I am pondering the login links for a few of the websites that I am helping set up. they have differing requirements and I am coming to the conclusion that one needs a different approach for each.
Wordpress currently puts the admin and login links in a meta data section in the sidebar (optional with the widgets) , and sometimes only on the home page (non-widgets). This stuff is irrelevant to most viewers and clutters up the sidebar. this may be ok if you have a busy home page anyway.
Other possible locations:
- Subtly in the header (perhaps top right hand), but accessible from every page (eg: ebay). This is a common approach for many websites with a largish subscriber or contributor base.
- In the footer (similar to the header idea).
- In the menu tree somewhere as a separate members area.
- On the home page only (sidebar usually).
- In the sidebar, not part of the menu.
- not visible anyway, one has to know the trailing url (eg /admin.php)
Who accesses the admin or login section?
The decision depends on who needs to access it.
- For a relatively inexperienced contributor base of many users, you probably want it to be as easy to find as possible. So the header is probably the best (or the footer as a second choice if the header option messes up your style).
- For an expert users one could go for a less visible approach, such as the menu option, or low down on the sidebar, or if you reduce it to a login link only, it could go higher up on the sidebar.
- If you are the only contributor, reasonably competent and have the admin page bookmarked anyway, then the invisible trailing url and you like a streamlined style.
Why a meta data section?
I do not like the largish meta data section. The people logging in are not the people or programs looking for the RSS feed - why create this unwieldy section? Put the RSS feeds in the footer if you must have them visible and keep the login clean.