Double opt in for wordpress registration

[bluecafe]

Hi,
registration via s2member seems to override the wordpress double opt in option by sending a password immediately after registration. Is it possible to have the standard wordpress registration procedure (user has to click on a link in order to confirm that they have send the request for registration)? Double opt in is a legal requirement in Europe and it could result in troubles if the password is sent without the double opt in feature. I really appreciate all the s2member functions and this seems to be the only hurdle. Thanks for any tips!

[hapke]

I've tested the plugin last year and could not use it because of missing double opt-in. Yes, it is absolutely necessary in Europe (I live in Germany). Does the latest varsion have this option? And also: "agree to the terms" is necessary within the registration process!!

[Cristián Lávaque]

Hi guys.

The "agree to the terms" can be added as a custom registration field here WP Admin -> s2Member -> General Options -> Custom Registration Fields. Make it a required field and uneditable after registration.

I don't know that the double opt-in is in s2Member yet, but I've sent Jason (the Lead Developer) an email asking him about it. I didn't know this was a key issue in Europe, maybe Jason will try to add it soon.

[hapke]

Hi guys.

I don't know that the double opt-in is in s2Member yet, but I've sent Jason (the Lead Developer) an email asking him about it. I didn't know this was a key issue in Europe, maybe Jason will try to add it soon.

Very kind of you, thanks. If this feature is available I can use the plugin.

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for the great question.
~ and thanks for bringing this to my attention Cristián.

Under s2Member -> General Options -> Custom Registration Fields -> Allow Custom Passwords, you will find the default option, which is to require a Customer to verify Registration via email. In other words, by default, their Password is assigned automatically and sent to them via email.

Until they check their email, they are unable to log in.

Auto-generated Passwords are recommended for best security;
because, this also serves as a form of email confirmation.

This can be changed of course, but that is the default behavior.

I'm attaching a screenshot. Does this help?

---

[bluecafe]

Hi Jason and Cristián,
many thanks for looking into this and the suggested solution. I have changed the settings but unfortunately it doesn't seem to solve the problem. I am still getting a message "Please find below your login details: .. ".
It just changes to password to an autogenerated password.

The way the normal wordpress (and double opt in) registration works is confirming the registration request by receiving a link and only when the user clicks the link a new user account will be created. No user is created and no login details are being sent before the user confirms the request for registration by clicking on the link.

Do you think there is a way to achieve this?
Thanks in advance!

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for the follow-up.

That's not how WordPress works by default, not on a normal single-site installation. On a Multisite Network yes, but on a standard installation of WordPress, all Users go through email validation to obtain an auto-generated Password, and that's it.

Here are some things you might try.

Activate Multisite Networking and use s2Member in conjunction with /wp-signup.php instead of the Standard Login/Registration Forms. This is already implemented with s2Member running on a Multisite Network.

Or, install s2Member together with BuddyPress. This is possible with BuddyPress Registration forms.

Or, see if you can find a plugin to further customize the way registration is handled by WordPress®. Either that, or modify your copy of /wp-login.php to achieve what you need. Some minor custom coding should get you there. You can use the examples provided inside your copy of /wp-signup.php

[bluecafe]

Hi Jason, thanks for the info and the suggestions ... I will check it out.

[hapke]

What bluecafe mentioned is very important. I do not like to do any experiments. Until there is no double opt-in function I will not use this plugin. If you like to have European users you should think aboput it. There is a plugin offering double-opt-in: http://www.glockeasymail.com/wordpress- ... scription/. But it does not create a new user in wordpress. You have to do it manually.
I have tested many membership plugins. They all cannot offer double opt-in, why?

[Jason Caldwell]

Thanks for the follow-ups.

OK. So let me see if I understand this correctly.

The request is for Free Subscribers only, correct? You wouldn't want to make a paying Customer jump through too many hoops, right? You both want a Free Subscriber to register, get an email with a confirmation link, and then get another email with their password? Is that correct?

Tip: In the current release, s2Member can require a registrant to confirm the registration, by forcing them to check their email to receive an auto-generated password, instead of allowing them to do everything on-site ( i.e. thwarts spammers, bots, etc ). And this consolidates the confirmation process into just one email instead of two. But this is not working for you?

[hapke]

Thank you! First: sorry for my bad English
The procedure is:
All users can see teaser content, all users can read free content.
Only paying members can see protected content. To see it they have to register with their address (I need it for an invoice).
After they have paid (bank transfer, not paypal or other gateways) I set his account to "active" for 365 days, then the access expires.
Registration:
The user (who wants to become a member) registers (form fields should contain address fields and an agree-button for the terms of use).
He gets an email in order to click a link for confirmation.
After this he gets an email with his login and password (OR I send this manually). He has no access to protected content until he has paid.

[Jason Caldwell]

OK. Gotchya now.

Yes, this is already possible, even with the free version of s2Member.
What you would do is allow people to sign up free at Level #0 ( i.e. a Free Subscriber ), but protect all of your paid content at Level #1 ( or higher ). Once the payment arrives, you can review the account manually, and then upgrade the Member's account to Level #1 ( or higher ), thereby granting them access after your approval. This can be accomplished from inside your WP Dashboard, from the Users panel. Once payment arrives, find the User, click [Edit], and change their Role to s2Member Level #1.

Of course, the same concept could be applied from Level #1 to Level #2, and so on. It just depends on your preference and/or business model. s2Member Pro Forms allow Free Registration at various Levels too, not just at Level #0 like the free version does.

"Agree button"

This can be created with s2Member's Custom Registration Fields, from inside your Dashboard under: s2Member -> General Options -> Custom Registration Fields. You can create a checkbox that is "required".

"active" for 365 days, then the access expires.

This can be accomplished by editing/approving a Member's account, and setting an EOT Time, for exactly 365 days in the future. Go to your Users menu in the Dashboard, click [Edit] next to a particular account, and scroll down to the bottom. You'll find all of the s2Member Configuration and Profile Fields there, including the EOT Time field. EOT = End Of Term.

[Jason Caldwell]

= Does s2Member support an account approval process? =

s2Member does not come with an approval system. That being said, what many site owners do, is they allow Free Registration ( i.e. Open Registration: `on` ). This allows visitors to register for free at Level #0, which just gives them an account. After a manual review of Level #0 accounts, an Administrator can upgrade them to Level #1 or higher; granting them access to content you've protected at those higher Levels. So the trick is to protect your content at Level #1 or higher, then allow Open Registration at Level #0. In other words, Level #0 Members will just have an account, but not actually have access to anything until you increase their Membership Level from the default Level #0. If you would like to display a custom message ( i.e. "Your account is pending review." ), you can use s2Member's Simple Conditionals to detect a Customer's Membership Level, and to display an appropriate message on your Login Welcome Page. For further details on Simple/Advanced Conditionals, please check your Dashboard under `s2Member -> API Scripting -> Simple/Advanced Conditionals`.

[hapke]

Very kind, I will download the free version and see how the plugin works. Do you provide paid developer support?
I come back after the testing period

[Jason Caldwell]

We provide support to all s2Member site owners, and we give priority to s2Member Pro customers. All support for s2Member is provided through these forums, so if you have any questions/concerns please feel free to post a new topic. I'm available, as is Support Rep "Cristián Lávaque" and members of our community here are usually more than happy to assist as well.

[hapke]

I do not like to user network installation and BuddyPress. So I cannot use the registration here and have to install another plugin with double opt-in. After this I have to include new members manually. Maybe you update the plugin with double opt-in?

[hapke]

This can be accomplished by editing/approving a Member's account, and setting an EOT Time, for exactly 365 days in the future. Go to your Users menu in the Dashboard, click [Edit] next to a particular account, and scroll down to the bottom. You'll find all of the s2Member Configuration and Profile Fields there, including the EOT Time field. EOT = End Of Term.

Can you please give an example for this field? Date (format?) or days (365) or anything else?
Because I have to add all members manually (use another registration process because of missing double opt-in) I can activate the account as you describe.
And I have to set a custom value manually too. It could be used for a sponsoring code?
Example: Members get a software with discount. The sponsor should know this code to identify the member, is that correct? Please giv a code example. Or what else is this custom value to use for?

[Cristián Lávaque]

I'm pretty sure that in the current version the EOT should be in this format mm/dd/yyyy (2 digit month, 2 digit day, 4 digit year).

[Jason Caldwell]

This field supports anything that PHP's strtotime() function understands, which is quite a lot.
http://php.net/manual/en/function.strtotime.php

But for simplicity, I recommend this format:
YYYY-MM-DD

Cristián's suggestion will also work just fine:
mm/dd/yyyy

Note:

Dates in the mm/dd/yyyy or dd-mm-yyyy formats are disambiguated by looking at the separator between the various components: if the separator is a slash (/), then the American mm/dd/yyyy is assumed; whereas if the separator is a dash (-) or a dot (.), then the European dd-mm-yyyy format is assumed.

To avoid potential ambiguity, it's best to use ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD) dates.

If you want to get really specific, you can type something like this:
YYYY-MM-DD 00:00:00
* 00:00:00 hours : minutes : seconds

[hapke]

That means YYYY-MM-DD but not DD-MM-YYYY? This is the way we create the date.

By the way: I have seen a very good idea for verifying the mail adress: with a code. Look here please:
http://www.sumaplugin.com/article/889. In one of the introduction videos you can see how it works.
It is a kind of double opt-in, I think. I could use this process here.

[Jason Caldwell]

Yes, DD-MM-YYYY works fine too.

[hapke]

[Cristián Lávaque]

Hey! I use dd/mm/yyyy in everyday life too! And prefer yyyy-mm-dd for this, I only mentioned the weird U.S. mm/dd/yyyy format because that's the one mentioned in the Import tool's documentation regarding EOTs.

Thanks for making that clear, Jason, it's nice to know yyyy-mm-dd can be used.

[gkuckluck]

I'll just pick up this old post.

So I am from Germany too and I've got the problem with Double Optin therefore too.

But I got another question:
I tried to get s2member work together with BuddyPress.
Everything's fine so far, but.... when I click on the PayPal Button to get my membership I would need to get redirected AFTER my purchase directly to the registration page, wouldn't I?

Or in which way is it possible for my customer to get registered and get to see the membership content?

I don't want to display the registration button from wordpress on all pages cause I don't want people to be able to register on my blog. They should ONLY be able to register together with purchasing a membership...

How do I do that?

Regards
Gordon

[Cristián Lávaque]

Disable free registrations, then they'll only be able to register after a payment. WP Admin -> s2Member -> General Options -> Open Registration

I hope that helps.