Troubleshooting

The forgot password link is not working on the Client Portal login page

If the forgot password link isn't working for you or your clients, this guide will help you diagnose and fix the most common issues. Work through each section based on the symptoms you're experiencing.

Issue 1: The reset email never arrives

This is the most common problem. Your client clicks "Lost your password?", submits their email, sees a confirmation message, but no email arrives.

Check spam folders first

Reset emails often get flagged as spam. Have your client check their spam, junk, and promotions folders for an email with the subject "[Your Site Name] Password Reset".

Test if WordPress is sending emails

Client Portal uses WordPress's built-in email system. If WordPress can't send emails, password resets won't work.

  1. Go to WP Admin > Clients > Settings > Notifications

  2. Select any notification type from the dropdown

  3. Click "Send Test Notification"

  4. Check if the test email arrives in your inbox

If the test email doesn't arrive, WordPress email is broken on your site. This affects all password resets, not just Client Portal.

Many hosting providers block PHP mail by default to prevent spam. This breaks WordPress email functionality.

Fix WordPress email delivery

Install an SMTP plugin to force WordPress to send emails through a reliable mail server:

  1. Install WP Mail SMTP or Post SMTP plugin

  2. Configure it with your email provider's SMTP settings (Gmail, SendGrid, Mailgun, etc.)

  3. Send a test email through the plugin

  4. Try the password reset again

If you're not sure how to set up SMTP, contact your hosting provider's support team. Most hosts offer SMTP services or can recommend settings.

Some users receive the password reset email, but it's missing the clickable link or shows a blank space where the link should be.

This was a bug in older versions of Client Portal that has been fixed. Update to the latest version to resolve this.

Update Client Portal

  1. Go to WP Admin > Plugins

  2. Find Client Portal in your plugin list

  3. If an update is available, click Update Now

  4. Test the password reset flow again

If you're already on the latest version and still see this issue, check your email client. Some older email programs don't render links properly. Ask your client to try viewing the email in a different email app or webmail interface.

Issue 3: Clicking the link does nothing or refreshes the page

Your client receives the email and clicks the reset link, but the page just refreshes or nothing happens.

Check if caching is interfering

Caching plugins and server-level caching often break login forms and password reset flows. The login page must be excluded from all caching.

Follow the complete caching exclusion instructions in Exclude Client Portal from cache. Pay special attention to excluding:

  • /client-portal-login/ (your login page URL)

  • Any URLs containing ?action=lostpassword or ?action=rp

  • Cookies starting with wp-resetpass

WP Engine hosting in particular disables most cookies by default for caching performance. You'll need to specifically request cookie exclusions from their support team.

WordPress permalink issues can prevent the password reset page from loading correctly.

  1. Go to WP Admin > Settings > Permalinks

  2. Don't change anything — just click Save Changes

  3. Try the password reset link again

Check for JavaScript conflicts

Temporarily disable other plugins one by one to see if a conflict is preventing the reset form from working. Start with:

  • Security plugins that modify login behavior

  • Custom login page plugins

  • JavaScript minification or optimization plugins

If you don't see the "Lost your password?" link on your login page at all, the login form might not be set up correctly.

Add the login form to your page

  1. Go to the page set as your Client Portal login page (usually /client-portal-login/)

  2. Edit the page in your WordPress editor

  3. Make sure the page contains either:

    • The [client_portal_login] shortcode, OR

    • The "Login Form" Gutenberg block

  4. Publish the page

The "Lost your password?" link appears automatically below the login form when it's properly inserted.

When your client clicks the reset link, they see a message like "Your password reset link appears to be invalid" or "Your password reset link has expired."

This is a WordPress security feature. If more than 24 hours have passed since requesting the reset, the link won't work. Your client needs to:

  1. Go back to the login page

  2. Click "Lost your password?" again

  3. Request a new reset email

  4. Use the new link within 24 hours

Caching can cause false "invalid" errors

If your client tries to use the link immediately and still gets an "invalid" error, this is usually a caching problem. See the caching section above and make sure cookies starting with wp-resetpass are excluded from your cache.

If you're using WP Engine or another managed host with aggressive caching, send them this message: "Our site uses Client Portal's forgot password function. It requires cookies named wp-resetpass-* to work on the login page at [your-site.com/client-portal-login/]. Can you exclude these cookies from caching?"

Still not working?

If you've tried all these solutions and password reset still isn't working:

  1. Test the standard WordPress password reset at yoursite.com/wp-login.php. If that doesn't work either, this is a WordPress or hosting configuration issue, not a Client Portal problem. Contact your hosting provider or a WordPress developer.

  2. Check your server error logs for PHP or mail errors. Your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, etc.) usually has an error log viewer.

  3. Contact Client Portal support with details about which solutions you tried and what error messages you're seeing.

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