Are you thinking of setting up passwordless authentication in your WordPress website? If yes, then this article is for you. Below we have shared the exact process to set up the passwordless authentication in your WordPress, and we have also shared a few best plugins for the task.
In today’s world of digitization, we see different types of login systems, including 2-Factor Authentication, Fingerprint Login, and Face ID Authentication, in various applications we use in our day-to-day lives.
But WordPress is quite outdated in terms of the login system. We still need to type Login & Password to get into the WordPress admin panel, but now you can use 2-Factor Authentication, Fingerprint Login, and Face ID Authentication in WordPress by installing a third-party plugin.
There are lots of plugins out there that help you with passwordless authentication. Below in this article, we have shared the step-by-step instructions, follow the instructions carefully to be done with it.
What is Passwordless Authentication? Is it Right for You?
Well, passwordless authentication is the way of authentication where you don’t need to type Login ID and Password. Rather than that, you can log in using Fingerprint, Face ID, or using the one-time link you get through Email or SMS.
Passwordless authentication is relatively faster and secure than a traditional login system. It is more secure because if you are using a traditional login system, the hackers can try to find your password using a brute force attack.
If you are using passwordless authentication, the attacker needs to steal your device to get into your website. It is tough; that’s why passwordless authentication is more secure than a traditional login system.
How to Add Passwordless Authentication to Your WordPress Site?
Not sure how to activate the passwordless authentication on your WordPress website? Here i’m sharing step-by-step guide through which you can add this option in your website.
1. Passwordless Authentication Using Passwordless WP (Fingerprint Login, and Face ID)
Passwordless WP is one of the best and most used passwordless authentication plugins for WordPress. This plugin will help you replace the standard WordPress authentication system with Fingerprint or Face ID authentication, which is way more secure and easy to use.
This free plugin uses special Authentication APIs called WebAuthn, which W3C and FIDO write. This API enables web servers to register and authenticate users with the help of public-key cryptography rather than a password.
Talking about the working of this plugin, Passwordless WP does not store any data. It uses the data provided by the device to authenticate whether the person trying to log in is recognized or not. The plugin will only store a token that is useless without physical access to the device.
Follow the below instructions carefully to set up passwordless authentication in your WordPress website using Passwordless WP.
First, you need to install Passwordless WP on your WordPress website. First of all, you need to log in to your WordPress website. For that, open your favourite browser and go to your website “/wp-admin,” enter the correct Login ID and Password, then click on the blue Login button, you will be redirected to the WordPress admin area.
Now you will find the option as Plugin on the left side of your screen. Hover over the Plugin option >> then click on Add New; you will be redirected to the WordPress plugin repository. Search for Passwordless WP; once you get the plugin, click on “Install and Activate” the plugin.
By installing and activating the plugin, you have done the half work. Now you need to set up the plugin correctly and register your token to enable passwordless authentication in your WordPress website.
To begin with, the configuration, click on Add credentials showing below the Passwordless WP. You can also go to Users >> Profile >> Passwordless Login Credentials. As soon as you click on Add credentials options, you will be redirected to the configuration page, from where you can register a token for passwordless authentication.
Click on the “Register Token” button. Currently, I am using Macbook, and my laptop has a fingerprint sensor, so here I am getting the option to use fingerprint as the password. The authentication options may be different for you.
Note: Passwordless WP authentication options entirely depend upon which device and which operating system you are using. If your laptop has the feature of Fingerprint or Face ID, then you can use it for WordPress authentication.
Now is the time to verify yourself using the authentication method you have chosen. Once you have done verification, the success message will display on your screen as Passwordless credentials are added. You can go back to your profile by clicking on the “Go to My Profile” button.
Done, you have now successfully added passwordless authentication to your WordPress website. Now, whenever you try to log in to your website, you will find a new option as passwordless login. You can use it to log in to your website.
2. Passwordless Authentication Using Passwordless Login (Temporary Login Link)
Passwordless Login is another best plugin that allows you to integrate passwordless login authentication to your WordPress website. This plugin will create a temporary authentication token and save it in a WordPress transient that will expire in the next 10 minutes.
The user will receive the email with a link and token, and when the user clicks on the login link, the authorization code will be sent to the servers. After that, servers check if the code is valid, the plugin will create WordPress cookies to authenticate the user login successfully.
Follow the below instructions carefully to set up passwordless login using the Passwordless Login plugin.
The process to set up passwordless authentication using the Passwordless Login plugin begins with installing the plugin. To install the plugin, you need to log in to your WordPress website. Open any web browser and go to your website’s “/wp-admin” page, enter the correct Login ID and Password, then click on the Login button.
Once you successfully log in to your website, go to “Plugin >> Then click on Add Plugin” and search for Passwordless Login, click on Install and then Active the plugin. To configure the plugin, Go to “Users >> Passwordless Login“. From here, you can easily configure the plugin entirely.
The Passwordless authentication option is now activated on your website, but you can not use it through your standard login URL. You need to create a separate page for it. Go to “Page >> Click on Add New and paste shortcode “[Passwordless-login]” on it“, plugin the page, and the URL of this page is your new login URL.
There is no need to create a page. Wherever you add the shortcode, you will get the option to log in to your WordPress website over there. You can add this shortcode in the WordPress widget area also.
Now the question arises, what happens to your existing login URL? It will remain as it is. You can hide this page for additional security. Click here to know how to hide the WordPress login URL.
Best Passwordless Authentication Plugins
When it comes to the best plugin to set up passwordless authentication in WordPress, you are loaded with many options. Below we have shared a few best plugins which you can use.
1. iThemes Security:
iThemes Security is the freemium security plugin that provides you with a wide range of advanced security options, including brute force detection, database backups and blacklisting. The premium version of this plugin comes with a passwordless authentication option in which, at the time of login, you need to click on the link sent over your email.
The premium version of this plugin will cost you around $80 per year for one website, it is a little bit costly, but the plugin is worthed its price as it comes with tons of advanced security options.
2. Loginizer:
Loginizer also offers you passwordless authentication features. You will only get it in the premium version of this plugin. The passwordless authentication system works simply that you will get a one time login link on your registered email; what you have to do is to click on the link, and you will be logged in automatically.
Talking about the pricing of Loginizer, this plugin will cost you $24 per year. If you own multiple websites, then you can go with the upper plans, which will cost you around $40,$90 and $150 for 2,10 and 100 websites, respectively.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Still, have doubts? Here I’m sharing a few FAQs which are generally asked by our readers…
Q. Is Passwordless Authentication More Secure Than a Traditional Login System?
Yes, in all aspects, passwordless authentication is more secure than a traditional authentication system because it can not be hacked using a Brute Force attack. The only way hackers can hack passwordless authentication is by stealing your devices, which is practically impossible.
Q. Which is the Best Passwordless Authentication Plugin?
All the passwordless authentication plugins are best. But we recommend you to use Passwordless WP if you want to use Face ID or Fingerprint for authentication, and you use Passwordless Login if you want to login through unique links sent on your Email at the time of login.
Q. Is Passwordless Authentication the Future?
Yes, according to us, passwordless authentication is the future of login authentication. Soon, you will find it in all the web and smartphone applications as the primary authentication system.
In the future, WordPress can officially update its login authentication system and replace it with passwordless authentication. There is no doubt that passwordless authentication is the future.
Q. How do I Turn Off Passwordless Authentication?
You can turn off passwordless authentication at any time. What you have to do is just deactivate the plugin, and you are done. After deactivating the plugin, you have used for passwordless authentication, you can typically log in using the Login and Password.
Final Words
Done, that’s how you can set up passwordless authentication in WordPress. Talking about the plugins we have shared above, we have personally tested all those plugins and they are working perfectly.
We highly recommend you enable passwordless authentication on your website. It will enhance the security of your site. If you still have any questions, you can ask us in the comment section below.
We hope this article about setting up passwordless authentication in WordPress is helpful to you. Do share this content on social media if you find it helpful for you in any manner.
