In today’s world, time is one of the most valuable assets you can get. Ensuring your viewers save time on your website is key to attracting and retaining users. How can you do this?
One effective way to achieve this is by incorporating social login for WordPress.
Social login lets users sign up or log in using their social media accounts like Facebook, Google, X (previously Twitter), or LinkedIn. This method streamlines the authentication process and provides benefits for both users and website administrators.
Besides being time-effective, social login for WordPress has other benefits:
- Enhanced user experience: A hassle-free login process makes it easier for visitors to engage with your content, read articles, or place orders.
- Reduced bounce rate: The ease of logging in via social accounts can significantly lower the abandonment rate on your site, as users are more likely to stay and interact when the process is quick and straightforward.
- Increased security: Social login for WordPress leverages the robust security measures of major social media platforms, reducing the risk of password theft that could happen if the password is not strong enough.
Considering all these benefits, you might want to start implementing social login on your WordPress website as soon as possible. Don’t know where to begin? Look no further! All you need is Profile Builder with the Social Connect add-on to get the best social login for WordPress.
How to Get Started
For this tutorial we’ll use Profile Builder, an all-in-one user registration and management plugin for WordPress. With this plugin, you are able to create and fully customize front-end Register, Login, and Edit Profile forms. Besides that, you can also allow users to log in using the most popular social login options including Facebook, X, or LinkedIn.
The process of installing Profile Builder is easy. It installs and is activated just like any other WordPress plugin.
Installing Profile Builder
In order for you to be able to implement social login on your WordPress site, you first need to install Profile Builder.
First and foremost, get your Profile Builder license from the official website.
After you do so, log into your Cozmoslabs account page and you will see two buttons:
- The button associated with the free version – Main Plugin
- The button associated with the paid version – in this case, Pro Download
After downloading the zip files, upload them to your website. Simply go to the Plugins menu on your WordPress admin interface and click Add New Plugin -> Upload Plugin. After uploading, make sure to also activate both of them.
In the end, you need to have two plugins installed:
- Profile Builder – This can be downloaded from the Main Plugin button
- Profile Builder Pro – This can be downloaded from the Pro Download button
Once you’ve obtained a copy of Profile Builder, it’s important to take a moment to also register it. In this way, you will receive automatic updates, bug fixes, and premium support.
Simply go to the Profile Builder Settings, and under the Register Website section, you can add your serial number, which will be listed in your account.
Set up and customize the login page
Now that your plugin is ready to roll, it’s time to create user pages in order for your visitors to be able to create an account on your website. You can do so manually, like any other new page on your WordPress website, or you can do so using the Setup Wizard. This tool quickly takes you through the setup process and allows you to automatically create different user pages with dedicated forms, like login, registration, edit profile, or password reset.
On your Profile Builder menu icon, go to Dashboard, then click on Open the Setup Wizard, where you can tell Profile Builder to automatically create all the needed user pages for you. Next, you can go in and edit them to your liking from here.
Besides creating your user forms and customizing them, the Setup Wizard also lets you add extra functionality on top of your site. For example, you could restrict certain pages from your website to only be visible to logged in users. The Setup Wizard will redirect you to the Content restriction section once you reach the last step of the setup.
Now that you have created a login page with a dedicated form, it’s time to customize it.
You can do that by simply accessing the Profile Builder menu icon -> Settings -> General Settings, and right under the Register Website section you will find all the form styles that you can choose from.
To preview a particular style’s design, hover over the chosen one and click on the Preview button.
Once you have chosen a style, the selected one will be activated once you save the changes by clicking on the Save Changes button on the right.
How to add Social Login to your WordPress site
1. Enable Social Connect add-on
The next step that you need to do to add social login for your WordPress site is to enable the Social Connect add-on mentioned earlier.
Simply go to the Profile Builder menu icon in your admin interface, and select the Add-ons tab.
In the Basic Add-ons section, click Activate in order to use Social Connect on your website.
After that, a new sub-menu called “Social Connect” will appear under the Profile Builder menu icon.
2. Enable social login apps
The next step to setting up social login on your WordPress website is to enable and create an application for the social networks you need.
Click on the Social Connect sub-menu that you previously enabled, which will take you to the Settings area of this add-on.
In this section, select Enable on the preferred social login, then create and configure the social API keys for each network you need.
This step can often be the most challenging part of the setup, as each social network has its own unique and sometimes complex configuration process. But don’t worry, as the plugin interface contains documentation of the entire process, so you can be guided every step of the way.
3. Choose where the WordPress social login buttons appear
After configuring your social login options, you have to choose where these will be displayed on your website. You can do so in Settings.
Generally, creators want the buttons to appear on their login form, but it’s also a good idea to have them available in the registration form and edit profile section, as well.
By enabling the already existing users to connect their social profiles with their accounts, you give them the option to log in faster on your website, while all their information will still be there.
4. Customize the social login buttons
Profile Builder’s option on social login for WordPress gives you the option to customize the buttons however you want.
In this section, you can change the buttons’ order, location, style, and other settings in order to make sure that what is displayed at the end authentically reflects your brand’s style.
In addition to that, you also have the option to disable the default CSS entirely so you can style the buttons in any way you want to.
5. Make any last adjustments
Once you go through all of the steps mentioned above, your login form should have the social login option enabled.
At this point, feel free to make any other adjustments that you see fit until you find the right result that suits your website best.
Conclusion
Enabling social login for WordPress using the Profile Builder plugin can significantly enhance your website’s user experience by offering a quick, secure, and convenient way for users to log in.
Just to make a brief recap, here’s how to enable social login for WordPress:
- Download Profile Builder and enable Social Connect add-on.
- Enable and configure social login apps.
- Choose the placement of the social login buttons.
- Customize the social login buttons.
- Review and adjust your final result.
That’s it! That’s how easy it is to enable social login on your WordPress site when you use the right tools, and Profile Builder is a great solution for this.
