Ways to add a custom login URL in WordPress

August 13. 2021

When designing a website, there are multiple aspects that you need to keep track of. Safety and optimization should be your priority, while ease of use and user experience shouldn’t fall far behind. While there are many ways to tackle these aspects, there are some that are underutilized. One of which is using a custom login URL. So, to help shine some light on the how and the why, WP Full Care is going to explore different ways to add a custom Login URL in WordPress.

Why adding a custom Login URL in WordPress is a good idea

First and foremost, let’s explain why adding a custom login URL is a good idea. Since you are using WordPress, you probably already know how popular it is. On the one hand, this popularity is great as it gives WordPress motivation to update it regularly. But, on the other hand, it does make it a popular target for hackers.

As we said before, when designing a WordPress website, safety should be your top priority. Apart from installing safety features, you also need to adapt proper forms of conduct. This includes updating your WordPress whenever possible, as well as the plugins. But, it can also include adding a custom login URL. Sticking with the standard login URL wp-admin and wp-login makes the hackers’ job much easier. If you have a custom login URL, they will have to struggle significantly more before they are able to hack you.

Apart from safety, adding a custom login URL can benefit your overall user experience. The standard WordPress login URL doesn’t usually fit with the branding and style of different websites. Therefore, by creating a custom login URL you can ensure that it is SEO friendly, and in line with your overall design.

Different ways to add a custom Login URL in WordPress

As it is with most things related to WordPress, the easiest way to add a custom Login URL is through a plugin. While there are a lot of choices out there, we suggest that you either use the SeedProd or the WPS Hide Login plugin. For customizing your login page, you will have to rely on SeedProd. But, if you solely want to change the login page URL, you can resort to WPS Hide Login.

Using SeedProd

In our mind, it is the most intuitive and easy-to-learn page builder. With it, you can easily customize the entire login page including the URL. The first thing to do is to download and install SeedProd. Seeing that the process of doing so is fairly straightforward, we won’t explain it here. We’ll just advise you to make a backup of your website before installing a plugin. Even a plugin as well made as SeedProd can have strange interactions with a website. So, to avoid unnecessary trouble, make a backup version.

Entering license key and picking a template

Once you’ve installed SeedProd you need to head on to the SeedProd -> Settings. There you will enter your license key, which you can find under your account information section on the SeedProd website. After this, you need to head to the SeedProd -> Pages. There you will find the “Set up a Login Page” button. Once you’ve clicked it, you will see a screen that has all the login page templates. You can either go with the blank one and build your login page from scratch. Or pick a template that catches your eye. For the sake of the tutorial, we will pick the “Geo Login Page” template. All you need to do is to put your mouse pointer over the template and click the check icon.

Using the SeedProd editor

The next screen will ask you to give a name to your login page and enter the custom URL. Once you’ve done so click the “Save and Start Editing the Page” button. Doing so will take you to the page editor screen. There you can customize any element of the login page as you see fit. The editor utilizes the drag-and-drop mechanics for most of its elements, which is what makes SeedProd so intuitive. On your left side, you can see all the sections and block at your disposal. And on your right, you will get a visual representation of what adding them will look like on your website. Once you’ve customized the login page to your liking, click the “Save” box and select “Publish”.

Changing the default login page URL

To change the default login page URL, there are a couple of steps that you need to take. Firstly, you need to head on to the “Page Settings” menu which you can find at the top of the page. Once you’ve opened it, scroll down until you find the “Redirect the Default Login Page” option. Once you click the toggle scroll that says “Enable” it should turn orange. By doing so, you’ve redirected the default login page to the page you’ve previously created. Now just remember to click the “Save” button and all the changes will take effect.

Using WPS Hide Login

While SeedProd is a powerful plugin, you will need to use the paid version in order to have access to all the templates. If all this seems unnecessary, and you simply want to change the login page URL, there is a way to do it. Namely, what you need to do is to install the WPS Hide Login plugin. Again, the process of installation is fairly self-explanatory.

Once you’ve activated it, go to the Settings -> WPS Hide Login. There you can add the new login page URL in the “Login URL” box. If you wish, you can also add a redirect URL in the “Redirection URL” box. By doing so you will redirect visitors from the default login page to the desired URL (this only happens if they are not logged in). If you change your login URL, try to memorize it. The last thing you need is to look for it later on. Once you’ve entered the wanted URLs, simply save the changes, and you are done.