file:

<?php

add_action( 'login_form_middle', 'add_lost_password_link' );

function add_lost_password_link() {

return 'Lost Password?‘;

}

?>

This code will add a link to the lost password page on your login form.

Customizing the WordPress Login Page

If you want to go a step further and completely customize the WordPress login page, then you can do that by creating a login.php file in your theme.

You can find the code for the default WordPress login page here.

You’ll need to edit the code and replace “Login” with the title of your site. You can also add your own branding and styling to the page.

Once you’ve created the login.php file, you’ll need to add the following code to your functions.php file:

body.login div#login h1 a {

background-image: url(/images/login-logo.png);

padding-bottom: 30px;

}

Replace “login-logo.png” with the name of your logo file.

You can also add a link to your logo. To do that, you’ll need to edit the code and replace “Login” with the code for your link.

Conclusion

That’s all there is to creating custom login and register forms in WordPress. As you can see, it’s a relatively simple process.

If you want to take things a step further, you can also customize the WordPress login page.

If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments.

Create a Custom Login Form

If you want to create a custom login form for your WordPress site, you can do so by creating a new page template and then using the wp_login_form() function to output the form.

Here’s an example of a custom login form page template:

Login

<?php
if ( is_user_logged_in() ) {
// user is already logged in
echo 'You are already logged in. Go to home page‘;
} else {
// user is not logged in
wp_login_form();
}
?>

Save this template as page-login.php in your theme’s folder. Then create a new page in WordPress and assign the Custom Login Form template to it.

Now when you visit that page, you should see the custom login form.

If you want to style the form, you can do so by targeting the .login-form class in your CSS.

Create a Custom Registration Form

If you want to allow users to register for your WordPress site, you can do so by creating a new page template and then using the wp_register_form() function to output the form.

Here’s an example of a custom registration form page template:

Register

<?php
if ( is_user_logged_in() ) {
// user is already logged in
echo 'You are already logged in. Go to home page‘;
} else {
// user is not logged in
wp_register_form();
}
?>

Save this template as page-register.php in your theme’s folder. Then create a new page in WordPress and assign the Custom Registration Form template to it.

Now when you visit that page, you should see the custom registration form.

If you want to style the form, you can do so by targeting the .register-form class in your CSS.