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Adam Greenwell

Login Screen Customization

Login Screen Customization styles the native WordPress login experience: wp-login.php, your Guard Dog custom login URL, password reset screens, 2FA challenge screens, password-expired screens, and other login-flow states.

Use this when you want the standard WordPress login flow to feel branded and less default. Use Frontend Login Form when you want to embed a login form inside a normal page.

Where to Find It

Go to Guard Dog -> Appearance -> WordPress Login Screen.

The Appearance page also links to the Access Denied page customizer and Email Templates customizer.

What You Can Customize

Status

Enable or disable custom login styling. When disabled, Guard Dog leaves WordPress login styling alone.

Branding

Customize:

  • Logo image
  • Logo width and height
  • Logo link URL
  • Logo screen-reader text
  • Spacing below the logo

In Site Theme, choose Show site theme header, Show site theme footer, or both. Both options are off by default and require Enable custom login styling.

Theme header and footer integration requires WordPress 6.2 or later. On older supported WordPress versions, these two controls are disabled and the ordinary customized login layout remains available. Previously saved header/footer selections take effect once WordPress supports the feature.

The header brings your site's branding and navigation above the login form. The footer appears below the form, language selector, and any custom footer text. Your existing logo and form styling still apply inside the login area.

Classic themes use their header.php and footer.php templates. Block themes use the header and footer template parts, including saved Site Editor changes; when those names are absent, Guard Dog uses a part assigned to the corresponding header or footer area. Page-builder headers and footers need to be exposed through those theme templates to appear here.

The customizer's form preview shows labeled placeholders for the theme sections. Save Changes, then select Open saved login page to see your actual theme. Check desktop and mobile navigation in a private browser window. Theme integration also appears on your custom login URL and native password-reset and Guard Dog authentication screens. WordPress's small reauthentication popup stays compact.

Theme scripts and styles load on this page, so the theme can affect its appearance. If a theme relies on a specific page template or shared layout wrapper, its spacing may need an adjustment. Turn either option off to return that section to the standard login layout.

Page Background

Customize:

  • Background color
  • Background image
  • Background overlay color and opacity
  • Top spacing for the login panel

Form Container

Customize:

  • Form width
  • Padding
  • Background color
  • Text color
  • Border color
  • Border radius
  • Shadow

Fields and Button

Customize the look of inputs, focus states, the primary login button, and hover/focus colors.

Content and Links

Add optional helper text above the form and footer text below the login screen. Basic HTML is allowed in message fields where the customizer allows it.

State Messages

Add specific helper text for:

  • Lost password
  • Password reset
  • 2FA challenge
  • Required 2FA setup
  • Expired password

This is a good place to explain company login rules without stuffing a support essay into the main form.

Notices and Errors

Style notice and error surfaces without changing the security message itself.

Customize or hide helper links around the form:

  • Support link text and URL
  • Lost password link text
  • Privacy link text
  • Back to site link text
  • Hide lost password link
  • Hide registration link
  • Hide back to site link
  • Hide privacy link
  • Hide language switcher
  1. Upload a logo that works on light and dark backgrounds.
  2. Set the logo link to your homepage or account help page.
  3. Add a short support link such as "Need help signing in?"
  4. Add state-specific messages for 2FA and expired passwords if your site enforces them.
  5. Preview on desktop, tablet, and mobile.
  6. Test the real login flow in a private browser window.

What This Does Not Change

Login Screen Customization does not change:

  • Who can log in
  • Whether CAPTCHA appears
  • Whether 2FA is required
  • Whether passkeys or social login are enabled
  • The embedded frontend login form shortcode/block

Those features are controlled by their own Guard Dog settings.

Troubleshooting

I do not see my changes

Make sure Enable custom login styling is checked. Then clear page cache if your host caches login pages, which is unusual but not impossible.

The embedded login page did not change

The login screen customizer affects the native WordPress login flow. For embedded page forms, adjust Guard Dog -> Authentication -> Frontend Login Form and the shortcode/block attributes.

The logo is distorted

Adjust logo width and height in the Branding section. Use an image with enough resolution for the maximum size you choose.

Check the Action Links section. The customizer can hide lost password, registration, back-to-site, privacy, and language switcher links.

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