How to add clients to your portals (updated)
When you add a client to Client Portal, you're creating a WordPress user with the 'CP Client' role who can log in and view the portals you assign to them. All portals are private by default—only logged-in administrators and assigned clients can see them.
This guide covers adding brand new clients to your site. If you already have WordPress users (like Subscribers, WooCommerce Customers, or Authors) and want to give them portal access, see Adding existing WordPress users to Client Portal.
Clients log in at yourwebsite.com/client-portal-login using their username and password. If they have one portal, they'll go straight to it. Multiple portals? They'll see a dashboard to choose from.
Video walkthrough:
Adding a new client manually
This is the standard way to add clients when you want full control over their account and portal settings.
Step 1: Navigate to Add New User
In your WordPress dashboard, go to Users → Add New User.
Step 2: Fill in basic user details
Enter their:
Username (required) – This is how they'll log in
Email address (required) – Must be unique; you'll get an error if it's already taken
First Name, Last Name (optional but recommended) – Makes emails more personal
If you see "Email address already taken," that user already exists on your site. You'll need to edit their existing account and change their role to CP Client instead.
Step 3: Set the role to CP Client
This is the most critical step. In the Role dropdown, select CP Client.
As soon as you select this role, new Client Portal fields will appear below.
Need your client to have multiple roles (like CP Client AND Subscriber)? See Adding existing WordPress users to Client Portal to learn how to use the HM Multiple Roles plugin.
Step 4: Add organization (optional)
The Organization field lets you record your client's company name. This is stored with their user profile but isn't currently displayed in their portal dashboard or emails—it's purely for your reference.
Step 5: Create or assign a portal
You have two options here:
Option A: Create a new portal for this client
Under Create New Project, select either a template or an existing portal from the dropdown
Enter a title for the new portal (like "John's Website Project")
This creates a fresh portal with only this client assigned to it
You don't need templates set up to add clients. The dropdown shows both templates and regular portals—just pick any existing portal to use as a starting point, or create a blank one later and customize it.
Option B: Add them to an existing portal
Under Attach a Project, start typing the portal name
Select the portal from the dropdown
This adds the client to a portal that may already have other clients in it
You can assign clients to multiple portals later by editing the portal itself. Go to CP Portals, open the portal, expand Client Portal Settings, scroll to Client Accounts, and add users there.
Step 6: Configure email notification
Decide whether to send your new client an email about their account:
To send an email:
Make sure Send user notification is checked
Customize the Subject line if you want
Edit the email content using the WYSIWYG editor
Use template tags to pull in dynamic information:
{first_name}– Client's first name{username}– Their login username{set_password_url}– Link to set their password{login_url}– Link to the login page{portal_url}– Direct link to their portal{site_name}– Your website name
To skip the email:
Uncheck Send user notification. The user will be created but won't receive any notification.
Email issues? Common problems include: email not configured properly in WordPress (check your SMTP settings), spam filters catching the message, or the wrong template being selected in Client Portal → Notifications settings.
Step 7: Add the user
Click Add New User at the bottom. Your client is now created, their portal is assigned, and (if you chose to) their notification email is on the way.
Adding an existing user to a portal
If you've already created a user and want to add them to another portal:
Make sure their role is set to CP Client (go to Users → All Users, click their name, and check the Role field)
Navigate to CP Portals
Find the portal you want to add them to and click it
Click the CP Portal tab on the right side
Expand Client Portal Settings
Scroll down to Client Accounts
Start typing their name and select them from the dropdown
Click Update
Done! They now have access to that portal.
Troubleshooting common issues
Client Portal fields don't appear
Make sure you've selected CP Client as the role. The extra fields (Organization, Create New Project, etc.) only appear after you select this role.
Nothing in the Create New Project dropdown
The dropdown shows both templates and existing portals. If it's empty, you haven't created any portals yet. Create your first portal at CP Portals → Add New, then you'll be able to use it as a starting point for new client portals. Alternatively, use the Attach a Project option to add clients to portals after creating them.
Client didn't receive their email
Check these common issues:
Was Send user notification checked when you added them?
Is your WordPress site configured to send emails? Test with an SMTP plugin if you're not sure
Check spam folders
Verify the global notification settings at Client Portal → Notifications include "Client" as a recipient
Client can't log in
Make sure they're using the correct login URL: yourwebsite.com/client-portal-login (not the standard WordPress login). They'll need their username (or email) and password.
Client sees no portals after logging in
Confirm that:
You assigned them to at least one portal (either during user creation or by editing the portal)
Their role is set to CP Client
The portal is published (not in draft status)
Next steps
Now that your clients can access their portals, you might want to:
Customize their portal content and branding
Set up file upload areas for client submissions
Configure notification preferences so you know when clients interact with their portals
Create additional portal templates for different project types