Facebook, Google... What is WordPress Social Login?

In this blog we take a closer look at social login – the new way to sign in to software and applications, including WordPress.

These days, billions of people across the world spend hours a day online whether it be for work or enjoyment. A major part of having an online presence is being involved with social media sites.

Facebook and Twitter have taken the Internet by storm over the past decade and changed the way people communicate online. In fact, so many people have social network accounts that in addition to logging in with your email, it’s now possible to sign in to software and apps with your social media accounts using social login solutions.

In some ways this makes life easier. Using social media to log in to websites means you have one less (or several less) logins that you need to create and remember. You can simply click a button and you are logged in through your social media account.

Having a social login is a practical and time-saving tool for avid online users. More and more major websites are adding social logins options all the time. Gone are the days of using a username or email to log in. Use your social media account to sign-in and that is all. One-click and you have access.

What Are WordPress Social Logins?

One of the best websites to add social logins is WordPress. WordPress is the largest content management system in the world, and with that many users, it makes sense that social login would be a good option for users to have.

WordPress Social Login is when a user creates a sign in to your WordPress website using the same credentials from their social media account, like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. This way, users can use their existing accounts to log in with creating new accounts.

WordPress social logins operate by adding the social login option to the WordPress login screen, the look and feel of which is still completely customizable to fit your theme or aesthetic of your website.

Reasons To Use WordPress Social Logins

Having social logins makes it much simpler to login with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Google, and not creating new logins is a plus since it also saves time. Other reasons include the ability for admin to allow only logged in users to make comments or engage in forum discussions.

In addition, it’s easy for WordPress to gather relevant social information and data when users register through social media logins. Most plugins and social networks will allow you to give permission to use the logins with the apps and with WordPress. The click of one or two buttons is much better than a long registration form.

However, the free edition or WordPress does not come installed with a social login option, so that means you need to add the functionality yourself, with WordPress plugins. Many social login plugins for WordPress are free, or they are included with other functionalities like the ability to add social media comments or track social media page data.

1) Custom User Registration and Login Form Plugin

The Custom User Registration and Login Form plugin easily add a registration and login popup to your WordPress website. Social login is just one of the many options that this plugin can provide for logging in, along with invitation codes, email verification, custom registration forms, and more.

With this plugin, users are able to register on your WordPress website using their login credentials for their Facebook or Google accounts. The user clicks the social login button and the account is created, no password required. Registering with Google or Facebook speeds up the process for the admin and users.

2) Strava Integration Plugin

The Strava Integration Plugin is another good option for a social login plugin because it is designed specifically for certain social networks. Users of Strava, BuddyPress, or PeepSo can easily use this plugin to login and directly share information and posts from the apps to WordPress.

This plugin allows users to connect their own specific accounts to WordPress without sharing passwords or sensitive information. Also, this plugin includes an added layer of security to keep your information safe and the accounts can easily be disconnected as well

Conclusion

Most people in the world today are using some form of social media or Google accounts to interact online. So it makes sense that WordPress websites would have the option to allow for social logins from users.

This eliminates the need for long registration forms which could put off some users. Also, using social logins means not having to create new usernames and passwords that need to be remembered. Using social logins is more efficient.

Using social logins makes it simpler for users to interact and engage with your website. Having social logins means your WordPress website will see an increase in registrations and sign up as the login process becomes much easier to complete.

Also, the simple social login process will also increase the overall user retention, since there are no usernames and passwords that users need to remember and stop using the website if they are forgotten.

Using social logins also means that you will be provided with authentic user data such as name and email, pulled from the social networking website, instead of whatever username and password are provided by the user prior to using social login.

Additional reasons include increasing overall user engagement, as a WordPress website using social login is essentially much more user-friendly at login. These social logins are also secure options for users as there are already added layers of protection in social network logins in addition to WordPress.

These are just a few reasons why social logins should be the norm for WordPress users. As there are more and more options for social logins, it’s important to do research and find the best options for your WordPress website.