Client Area Plugins for Your WordPress Website

client area wordpress plugins

If you’re a freelance creative or working within a development agency environment and looking for an integrated tool for project management, collaboration or support, these four free and premium plugin options are a great place to start.

 

WP Customer Area

WP Customer Area is a free client area solution focused on managing private content and file sharing. Current features include:

  • Secure customer area, with user access via log in
  • Private pages and files that can be assigned to particular users, and are only listed in the customer area
  • Private file grouping by category and year
  • Comments on private files and pages
  • Plugin appearance customization using your own themes and templates

WP Customer Area is available free via the WordPress Theme Directory, though premium plugin extensions and bundles are available via the website. Add-ons include:

  • Protect post types, to make external content private
  • Advanced custom fields integration to harness the power of ACF
  • Owner restrictions for enhanced publishing permissions and control
  • Conversations for private messaging
  • Managed groups for user groups run by managers

WHMCS Client Area for WordPress

Integrate orders, billing, support and and all other client management operations into WordPress with the WHMCS Client Area plugin via CodeCanyon. This integration is designed to provide your clients with a user-friendly and consistent customer experience, while offering full control over what you want to display.

Available for a regular license fee of just $28, WHMCS Client Area for WordPress works with any WP theme, is SEO friendly, and offers single sign ons for ease of use.

Top Article:  Best Google Analytics WordPress Plugins

WordPress Hide Admin Menu

Offering a user-friendly interface, WordPress Hide Admin Menu offers an easy way to create a simplified menu for your clients and users while hiding important information you don’t want to give them access to. Customizable by user role, all you need do is select from the checkboxes corresponding to menu items. Simple!

WordPress Hide Admin Menu is available for a regular license fee of just $29 from Code Canyon and is compatible with WordPress MultiSite.

Client Dash

Want to take control of your WordPress dashboard and improve the user experience for your clients? Client Dash is designed to do just that – offering a number of powerful features to simplify and customize your WP dashboard:

  • Customize the WordPress admin menu using the built in drag and drop menu system
  • Create new dashboard widgets with large buttons to direct users to these new pages
  • Restrict access to content on Client Dash pages for specific roles

Client Dash is available FREE via the WordPress Plugins Directory.

Nikki is a professional freelance writer and story teller with a passion for the web and technology. She writes for WP Dev Shed and amongst a roster of other clients.

479 thoughts on “Client Area Plugins for Your WordPress Website

  1. Kesh says:

    Hi Charles,

    I need to setup a student login portal. On this portal, a student must be able to create their profile, and submit and application online along with dosuments. Thereafter, they must be able to logon and edit info as required, and also be able to see the status of their application (basically application received, processing, accepted, declined, etc)

    1. Hi Kesh, I think you might want to look at something like WP-Members which allows you to create custom registration forms (with whatever fields you need). What it doesn’t do is have the concept of application status, so you might be looking at some customization. This isn’t especially complicated though. I’d recommend finding a local WP developer yo ucan sit down with to map out the user flow and features you need and encapsulate this in your own plugin.

  2. Olanrewaju Omoyele says:

    Hi Charles, Great job. Please i want to create an investment wordpress website where users can add fund to their account, and on their individual dashboard, they can see the fund and the expected return. Please what theme or plugin can i use. Your help is highly appreciated.

    1. Hi Olanrewaju, based on your description I would think that WP Customer Area might suffice for this. It offers all the client access and management features and they have a Stripe payment gateway extension which would allow you to accept deposits to the user account, though of course the payment gateway charges a transaction fee so you’d need to take this into account.

      I presume however that you would also need a way to share information about actual returns and have a process for paying out to clients etc. Those features you would need to figure out exactly what is required. Also, as I have mentioned many times, security for any kind of application involving money like this is super important. Even large financial institutions are hacked sometimes so ensuring your site is fully secure needs to be a top priority. My recommendation is to find a local developer you can work with to implement your requirements and also to work through all the security issues…making sure the server is secure and properly firewalled, as well as the application running the site. To me this is likely to be the hardest (and most important part) of your site build.

  3. Emma says:

    Hi Charles

    I’m looking into a possible WordPress site/plugin for selling a service. Functionality wise I would need an agent/s login area where a profile would be set up for the available service but also for a customer to be able to see whether that agent is online and available and free to chat.

    For the customer side of things, they would need to be able login and be able to see a balance on their account, transactions and also a payment system to purchase a service.

    Is there anything out there like this or am I looking down the customisation route?

    Thanks.

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Emma, I’m not sure it is exactly what you have in mind, but your description of requirements reminds me of the App Themes Taskerr theme. It is a marketplace theme to connect customers and service providers. Is this close, or have I misunderstood the requirements?

  4. David says:

    Hi Charles,

    I have a client that runs a home center/hardware store and they want a client area where contractors who have accounts with them can log in and see information like their credit limit, amount they have spent, amount due, job name, and be able to make payments.

    I haven’t had any luck finding a plugin that suits those needs. Do you know of anything?

    Thanks.

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi David, it’s fair to say that most of the client area style plugins cater more to those digital/agency style businesses rather than regular retail stores. You certainly could use something like WP Customer Area to manage client login etc, but then how to manage all that information related to their account etc.

      Presumably the client doesn’t want to manually manage all that in a separate website backend, so the question is can you integrate it with their existing order management and accounting system so it is automatically updated and reflects the business that the contractors are doing with them. This would almost certainly require a lot of custom development.

      One other question, do the contractors order everything online or on site? If they order it all online then what you might be looking for is a WooCommerce plugin that allows for customers to order everything online on credit. This plugin apparently will have this feature in the future: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wholesale-customers-for-woo/

      Hope that helps in some way.

      1. David says:

        Thanks Charles.

        The business is strictly a brick and mortar store. No online sales at all.

        I feel like my client wants something more like a credit card or loan account for their customers.

        I had a feeling custom development would be the route.

        Thank again.

  5. AppJetty says:

    Thank for this article, it seems to be really useful!

  6. eduthem says:

    Dear Charles,
    Please help me findout a wordpress plugin where I can collect data of an institute from the users (Name, Address……,.,.,, some pictures, links and place them in institute profile.

    The institutes could by seen as directory listing, may be searched with name, place or category and profile is shown to public when asked for the same.

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi, does the Connections plugin come close to what you need?

  7. Isaac says:

    Hi Charles

    I need a plugin for Member Area where members/clients can have an account, be able to login or register, have a client Dashboard where they can be able to invest through EFT and Paypal. Be able to upload documents (PDF/JEPG format). Admin should be able to see and manage progress of investment.

    Is the any plugin or plugins for this?

    Thanks in Advance

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Isaac, something like WP Customer Area would handle the client access management as well as providing each client their own place to upload docs etc which the admin can access and share information back to the client. The part I’m not sure about is what you mean by “invest through EFT and PayPal” and “manage progress of investment”…what kind of investment are you talking about? Is the client buying something from a catalog of options, or subscribing to make regular deposits, or something else. And what do you mean by the Admin managing progress of investment? Are they uploading docs, or is there some kind of marketplace information that needs to be shared?

      I would also say that if you are talking about financial investments and securities of some kind then you need to take security very very seriously, and should employ a security expert to assess your hosting as well as the application to ensure it is properly secured.

      1. Isaac says:

        Thanks Charles

        subscribing to make regular deposits and documents upload

        1. charles Charles says:

          OK, so I would look at WP Customer Area and the plugin extensions they offer to see if they can provide the functionality you need. In particular the Stripe payment gateway extension I think would enable subscription based payments.

  8. Chris Brown says:

    In advance, thank you for your posts. I am looking for a wordpress plugin that will allow me to share/communicate privately with my clients. Each client page needs to be private and encrypted. There also needs to be a way to add or remove or automatically block users if they cancel their subscription.
    Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks, Chris

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Chris, have you looked at WP Customer Area (link above), and all the extensions they offer? I think it would provide what you are looking for.

  9. Richard Adem says:

    Hello charles.
    iThank you for the good work you are doing here i am looking for a plugin which will enable me build an online banking platform where users have to login to view their bank statements

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Richard, I’m not aware of any plugins designed for this purpose specifically. I can say that I always get nervous when people talk about building sites on top of WordPress that are intended to handle sensitive personal or financial data such as bank records. WordPress is an amazing platform and can be used for a great many things, but I am not sure it is really suitable for situations like this where security is absolutely paramount. Because WordPress is so widely used it is a popular target for hackers, and unless you have a great deal of experience and skill in securing and maintaining the security of a website I think you are asking for trouble building on a platform like WordPress. If you are building a banking platform I really think you should be engaging with a development company that can build something bespoke and with the necessary security measures in place.

  10. Lonice says:

    Hello, I need a plugin so I can provide courses for students. for example: I have course A and course B. I need a client to access only course A and not course B. That is, I can release which course my student can see. Can you help me?

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Lonice, sounds like you need a Learning Management System (LMS). Check out this previous comment for some links.

  11. I need a portal that allows a customer to create a profile and be able to track all of the orders that they have placed through the website. This portal would communicate the purchase, track the process of where the order stands, and more importantly, offer a ‘document locker’ where they can view uploads on each order (i.e. copy of a passport or travel visa).

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Aaron, for your use case I would take a look at Easy Digital Downlaods: https://easydigitaldownloads.com – combined with the Custom Deliverables extension I think this would achieve what you are looking for: https://easydigitaldownloads.com/downloads/custom-deliverables/ – they also have a few other extensions which might suit your needs.

      One thing I would add is that security will be very important in a business like yours. When you are dealing with passports and visa documentation you must ensure that your server and site is properly secured to keep all your customers documents safe. You may want to find a local developer who can help you ensure everything is right.

  12. chaz says:

    Hi Charles,

    I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction please…

    My client has a wordpress website and they are now looking to introduce a private customer login area.
    They would like to:
    – give each client a login username and password
    – remove client access when they terminate contract
    – be able to upload and download files as and when required
    – be able to access a library of documents/templates etc.
    – search for a file by keyword

    Please advice thanks

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Chaz, I’d definitely go with the WP Customer Area plugin (linked above). It can do all those things and more (like private chat) with the range of extensions they also offer.

  13. Joe says:

    Hey Charles,

    Is there a plugin to allow my customers to sell my products? I have a woo commerce store and want to allow people to sell my product via drop ship. Kind of like these shops that give you a couple bucks for selling your shirt designs. You create the shirt, with your design, people go into their site and buy it, they print it up and ship it, you get $2. Can I do that same thing, except they sell my products and I give them $2.

    Thank you!!

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Joe, do you mean like an affiliate program, where you can give people (your customers) a unique link and when people click through on that link you can track any sales back to them and reward with a commission? There are a couple of great affiliate extensions for WooCommerce. Or did you mean something else?

  14. Alex says:

    Hey Charles, I’m impressed of your friendly support to all of us, thx for that!

    I’d like to add a restricted member area to my homepage. For my idea, every member has to be differentiated. That means that customer A sees/ gets different information through a PHP widget then customer B. (So not the classical membership gold, silver, bronze thing)

    The PHP widget grabs the information for every customer from a database on another server.

    What I am searching is a restricted area plugin which gives me the power to differentiate every customer and integrate that into my divi homepage.

    I’d be more than happy if you could help me solve this problem!

    Thx

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Alex, If I understand correctly you want a section of your homepage which will display content only to logged in members, and the specific content displayed is unique to the specific member. I also understand that the information about each member comes from a different server, not your local WordPress installation, correct? If I understand the requirements correctly then you are certainly looking at some custom development. I can’t think of any off-the-shelf plugins which enable this kind of functionality, particularly the connection with a remote database of customer information. One thing I’m not clear about is whether the custom access needs to be controlled by the remote server or if access can be managed locally? If it can be done locally then you could use WP Customer Area to manage access and then you’ll just need to develop the component that connects to the remote server to pull in the content required.

      In any event, this sounds like a fairly involved project. My recommendation would be to find a local develop you can sit down with face to face and really dive deep into the exact requirements. If you have experience with development you might be able to do this with a remote developer, but if you don’t have this experience I think it is better to work with someone you can meet with in person. Remote projects add another level of complexity.

  15. Samuel says:

    Hi friend
    Please do you any wp plugin that allow me to create platform where my visitors can pay to register for an earning program on my site and make money from downline who buy same package with their referrer link and me the web admin can be able see everybody so I can be able to pay them

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Samuel, I’ve not looked into this type of use case before so I don’t have any specific recommendations sorry. I gather you mean like a multi-level referral marketing program?

  16. Freed says:

    Hey Charles hope you can help me,

    Im looking to create a website lis like and uber site but for cleaning homes ie: hux.com

    Is basically outsourcing services for a niche market (home cleaning)

    I would like to have sign up forms for both customers and workers (cleaning)
    Present the customers with different service packages where he/she can choose from and set-up a one time appointment or recurring.

    I will be contacting worker via email regarding the appointment (or if this can be automacally)

    Worker dashboard will have pending appointments etc.

    As an admin I would like to be able to at least cancel account if terms of services are broken.

    Is there a theme available? can it be done ?

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Freed, I’m not aware of a plugin or theme that does exactly what you have described. I am reminded of the Taskerr theme from App Themes which does some of what you are after, though I wouldn’t described it as “Uber” like.

  17. Martijn says:

    Hi! I’m looking for a client login for a custom clothing (prints) company for clients who want to place a new order of an existing product.

    The client needs to be able to:
    – log in
    – access a table with his unique specifications and prices of each product (prices are different for each client)
    – put down the number of items he want to order in this table
    – place the order (with a download/pdf of the order sent to the admin’s e-mailadres and his own e-mailadres)
    – Check his order history (if possible with a field providing the delivery date).

    Thanks in advance!

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Martijn, the simplest approach may be to use something like WP Customer Area to manage access to specific parts of the site and then create WooCommerce product categories specific to each customer. The products in these categories then can only be accessed by the specific customer and all the products in the category will be specific to them. Using WooCommerce of course you can also have all the payments online and all the order history etc will be managed in the usual way. With WooCommerce you can of course set any required product specifications and there are many plugins available to extend product data in any conceivable way. Would this work?

      BTW, in thinking about this I was reminded of this plugin for print shops that want to provide their customers with online product design features. Maybe interesting.

  18. Dwayne says:

    Hi Charles

    I am looking to build a website that has a landing page with a bit of info on it with a login and register form and for visitors to view the rest of the website they will need to login or register.

    Any idea on the best way to achieve this?

    Thanks in advance

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Dwayne, I think what you describe is a membership site. Check out our post on how to set up a members site: https://wpdevshed.com/members-only-on-your-wordpress-website/

  19. yomi says:

    Hi Charles,

    Yes, i mean several clients/vendors get subscribed/registered on the website and they have their space to upload their products and people can buy.

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Yomi, I think what you want is a multi-vendor version of WooCommerce. WooCommerce themselves offer an extension which adds multi-vender functionality. and the YITH Multi-vender plugin is another popular option. Hope that helps.

  20. Happy says:

    you are the best

    please if I want to create a school website that i will upload the report-sheet and the students will be able to check their results online using WordPress, which plugin is the best

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Happy, WP Customer Area would work for this, but if you are talking about a school maybe you should look at one of the popular learning management systems for WordPress…they offer a wide range of features to support online learning. I made a comment about these earlier here.

  21. Yomi says:

    Hi Charles,,
    Weldone first of all.

    I am looking for a plugin that will make clients create their profile and also upload pictures.

    Once they have their pictures uploaded, people can view the website and shop for products on their respective sub pages

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Yomi, I’m not clear what you mean. When you say that you want your clients to upload pictures, do you mean products which site visitors can then buy?

  22. Jake Taylor says:

    Hey Charles,
    I’ve been searching high and low for wp plugin to use for a membership portal. It’s for a local Merchants Association. I want people to be able to join from a specific form page, where they enter details like “name” “phone number” “e-mail address” “business name” “business type” and “description of business” and then specific info..mainly “business name” and “description of business” is auto generated on specific pages according to their “business type” (ex..restaurant, boutique, health & beauty). Then the members will be able to login to a portal where they can update information and possibly upload photos or add social media links. We will also be charging specific membership levels based on benefits of those levels, so if it’s possible to add a drop down input field with levels and payment options included that would be amazing. Any suggestions? Long time front end developer btw, and I’m in awe with your knowledge on this subject. Thanks in advance for any help.

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Jake, what you describe sounds like a pretty standard business directory type function which may be supported by one of the popular directory plugins rather than a membership plugin. Have you looked at any of the plugins like the aptly named Business Directory Plugin? There are also many other free and paid options around. If I have missed the point let me know.

  23. Sonja says:

    Hi,
    Iv been building client portal using WP Client however I need to enable enquiries i.e client to submit query and get specific data as result and than depending on permissions to be able to modify/add data. Is there any plug in that could do this?

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Sonja, can you be more specific, e.g. what do you mean by “submit query and get specific data as a result”?…do you mean they make some selections from a form and the page returns data from a database on your site or some 3rd party? Or is this data emailed to them? What kind of data, and how is that populated in the first instance?

      I have a feeling that this would be a custom development job, but some more details would help to figure out if there is anything off-the-shelf that might get you some of the way there.

  24. Ambali Oluwasina says:

    I love all your responses to your blog. Let me pick your brains a bit.

    I am building a website that requires users to be awarded Points.
    I have been able to do this with Mycred
    Inside this website, Users need to fill a form that the points awarded can be used. I need a plugin that can automatically deduce the points awarded whenever the user is filling the form.
    Also, I need a plugin that can award commission based on the form filled and award referral based on amount up to the fourth generation.

    Thanks

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Ambali,I’m not aware of any plugins that can do all that out of the box. It really does sound like a custom development job. The good news is that myCred has a comprehensive API so you should be able to build the functions you need to extend myCred to meet your needs.

  25. Andy says:

    Hi Charles, this thread is incredible – good job!

    I would like to wrack your brain if I may.

    I have a site where I need the landing page/home page to be unique to each user (it will display a specific list of woocommerce products for ordering – created via essential grids). The number of users may be quite high so can’t define by role or membership band.

    I can’t seem to find any plugins that allow me to do this without bolting on lots of other unnecessary options. I have tried peters login redirect and that works for the initial login (via a custom login page), but then the users url paths revert back to the standard homepage defined by the theme.

    Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Andy, when you say the list of Woocommerce products needs to be unique for each user, is it literally bespoke for each user or are there groups of users which will see the same list, and how do you plan to manage the list for each user…or do you need a solution that will handle that too?

  26. Mtepele says:

    Hi Charlie, thank you so much for the tips, you are doing a great job. My question is, can you start by revising this website “www.superprof.co.uk”, in which a visitor(student) is able to see what is being offered by a teacher(tutor), but in order to get in touch with the tutor, the student must make a registration as well as payment. After finishing the registration and payment processes, both email and sms are sent to the tutor so that he/she gets in touch with the student. Which plugins should I use. Thanks in advance.
    Mtepele

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Mtepele, I’m not aware of any plugins that work exactly as you describe, but you might take a look at the Taskerr or Hirebee themes from Appthemes. They might get you closer to the funnctionality you want. I’d also browse Themeforest for app themes designed to support tutoring sites, or Codecanyon for plugins like Minorah.

      1. Mtepele says:

        Thank you so much Charlie, let me work on your suggestions and will let you know. Stay blessed.

  27. Nico says:

    Hi Charles, thanks for providing such great support ! Here’s my question: I’m a coach and I would like my customers to be able to fill out a personal online intake form and online evaluation form. It would be great if the forms could placed in a private customer area on my WP website.

    Hope you can give me some good advice…

    Nico.

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Nico, are your users paying subscribers for your service? If so have you considered using one of these membership solutions which can also handle all the online billing and access etc. Your could configure the signup form to include the specific fields you require, or you could make the signup form very simple, but once signed up and logged in you could present them with a comprehensive evaluation form, using Gravity forms or Ninja Forms to power that easily enough. Make sense?

  28. Sam says:

    Hi Charles,

    I am wondering if you can give me some advice.

    I am weighing up purchasing either wp customer area or wp-client. Both has pros and cons but wanted to get your advice on which you think is the best way to go?

    I need to create a service-desk website for the maintenance and facilities management side of my business (shop-fitting). I would like my clients to be able to login to their individual stores with their own private webpage that gives them the following:

    Essentially it needs to provide a space for each store to log in and it bring up their current records for the stores:

    1) Copies of all current certification (stored on the cloud I guess)
    2) Daily/weekly/monthly checks that they can tick/sign to confirm that they have been done
    3) Calendar showing dates of next inspections
    4) Request raising (email) tab and maintenance tracking

    Then we want a management level that we can access all the stores for us to download information and give to the senior team, where we can check on everyone’s status and track what still needs doing.

    Its important the stores can link to stored files/documents so that we can upload their latest reports.

    I would really appreciate your feedback.

    Thanks in advance,
    Sam

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Sam, I am a big fan of WP Customer Area, and I would be inclined to start with WP Customer area, though I think you may need to do some custom development.

      1. Copies of all certification, easily done with built in plugin functionality
      2. I’m not sure exactly what this needs to look like, but it sounds like something you could achieve using Gravity Forms or Ninja Forms to capture confirmations that checks have been completed.
      3. You could embed a Google calendar for each client (they all get their own pages so this is easy). Or you could use something like The Events Calendar plugin.
      4. This is likely to be the hardest part as neither plugin has a built in request raising/tracking feature. You could try incorporating something like WP Helpdesk and making it accessible only to logged in customers.

      I hope that helps in someway. Cheers.

  29. Julia says:

    Hi Charles, I was wondering if you could help with the following.

    I’d like to make a membership site where people login with their details and get a calendar which they populate with their important dates (only the individual and myself would see this calendar). For each important date they input there would also be a pop-out (out of the calendar maybe) for extra comments, etc. I would then (possibly, not necessarily) like to see all of the members’ dates nicely organized in one big calendar for myself (to keep a track of them).

    Wondering how difficult it would be to do this for a professional and whether you could suggest any specific theme or plugin for me to try and tackle it myself?

    Thanking you in advance!

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Julia, is this for clients to book time with you? In which case the calendar for each client would need to be aware of the other bookings so not to double book. Or are all the calendars independent and specific to the user? If it is a booking application then there are a number of booking specific plugins like Checkfront and Booking Calendar. If it is another application then you could try one of the many calendar plugins for WordPress, but you’ll probably need to customize them to support unique calendars for specific users which I’d describe as non-trivial.

  30. Des says:

    Hi Charles,

    I have built a website for a customer. I would like them to have access only to posts and pages so they can add content and media and upload documents and delete it but no access to anything else to safeguard the website. How do I accomplish this?

    1. charles Charles says:

      Hi Des, this is actually pretty easy. There are a number of plugins which let you control what access different user roles have, the most popular is User Role Editor which is free (though they do have a Pro version). Hope that helps.

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