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How to Allow User Log In with Email in WordPress

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Have you noticed that most popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc allow users to log in with email or their username? Want to add the same functionality on your site? In this article, we will show you how to allow user log in with email in WordPress.

By default, WordPress requires every user to provide an email address, so you already have that on file. Now let’s take a look at allowing users to log in with their username or email in WordPress.

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First thing you need to do is install and activate the WP Email login plugin. Upon activation, this plugin works out of the box.

You can test it by simply logging out of your WordPress site, and then log in using the email address associated with your account.

Logging in WordPress using email address

Notice that the login form will now ask for username or email address instead of just username. All users on your WordPress site can now login with their username as well as their email address.

What’s the Benefit of Login with Email or Username?

One word: Usability.

Emails are more personal than usernames specially if the username is taken. An average user has different variation of their usernames on different websites.

By adding login with email or username, you make it easy for users in case they forgot their username.

This plugin is useful if your site is a membership site or has tons of users because most folks don’t forget their email address. See why you should start building your email list right away.

We hope this article helped you learn how to allow users to login with email address in WordPress. You may also want to take a look at how to add additional user profile fields in WordPress.

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Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

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7 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

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  2. Roné says

    Hey, I’m struggling to log in! None of the login links I’ve been using all along is working. Help please!?

  3. Travis Pflanz says

    For someone who is a regular core contributor, why is this a feature that is not in the WordPress core?

    What are the pros and cons of allowing email address OR username when logging in?

    I set this feature up on a site by site basis, when the client prefers using an email address to login.

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