WordPress comes with a default login page at /wp-login.php – but it’s unbranded, uneditable, and exposes your admin URL to every bot on the internet.
A custom login and registration page fixes all of that in under an hour, without touching a line of code.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the complete setup using User Registration & Membership (free version) – from installing the plugin and building your registration form to creating the pages, adding them to your menu, and testing the full user flow before going live.
Login Page vs. Registration Page vs. Account Page: What’s the Difference?
These terms get used interchangeably. But they cover different parts of the same system. Here’s a quick breakdown before you start building.
| Term | What It Does | Also Called |
|---|---|---|
| Login Page | Lets existing users sign in | Sign-in page |
| Registration Page | Lets new visitors sign up | Sign-up page, create-account page |
| Account Page (My Account) | Shows the logged-in user’s dashboard | Member dashboard, profile page |
This guide builds all three: a login form, a sign-up form, and the account page that ties them together. Whether you call it a “login and registration page,” a “sign-up page,” or a “custom account page,” the setup steps below are the same.
Why the Default WordPress Login Page Isn’t Enough
Every WordPress site comes with a built-in login page at yoursite.com/wp-login.php. It works — technically. But it has three problems that become obvious the moment real users start visiting your site.
It’s unbranded. The default page shows the WordPress logo, not yours. First-time visitors have no visual confirmation they’re in the right place.
It exposes your admin URL. Anyone who knows about /wp-login.php – and that’s essentially every bot on the internet – can attempt to brute-force your login. Bots target this URL constantly.
It offers no registration option. The default WordPress registration page (at /wp-login.php?action=register) is even more barebones. No custom fields, no user role assignment, no approval logic — just username, email, and submit.
To be clear: administrators can always log in at yoursite.com/wp-login.php. This guide doesn’t remove that option. What it adds is a separate, branded page for your site’s members and users. If you specifically want to change or hide the /wp-login.php URL itself, see our guide on changing your default WordPress login page URL instead.
A custom login and registration page solves all three problems above. You get full control over what users see, what information they provide at signup, and where they land after logging in. The rest of this guide shows you exactly how to build it.
What You’ll Need to Create a Login and Registration Page in WordPress?
- A WordPress website (any hosting, any theme)
- User Registration & Membership – free version covers everything in this guide
- About 30 minutes
That’s it. No coding required, no premium license needed to follow these steps.
Step 1: Install User Registration & Membership
From your WordPress admin panel, go to Plugins → Add New and search for User Registration & Membership.
Click Install Now, then Activate once the button changes.
After activation, the plugin launches a setup wizard. Work through it as follows:
Advanced Registration — this is the most important part of the wizard. Select Advanced Registration. This creates a pre-built Registration page and My Account page on your site — both already have the correct shortcodes embedded, which saves a manual step later.
Complete the remaining wizard steps (they’re optional and can be customized to your preference). Once the wizard finishes, User Registration & Membership is ready.
Pro Tip: If you skip the Install Pages step by mistake, you can always create the pages manually in Step 4. The plugin includes shortcodes for both forms that you can embed into any page.
Step 2: Build Your Registration Form
User Registration & Membership creates a Default Registration Form when you install the plugin. You can use this as-is or customize it for your site.
To edit it, go to User Registration & Membership → Registration Form.
This opens the drag-and-drop form builder.
Adding Fields
The left panel lists all available field types — text, email, phone, dropdown, file upload, and more. To add a field to your form, drag it from the left panel and drop it into the form canvas on the right.
To rearrange fields, drag any row to a new position.
Editing Field Settings
Click any field on the canvas to open its settings in the left panel. Each field has General settings (label, placeholder, description, required toggle) and Advanced settings (custom CSS class, visibility rules).
Configuring Form-Level Settings
Click the Form Settings tab at the top of the left panel to access settings that apply to the whole form — not individual fields.
Key settings to check here:
- User Approval — choose whether new registrants are approved automatically or require admin review before they can log in
- Default User Role — sets the WordPress role assigned to users who complete this form (Subscriber is the default)
- Enable Strong Password — forces users to create a password that meets minimum security requirements
Click Update Form in the top-right corner when you’re done.
Note: If you’re building a membership site, you’ll assign membership plans separately. The registration form handles the signup form itself — membership tiers, content access, and payments are managed under User Registration & Memberships→ Memberships.
Step 3: Set Up Your Login Page
User Registration & Membership includes a built-in login form. You don’t need to build it from scratch — it’s already available as a block and a shortcode, ready to embed wherever you need it.
The login form includes:
- Username/email and password fields
- “Remember me” option
- Lost password link (links to your WordPress password reset flow automatically)
💡 Want one-click sign-in instead of a password form? See our guide on adding social login to WordPress, or set up login with Google specifically.
Adding a WordPress Login Form to Any Existing Page
You don’t need a dedicated login page to use this form. If you just want a login form in a sidebar, a widget area, or an existing page, drop the same Login Form block or shortcode in there instead.
In the block editor, click the + icon, search for Login Form, and insert it. The form uses your default settings automatically. No extra configuration is needed.
This is the fastest way to add a WordPress login form to your site without building a full login page from scratch.
If you want to customize the login form’s appearance — colors, button style, field labels — that’s covered in Step 5.
Step 4: Create the Registration and Login Pages
If you selected Install Default Pages during the setup wizard, your pages are already created. Skip to the verification step below.
To verify: Go to Pages → All Pages in your WordPress dashboard. You should see a Registration page and a My Account page in the list.
Open the Registration page — it will already contain your registration form shortcode, embedded and ready to use.
Open the My Account page — this page shows the user dashboard when a member is logged in, and automatically displays the login form for logged-out visitors. No configuration needed.
If You Need to Create the Pages Manually
Go to Pages → Add New. Give the page a title (e.g., “Register” or “Create Account”).
In the block editor, click the + icon to add a new block. Search for Registration Form and select it.
A Registration Form block appears on the page. Use the dropdown inside the block to select the form you built in Step 2.
Click Publish. Repeat this process for a Login page — search for the Login Form block instead of Registration Form.
Step 5: Customize Your Login Page Design
At this point, your registration and login pages work correctly. But they may not match your site’s branding. User Registration & Membership’s Style Customizer add-on lets you adjust form colors, fonts, button styles, and field borders visually — no CSS required.
To access it, go to User Registration & Membership → All Forms, open any form, and click the Style Customizer tab in the form editor.
Changes preview in real time. Key customization options:
- Primary color — applies to button backgrounds and focus states
- Field border style — flat, outline, or underline
- Typography — font size and weight for labels and placeholders
- Button text — change “Register” to anything (“Create My Account”, “Join Free”, etc.)
Click Update Form to save your style settings.
Step 6: Test the Full User Flow
Before sharing your registration link publicly, test the complete flow using a fresh browser session (or a private/incognito window — this ensures you’re testing as a logged-out user).
Work through this checklist:
Registration flow:
- Visit your registration page — does the form display correctly?
- Submit the form with test details — do you receive the confirmation email?
- If admin approval is enabled — does the pending approval message appear?
- Check User Registration & Membership → Registered Users in your dashboard — does the test user appear?
Login flow:
- Visit your My Account or Login page — does the login form appear for logged-out users?
- Log in with the test account — does it redirect correctly?
- Does the My Account page display the user dashboard when logged in?
Navigation:
- Are Register and My Account visible in your site menu?
- Do they link to the correct pages?
Fix anything that isn’t working before promoting your registration page. Common issues at this stage:
- Form not displaying: Check that the correct form is selected in the page block, and that the page is published (not draft)
- Emails not arriving: Check your spam folder first; if the issue persists, install a dedicated SMTP plugin like WP Mail SMTP to ensure reliable delivery
- Redirect after login going to /wp-admin: Go to User Registration & Membership → Settings → General and set a custom redirect URL to your My Account page. For role-based and post-login redirect options, see our guide on redirecting users after WordPress login
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I create a login and registration page in WordPress without a plugin?
WordPress does include a default login page (/wp-login.php) and a basic registration option, but neither can be customized — no custom fields, no branding, no redirect control. To create a page that matches your site’s design and collects specific user information, a plugin is the practical path. User Registration & Membership’s free version covers the full setup at no cost.
How do I create a sign-up page in WordPress?
A sign-up page is the same thing as a registration page — the form that lets new visitors create an account. Follow Step 2 and Step 4 above: build your registration form, then add it to a page, or use the pre-built Registration page the setup wizard already created for you.
How do I let visitors create an account on my WordPress site?
Use the registration form covered in this guide. Visitors fill it out and submit it, and WordPress creates a new account for them automatically — with whatever role and approval settings you configured in Step 2.
Can I add a login form to any page, not just the default login screen?
Yes. Add the Login Form block, or its shortcode, to any page, post, or widget area. See “Adding a WordPress Login Form to Any Existing Page” under Step 3 above. You’re not limited to a single dedicated login page.
What’s the difference between the default WordPress login page and a custom one?
The default page (/wp-login.php) is unbranded and can’t be customized. A custom login page uses your own design and pairs with a matching registration form, custom fields, and redirect rules. See “Why the Default WordPress Login Page Isn’t Enough” above for the full breakdown.
How do I change the WordPress login page URL?
Your custom login page, built in this guide, already lives at whatever URL you gave it — for example /login or /my-account. If you instead want to change or hide the default /wp-login.php URL itself, see our full guide on changing your default WordPress login page URL.
How do I redirect users to a specific page after login?
Go to User Registration & Membership → Settings → General → Login Options and set the Login Redirect URL to the page you want members to land on after signing in. You can set different redirect URLs for different user roles — for example, redirecting administrators to the dashboard and subscribers to their profile page. For more redirect options, see our guide on redirecting users after WordPress login.
Can I require admin approval before new users can log in?
Yes. In the Form Settings tab of your registration form, set User Approval to Admin Approval. New registrants receive a “pending approval” message after submitting the form and cannot log in until you approve them from User Registration & Membership → Members in your dashboard.
Can I require email verification instead of admin approval?
Yes. In the same User Approval dropdown, choose Auto Approval After Email Confirmation — new users get a confirmation link by email and can’t log in until they click it, with no manual review needed. See our full guide on requiring email verification before login for setup steps.
How do I add custom fields to the registration form?
Open your registration form in User Registration & Membership → All Forms, then drag any field from the left panel onto the form canvas. Available field types include text, phone, dropdown, checkbox, file upload, date picker, and more. Each field has its own label, placeholder, and required toggle. Click Update Form to save.
Start Creating Now!
That brings us to the end of our detailed tutorial. Now, it’s your turn to implement it and create registration and login pages for your website.
And since you’re on the topic of creating a login and registration page in WordPress, how about an article on creating multi-step registration form in WordPress?
Stay tuned for more articles like this on our blog.