Members and Theme my Login plugins Built Into Core

The goal is to keep WordPress small. Since not everyone needs those things, they’re not in core. You can use plugins, and that’s perfectly fine.

So do you think WordPress will continue to be a blogging platform for it’s life and not adopt these type of CMS features?

I think that not every CMS needs login themes and advanced member features.

Well, I love WordPress and wish I could develop on it forever but I guess I need to just realize that it’s a bloggin platform. A damn good one at that. Guess its time to read that Drupal book.

Thanks for the insight and help ??

It’s not. It’s just a platform that, when core doesn’t do what you want, you extend it easily with plugins ?? Minimalism.

I suppose, but as Matt addressed in State of the Word there are a lot of bunk plugins. You never really know what your getting. Can you recommend some user management plugins (premium is great) that would be worth getting for my needs. I currently use members and am playing around with Theme my login. They both work great but a lot of my sites are for clients so personalization is key for this stuff.

One other thing… with 30 + files in the current core, I don’t think a couple more would add weight to the load.

Carmellom – It’s a slippery slope. WP got a lot of chaff when the download hit 3megs.

Also premium plugins have absolutely NO bearing on the usefulness and/or sustainability of a plugin.

I can’t recommend you one, because I don’t know what you want. User management. Okay. What KIND? Can you describe what you’re looking for? A private, members only, site, or one where you can allocate permissions with more granularity? (This is kind of WHY we don’t have it in core: way too many options and not everyone needs it.)

These are my needs. I need to be able to create backend login areas for clients to come and either fill out forms or have access to download files and manage their accounts. I’d really like to personalize the profile page.

Needs

• Personalize and brand a profile page
• Secure certain files and limit access to them based on user role
• Remove access to the dashboard / admin

Here is code I wrote to limit access to the admin / dashboard and it works great. You see any problems with it? (Using member to create capabilities(view_dashboard))

function user_admin_redirect() {
if (!current_user_can('view_dashboard') && is_admin()){
wp_redirect(home_url()); exit;
}
}
add_action( 'init', 'user_admin_redirect' );


Remove access to the dashboard / admin

https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/wp-hide-dashboard/

Secure certain files and limit access to them based on user role

https://www.ads-software.com/extend/plugins/members/

Personalize and brand a profile page

That one has a LOT of options and you’ll have to search around to find one you like.

Most of the site I develop are for marketing purposes and a lot of the time need to have user login backends. Is WordPress the best solution for these type of sites? I ask because I’ve learned everything about content management systems on WordPress and absolutely love it. I continue to push the envelope with the system but have been looking into alternatives lately that offer more functionality out of the box for this stuff. Do you think wordpress is fully capable of maintaining these type of sites or do you have another recommendation of software that I could use to better suite these needs?

Again, thanks for all the help ??

Can you recommend a way that I would limit access to download files using the Members plugin… I’m quite familiar with it but not sure if I’m suppose to be using htaccess… I don’t want people to be able to directly put a file link into their browser and be able to download or view it.

I don’t want people to be able to directly put a file link into their browser and be able to download or view it.

Limiting access to who can SEE a download file is easy. Protecting the file … well you’d need a download manager/monitor tool for that. I use e-junkie, rather than self hosting, my downloadables. You need a tool specifically for that BEFORE you start layering on member management stuff.

Most of the site I develop are for marketing purposes and a lot of the time need to have user login backends. Is WordPress the best solution for these type of sites?

I really can’t answer that. See, ‘best’ is crazy subjective, and it’s about more that just what tools CAN do something. What tools are YOU comfortable with? Are you willing to work with the tool or do you need to force it to fit your mold?

Remember, every tool, even Drupal, even professional (Sharepoint) products, have limitations of their own design, and at a certain point, you have to decide if you want to work with them and adjust your perceptions and usage, or of that’s simply unacceptable. Nothing can do EVERYTHING, but most things can do MANY things, but perhaps not the way you originally envisioned.

I was going to edit but..

Notice how my suggestions changed when you gave more information? THAT is why I CANNOT tell you 100% exactly what to do. This is because YOU know all your details. You left that off, so I don’t think about it. I can’t read your mind.

Sit down and make a list of your wants, needs, and deal-breakers. Be BRUTAL and honest. If you really WANT something, but you know in your heart you don’t NEED it, put it on the want list. But until you sit and do that, and DESIGN, in plain english (or whatever your native language is), you cant’ begin to design your site.

Thanks