Login with Whitelist

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  lcnolanmoore · Member · Jul 19, 2026 at 7:36 am

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  Hello all,

  I am wanting to implement a login page that forces users to register an account. I know of every individual that could make an account, so I would like the registration to check a list of names. If the name is not on the list, then they will either be prompted to use an approved name or simply denied the registration.

  Is there a way to accomplish this?

  The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)

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  staff-oikake · Staff · Jul 19, 2026 at 10:27 am

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  Hi there,

  WordPress.com doesn’t have a built-in way to check registrations against an approved list of names, but since you already know every person who should have access, there’s actually a simpler approach that gives you full control:

  1. Set your site to Private under Settings → General → Privacy. This makes it visible only to users you approve.
  2. Then invite each person directly from Users → Add New (or People → Invite on wordpress.com/people/). You can send invitations by email, and only the people you invite will be able to log in and view the site.

  This way, no one can self-register at all — you control exactly who gets in, which sounds like what you’re after.

  Here are the guides for each step:

  • Privacy Settings
  • Inviting People to Your Site

  If you need more advanced registration control down the road, you could also explore third-party membership or access-control plugins available in the plugin directory. Since those are developed by third parties, our support team wouldn’t be able to help with their setup or troubleshooting, but their developers can assist you directly.

  Hope this helps!