Customizing a login form is easy with the WordPress Codex. Now, a quick show of hands, how many of you got terrified of just looking at all that code?
It’s right to be frightened if you’re not a coder. In the hands of a novice, there are an infinite number of ways your WordPress website can get messed up, despite its resilience and user-friendliness.
- So for all you blissfully non-coding WordPress-using populace out there, there are these plugins to let you transform your site’s login.
To begin with the moniker of Safety First, use these plugins for login security. If you’ve got your security covered with plugins like WordFence, skip this section and jump right to #3.
1. Login Ninja
Price: $18 from Code Canyon
Login Ninja works well to reduce the rate of brute force attacks on your login.
It starts with adding a captcha on login and register pages to stop bots. You can ban malicious IPs manually or let the plugin do it automatically. It enforces strict monitoring of login-related activities through detailed logs and email notifications.
You can also use it to set auto-redirects after user login (based on their roles/ usernames).
2. Hide my WP
Price: $23 from Code Canyon
Hide my WP – No one can know you use WordPress remains one of the top trending and best selling login security plugin for WordPress on envato.
As posts about Hardening WordPress will tell you, the smoke and mirrors (misdirection and obfuscating) approach can work like a charm to protect your WordPress website. But since you’re not up to delving in the code, this plugin will do it flawlessly for you.
This will change the URLs and names of your WordPress login page, wp-admin (both of which are, by default, really easy to access for anyone), themes, and more. Basically, it hides everything a potential hacker could use to identify your CMS and use its weaknesses.
It also blocks direct access to php files (which may contain your version details and server information if one knows what to look for), minifies CSS, comes with antispam, and more.
Got your security covered? Great. Here are some amazing plugins for Login Forms/Page Customization:
3. White Label Login for WordPress
Price: $20 from Code Canyon
White Label Login does more than just making your login page look sleek and sharp.
You get 6 login styles (push and slide) with optional form animations (slide in from sides, newspaper, flip, etc.), 3 overlay backgrounds (for slide login), completely customizable form labels, forced login for all users, password protect site, and more. Entering your license key lets you download a free Visual CSS Editor for precise changes in colors, fonts, and styles.
The coup de grace is its Maintenance mode feature. It gives you a countdown-timer-enabled maintenance message to display to your unregistered/logged-out users. It also lets you block source code from public eyes, set custom login URLs and redirects, and lets your visitors log in using Facebook, Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Microsoft Live.
The interface, security, and features make this plugin absolutely worth the price.
4. Modal Login
Price: $15 from Code Canyon
Modal Login is redefines the concept of ‘minimalism’.
You get 2 login form layouts (wide and default) in every imaginable color. You can change font, links, and button colors, or use custom CSS to style the form.
You can put the login form in a sidebar widget, or use shortcode within a page. The plugin also lets you customize the ‘New User Registration’ email and set redirects after login.
It’s easy to use and sticks to the basics without unnecessary bells and whistles.
5. Tailored Login
Price: $247 for entire plugin suite (10 plugins and additional ‘perks’) from iThemes
Tailored Login will let you do what it says on-the-tin: Tailor-make your login page to perfection with ease; no more, no less.
It gives you a style manager (for color schemes and fonts), and complete control over customization of login page background, form, headers, right down to the buttons and links using WordPress media library images or your own. You can add up to two widget areas for login (top and bottom) and style them as you want.
It’s special, simply because it’s so exceptionally easy to use.
6. Login Customizer
Price: Free
“The best things in life are free.” Case in point: Custom Login Page Customizer.
This plugin is pretty simple. It lets you customize login form styles with an integrated customizer and add your own logo image (in place of WordPress logo), and login page background image.
It lets you preview changes while you’re customizing the login page too.
It’s pretty neat.
7. Custom Login
Price: Free plugin, with paid ‘extension’ style packs #1 and style packs #2
Frosty Media’s Custom Login is very capable of giving your login page a makeover.
There are two settings: General and Design. In General settings, you can disable some of the default login page specifics (remove ‘lost password’ text, disable ‘shake’ animation on login error, etc.)
Now on to Design settings: You can use your own images for logo and background. You can change form background color and set its transparency, or simply use an image for that too. You can add shadow effects to login form.
You can alter color, opacity, and shadow effects for labels and navigation links. You can also use your own custom HTML/CSS/jQuery scripts.
Style packs 1 and 2 have some amazing preset login page templates you can choose your own from.
Still missing something? Take a look at the following social login and Visitors’ Membership plugins:
8. WordPress Social Login
Price: Free
Nothing makes your visitors’ life easier than a handy option for Social Login.
This plugin is a must have even if you aren’t looking to spruce up your default login page.
Simply put, this plugin will let your visitors comment/checkout/register/login to your site using one of their social media accounts (27 supported social platforms you can choose from).
It has its own widget authentication and ‘bouncer’ that you can tweak to your liking to keep out hackers/spammers trying to enter through their social media accounts.
9. User Pro
Price: $29 from Code Canyon
Oh, now we’re talking.
Custom login and registration forms are just one of the many, many things User Pro does. And it does them all really, really well.
Right off the bat you get very modernistic registration and login forms that are also completely customizable (add/edit as many form fields as you like), can be added anywhere on the site/page (through widget and shortcode), and support social login from 6 major social media platforms.
Oh but there’s more.
You can look at your kingdom/community in a sweet collage view or through Enhanced Member Directory which is customizable and allows you to search for specific users. You can promote certain members or award them with badges and achievements. You can also lock content (for registered/logged-in members only).
Your users get responsive, high-res, and stylish profiles with SEO-friendly URLs. The entire suite of features comes with 5 built-in skins and supports Google Fonts and FontAwesome Icons that makes it look and feel absolutely gorgeous.
There are separate add-ons for payment, messaging, social wall, etc. This is one comprehensive plugin for sites focusing on community management.
10. User Profiles Made Easy
Price: $29 from Code Canyon
User Profiles Made Easy is a whole set of solutions for complete management of your registered users’ profiles. Tread lightly.
As far as login and registration forms go, it comes with its own very sleek and elegant forms that can replace the boring ol’ WordPress login and registration in a trifle. It can also be put anywhere on your site (with widget or shortcode). You can choose to add as many or as few field labels as you want. It also supports social login (through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google).
But there’s so much more to it than that.
It lets you view your users and their profiles in a beautiful compact mode, search users (by form field labels), promote users, and lock content for access to registered, logged-in users only. Your users get superbly designed responsive profiles that they can customize (add picture, description, and more).
There are even more features, but you have to see them for yourself. Both ends (back-end admin and front-end user areas) are designed with an easy-to-use interface that looks, feels, and works like a dream.
If you need an exquisite solution for a large community of members, this is the plugin for you.
Bottom Line
There’s more to WordPress login than a username and password underneath that white W. It’s jarring after a while spent browsing the very colorful internet.
Coder or not, these plugins will let you transform your site’s access points into something that fits in with your style.
Use them well.