How to allow user registration with an invitation code?

There are times when a site administrator might want to provide exclusive access to users. The good news is that it is possible through Invitation Only Registrations. WordPress doesn’t have this feature by default, whereas you can easily implement it using the Pie Register plugin.

Invitation codes significantly lower the risk of spammers, bots, and fake registrations since only users who receive an invitation code can register. The best way to allow user registration via invitation code is through a plugin. What better way to do it than by installing the Pie Register plugin.

What Pie Register Plugin Has to Offer?

Raw Codes

The key features consist of the following options:

Insert Codes: Adding single or multiple codes as required.

Code Description: You can add a little detail about the code for future reference.

Assign User Role: Here, you can select user roles based on your invitation codes. (For Premium Users)

Usage: Allows to set a maximum count a code can be utilized.

Expiry Date: Allows to set an expiry date after which the code will not be usable. (For Premium Users)

Auto Generate Codes (Premium)

The key features consist of the following options:

Code Prefix: Minimum of three characters is required for code prefix.

Code Numbers: Allows to set the total number of codes that can be created. The maximum requirement is 10.

Code Length: Here you can enter the length of the code. Code can be a minimum of 5 characters and a maximum of 10 characters long.

Code Description: You can add a short code description for future reference.

Usage: Allows to set the maximum number of times a code can be used to register.

Expiry Date: Allows to set the expiry date after which the code will not be usable.

Amazingly, in both features, leaving the ‘Usage’ and ‘Expiry Date’ options empty will lead to using the invitation codes infinitely without expiring.

All the used codes can be tracked through the Invitation Tracking Board Widget on the Admin dashboard. It displays the number of users registered using a particular code.

Invite Through Email (Premium)

You can invite users by sending them invitational links through email. The key features include:

Registration Page: Allows to choose the page for directing after the user clicks on the invitational link.

Invitation Code: Select the invitation code from the dropdown to be used.

Add Email Addresses Manually/Import: Allows to add the email address/es separated by a comma or import them through a CSV file.

How to Allow User Registration Using the Invitation Codes Feature?

Let us discuss how to allow user registration by using the Invitation code features of Pie Register.

1. Allow Registration for our WordPress site

First of all, we need to allow registration for our WordPress site.

1. Login to the WordPress Admin Panel.
2. On the left side, click
3. Select General.
4. In General, look for Membership and check the box beside ‘Anyone can register’.

2. Install the Pie Register Plugin

The next step is to install the Pie Register plugin.

1. Go to the dashboard and select the Plugins section from the side menu.
2. And click Add New.
3. Type Pie Register in the search bar. Find plugin Pie Register – Custom Registration Form and User Login WordPress Plugin.
4. Click on Install and wait until the installation completes and the Activate button appears.
5. Click on the Activate button to activate the plugin on the website.

3. Enable Invitation Codes

Now, you need to enable the invitation codes.

1. In the dashboard’s menu, click on Pie Register > Invitation Codes.
2. Check Enable Invitation Codes checkbox to enable invitation-only registration.
3. Click the Save Settings.

4. Create Raw Invitation Codes

In the Insert Codes section, write down single or multiple invitation codes.

1. Each code is supposed to be on a separate line with no special characters allowed.
2. Add a description if needed.
3. Premium users can assign a user role here.
4. In the Usage section, enter the number of times a single code can be used to register.
5. If you are using the Premium version, you can set an expiry date for the code in the Expiry Date section.
6. Click on the Add Code button to save the settings.

 

If you want to create multiple codes with the same prefix, then follow the steps mentioned below:

5. Create Auto Generate Code (Premium)

1. Go to the Auto Generate Codes tab.
2. In the Code Prefix section, write down code prefix. The prefix should contain a minimum of three characters.
3. In the Code Numbers section, add the number of codes you want to generate using the prefix. The maximum length is 10.
4. In the Code Length, you can enter the length of the code. Code can be a minimum of 5 characters and a maximum of 10 characters long.
5. Add a description if needed.
6. In the Usage section, write the number of times a single code can be used to register.
7. In the Expiry Date section, set an expiry date for the code.
8. Click on the Add Code button to save the settings.

6. Invitation Through Email (Premium)

1. Go to the Invite through Email tab.
2. Choose a Registration page from the dropdown to redirect the users once they click on the invitational link in the email.
3. Select the Invitation Code.
4. Add email address/es to invite the users manually or simply attach a CSV file to import the email addresses.
5. Click on the Send Invitation.

In the Invite through Email tab, you can also customize the email template that is sent to the users for the invitation.

7. Add Invitation Code field to the Form

1. 1. In this step, add an Invitation Code field to the form.
   2. Go to the sidebar, select Pie Register> Manage Forms.  You can create a new form or edit an existing one from here.
   3. Click on the Invitation Code field to add it to your form from the Advanced Fields. 
   4. To change the properties of the Invitation Code field, click the Edit button on the left side of the field. From here, you can change the label text, add a description and placeholder text, etc.
   5. You can also specify the invitation codes in the Allowed Codes section to allow registration through these codes only. If left empty, all invitation codes would work.
   6. By marking it required, you make it necessary for the user to fill in the field. To give a style, you can add a CSS class name, a validation message, enable conditional logic (Premium), and choose options to show in the profile or not.
   7. Click on the Save Settings button.

You can now drag and drop fields to change their position and add more fields by selecting them from the Default, Standard, and Advanced Fields.

After all the changes, click on the Save Settings button.

8. Insert the Form into our website

After all the changes, add the form to your website to make it visible. Pie Register gives a shortcode for each form; you can easily use the shortcode to do the work.

1. Go to the sidebar, select Pie Register >> Manage Forms.
2. Copy the form’s shortcode, which you want to add to your website.
3. From the side menu, select Pages.
4. Click on Add New to create a new page.
5. Paste the shortcode.

After completing this step, the registration form will be visible to the users who can register using the invitation code.

9. Managing Invitation Codes

You can manage the invitation code by using the Code table feature. Go to Pie Register >> Invitation Codes and scroll down to find Code Table.

From the Code table, you can see the added codes, which you can now delete, activate, or deactivate. Here you can also edit the code name, description, and usage. Premium users can export or bulk export users’ data and filter search tags for invitation codes including used, unused, expired, date created, and based on user-assigned role.

10. Import Codes through CSV (Premium)

With all its incredible functionalities, Pie Register also offers Import/Export feature to shift or duplicate WordPress site’s user and configuration data. You can even import/export the user data of only specific fields in a CSV or Excel format. This has made backing up or transferring data from one platform to another extremely easy.

Apart from importing All Settings, Email Templates or, All User Data With Custom Fields, you can also import Invitation Codes.

Here’s how to import Invitation Codes through CSV:

1. On the left side, select Pie Register >> Import / Export.
2. Go to Invitation Codes
3. Click on Choose File (CSV or JSON format)
4. Click on Import

Did you know Pie Register’s Admin Helper Application helps you Verify, moderate, and send Invitation codes to the users on the go?

Download Now 

Conclusion

So that’s how Pie Register allows us to create invitation codes, manage, share and track them easily. Invitation codes can be sent by any authorized members of your website to someone who wants to register and allow them to access and view the content within. This will limit WordPress access to invite-based users only and protect the website from fake registrations, spammers, and bots.