By Lee Sykes
September 2005
This tutorial covers how to set up the User Registration Options in DotNetNuke detailing:
- The definition of a user in DotNetNuke
- The various user registration options available
- How to setup the user registration type you require
This is one of the important settings you need to configure in your DotNetNuke portal.
What is a user?
A user is someone who accesses the content of your website.
A user can be allowed access to different areas of your website, for instance to:
- Edit the content and update the website
- View private areas
- View all of the general content
Refer to the
DotNetNuke Security Roles Tutorial for further details.
"This allows you to provide private areas which are just available to the users who have registered with your website."
Here we are focusing on the “General Public” users of our website.
DotNetNuke comes as standard with the option to allow the general public to sign up and register with your website. This allows you to provide private areas which are just available to the users who have registered with your website, or to allow the users to sign up for a newsletter for example.
It even has the built in function to allow users to register and pay for access to private areas of your website.
The Registration Options
DotNetNuke gives you 4 options for allowing the "General Public" to sign up to your website.
- None:
This removes the registration link from your website. The administrators of your website can only add new users manually.
- Private:
The register link appears. When a user registers, the administrators have to approve the user before the user will be granted access.
- Public:
This is the default setting for your DotNetNuke portal. The register link appears. When a user registers, they are given instant access to your site as a member without any verification.
- Verified:
The registration link appears. When a user registers, they are sent an email with a verification code. The first time they login, they are asked to enter the verification code, if they are verified correctly; they are given access to your site as a member. Once they are verified, they no longer need to enter the verification code
The verified option is useful if you want to send a newsletter to your website members. This allows you to ensure that the email address entered by your members is valid.
DotNetNuke automatically alters the text displayed when a user is registering, dependant on the registration option that you chose, for instance, it will state when you choose:
Verified:
“*Note: Membership to this portal is Verified. Once your account information has been submitted, you will receive an email containing your unique Verification Code. The Verification Code will be required the first time you attempt to sign in to the portal environment. All fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.”
Public:
"*Note: Membership to this portal is Public. Once your account information has been submitted, you will be immediately granted access to the portal environment. All fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required."
How to set the Registration Options in your DotNetNuke Portal
- Login as admin
- Go to the admin menu / site settings
- Scroll down to ‘advanced settings’ – click on the plus button
- Under 'security settings' and 'user registration' click on the registration option you require
- Scroll down and click on the update button
The settings are stored, click on the home page to view the changes.
I would suggest you test the registration by clicking on the register link and entering a test user to make sure it is working correctly.
If you have chosen the Verified option, make sure you have
set up the email options (In the Host Menu / Host Settings / Advanced Settings / SMTP Server Settings), so that DotNetNuke can email the verification code to you.
Where next?
To speed up the registration process, it's important to specify which fields you require, follow this tutorial:
Specifying the Required Fields when a user registers in a DotNetNuke portal