The PoppyDog Registration System is a tool that you can use in your web site to enable your visitors to register and create an account with you. To use it, you can either simply insert the given widget into your web page or alternatively you can build your own registration system by using the individual links and code snippets provided. The Registration System is fully integrated with certain other PoppyDog tools such as ForumBoard Builder and Survey Builder. This integration means that you can, for example, configure your forum boards so that visitors must register with you first before being allowed to post messages. Once they have registered, members can create profiles and signatures.

How to put the Registration System in your web site

We provide a plugin widget, individual links and code snippets which can all be inserted into your web pages. Everything can be found on the 'Registration System' | 'URL/Code Paste' page. See the Illustrated Guide for examples and instructions on how to put the Registration System in your web site.

Validation of email addresses entered in the registration form

It is a good idea to make sure that users who register with you enter a valid email address. Anyone who genuinely wants to register with you will happily give you their email address. Hackers and spammers will not provide a genuine email address. The way the registration system confirms that the email address entered is genuine, is to send an email to the newly registered user. The email contains a link that the user must click on to confirm that they have received the email. Only when they have clicked on this link will their registration be allowed and their username and password become active. To configure your registration system to validate email addresses in this way go to the 'Members Area' | 'Registration System' | 'Configure' page and in the box labeled 'Choose type of registration approval/authentication' select the option 'Email sent to user for confirmation (ensures valid email address)'.

Manual approval of registrations

As well as validating email addresses in the manner described above, you can also choose to personally check new registrations to decide whether you want to accept the registrations or not. With this option, once a user has registered with you, their email address is validated. Once they have confirmed their email address an email is sent to you to tell you that someone has registered on your site and you need to approve or reject the registration. If you approve a registration, the registered user is emailed to tell them that their registration has been accepted and they can now log on. If you reject a registration the user is emailed and told that their registration has been rejected. To configure your registration system so that you can approve registrations in this way, go to the 'Members Area' | 'Registration System' | 'Configure' page and in the box labeled 'Choose type of registration approval/authentication:' select the option 'Registrations sent to me first for approval/rejection'. When you receive an email notifying you that a registration is awaiting your approval, you must go to the 'Members Area' | 'Registration System' | 'Approve Registrations' page. On this page you can browse through all the registrations which are awaiting approval and choose to approve or reject them.

The Members Directory

The Members Directory is a browsable list containing key public details of your registered members e.g. nicknames, email address, location etc. It allows your members to find other people who are registered with your site. If you'd rather keep the details of your registered users private, you can choose not to have to have a Members Directory. To do this you must go to the 'Members Area' | 'Registration System' | 'Configure' page and deselect the box labeled 'I want a Members Directory'

Features for your registered users

When your visitors register with your web site, they can create a personal profile and signature. They can also choose whether they want to be listed in your web sites Members Directory.

Profile
A profile consists of interesting personal details such as hobbies, interests, nationality etc. If you have configured your registration system to accept business registrations, then registered businesses can create a special business profile describing their business. A members profile or link to their profile is displayed in numerous locations such as alongside messages that they post in forum/message boards or in your web site Members Directory.

Editing a profile
A member can edit their profile by clicking on the 'Edit Profile' link which is located above the forum/message boards. You can also place an Edit Profile link any where you like on your web site. Instructions for creating this and other links can be found on the 'Registration System' | 'URL/Code Paste' page.

Signature
A signature is some text and (optionally) a characteristic image which a member can choose to add to the end of any messages they might post (e.g. in a forum board). A member can edit their signature by clicking on the 'Edit Profile' link (see 'Editing a profile' above).

Members Directory Entry
A member can choose not to be listed in your sites Members Directory. To do this they should click on the 'Edit Profile' link (see 'Editing a profile' above) and at the bottom of the edit page, they must deselect the box labeled 'List me in the Members Directory' .

Accessing the details of your Registered Members

You may browse through the details of all your registered members. You can choose to view only the key details (by going to the 'Members Area' | 'Registration System' | 'Quick Browse Users' page) or you can choose to view the full details (by going to the 'Members Area' | 'Registration System' | 'User Profiles' page). You can also view the full details of a registered member by browsing the key details first, and then clicking on the username in order to bring up the full details of that particular member.

Deleting Memberships

Deleting a membership means deleting a registration so that the membership is invalid and the person can no longer log on to your web site. There are numerous locations where you can choose to delete memberships. For example, you have the option of deleting memberships when you access the details of your registered members (see above). If you are using the ForumBoard Builder tool, you can also choose to delete memberships when you are moderating your forum. At the top of each message that is posted to a forum, you will see the 'Delete Membership' button. This is useful if you find that a particular member is posting messages that you find unacceptable and so you wish to terminate their membership so that they cannot post messages anymore.

Blocking Memberships

Sometimes you might want to put a block on a membership temporarily. This means that the member you have blocked can not log on to your site while the block remains. You can put a block on a membership in the same places that you can delete a membership (see above). Obviously after you have blocked a membership you can 'unblock' a membership!

Banning someone with a particular email address from registering

You can choose to ban people with a certain email address from registering with you. This is useful if you have previously deleted a membership and you do not want them to register with you again. Of course there is nothing to stop them registering with you again using a different email address, but there is a limit to how many valid email addresses a person will be bothered to have. This functionality is only useful if you ensure that email addresses in registrations are validated first for their authenticity.

How does the registration system improve the security of my web site and PoppyDog tools

Once someone registers with your site, they can be uniquely identified by their chosen username every time they log on. This means that you can control access to your web site and to the use of your PoppyDog tools.

Controlling access to your web site pages (login protected)

See the Illustrated Guide for examples and instructions.

Controlling access to PoppyDog tools

Example 1: When a visitor can be uniquely identified (by being made to log on), you can see exactly who is posting messages to your forums so that if you have someone who is being a nuisance, you can identify them by their username or nickname and then either delete their membership or temporarily block their membership so that they no longer have access to your forums.

Example 2: If you insist that someone has to log on first before voting, we can ensure that they only take part in the survey once by registering the vote against their username. The only other way to do this is to use cookies, but cookies may not be enabled in a visitors browser, and they can always be deleted.

Obtaining a list of email addresses

To obtain a list of the email addresses of your registered members (e.g. so that you can do a mailshot), go to page 'Members Area' | 'Registration System' | 'User Email List' and/or 'Members Area' | 'Registration System' | 'Business Email List'. On this page you will a list of all the email addresses of your registered members. If you want to ensure that the email addresses are valid then it is a good idea to configure the Registration System to validate the email address of all new members.

Subscriptions and Clubs

What is a subscription or club? (examples)

A subscription or club is a special subgroup of your registered members. When you create a club you can configure it so that it is either private, in which case only you (as admin) can determine who can belong to it, or you can make it public, in which case you can invite your members to subscribe to (join) the club if they wish.

Example 1
You may have some web pages that you only want the administrators of your web site to be able to view. Therefore you could create a club called administrators, make it private and then add all the usernames of the administrators to that club. Once you've done this you can insert the one line of javascript that we give you (see below) at the top of all your admin web pages. When visitors try and view the admin pages, if they are not members of your administrator group they will be denied access.

Example 2
Lets say that you have a newsletter. Before visitors can view the newsletter you want them to subscribe to it so that you know which of your members and how many of them are interested in the newsletter. Therefore you would create a club called 'newsletter' and make it public. Now you can add a link to your web site such as 'Subscribe to Newsletter'. When visitors click on this link they are are asked to log on (or register). Once they have done this their username is added to the 'newsletter' club. By creating a club like this you are able to retrieve the email addresses of all the members who have subscribed to the Newsletter (club) and then, for example, send them the newsletter. You can also retrieve all the email addresses of your members who have not subscribed to the Newsletter and then, for example, send them emails to tell them about the newsletter and invite them to subscribe to it. If the newsletter was online you could also insert the one line of javascript that we give you at the top of all your newsletter web pages. When visitors try and view the newsletter pages, if they are not members of your Newsletter club they will be denied access until they subscribe to it. On the denied access page, a link is provided inviting them to subscribe. Only when they have subscribed to your Newsletter can they proceed to view it.

Restricting access to web pages to only members of a club

Once you have created a club, to restrict access to a web page to only members of that club simply go to the Go to the 'Members Area'| Registration System' | 'Subscription and Clubs' page. Select the club from the list and go to the 'URL/Code Paste' page. On this page you will see the line of JavaScript that you can insert into the web page to protect it. As soon as you insert it into the web page, only visitors who are members of the club will be able to view the page.

Creating a 'Subscribe to ....' link

Once you have created a club and made it public you can insert a link into your web site inviting people to join the club or to subscribe to it e.g. a 'Subscribe to our Newsletter' link. Once you have created the club, go to the 'Members Area'| Registration System' | 'Subscription and Clubs' page. Select the club from the list and go to the 'URL/Code Paste' page. On this page you will see the URL that should be used when creating your 'Subscribe to' link. When visitors click on this link they will be asked to log on (or register) first. Once they have logged on their details will be added to the club.

Restricting access to a forum board to members of a club

ForumBoard Builder has built in support for clubs so that you can restrict access to certain forum boards to only members of a club. An example is if you create a forum board that only certain people are allowed to view. If you have this situation then you could create a club in the registration system and then restrict access to the forum board to members of that club only. To do this follow the steps below:

Go to the 'Members Area'| 'ForumBoard Builder' page
Select the forum you want to restrict access to and then go to the 'Configure' page for that forum
Under the 'Access Restrictions' section, select the option 'Access granted only to club members' (you must also select the club from the drop down list)
Hit the 'Save' button at the bottom of the Configure page to save your changes

Changing the registration forms

The visitor registration pages can consist of up to three pages (forms). The first page is always required and cannot be modified. This first page asks for the minimum amount of information that is required in order to register and set up a members account. After this first page, you can decide to display up to two more pages. More specifically you can decide to display a page which allows the new member to create an initial personal profile (or business) profile. You can also display your own form/survey/questionnaire in order to collect useful statistical information about your members.

Adding/Removing the create profile form

By default, the registration process includes a form which allows people to create a personal (or business) profile. They don't have to bother filling it in if they do not want to. If you want to keep the registration process quick and simple or perhaps your registered members have no need for profiles then you can choose not to display this 'Create Profile' form. To do this go to the 'Members Area'| 'Registration System' | 'Configure' page and where it says 'Let visitors create a profile when they are registering', select 'No' from the drop down list. Note: If the profile form is taken out of the registration process, people often don't bother to create one, even though they are asked to create one when they first log on. So if profiles are important then perhaps the profile form should be left in.

Adding a survey to the registration process

Create a survey using the PoppyDog Survey Builder. (Note: If you are accepting registrations from both individuals and businesses, you can create a different survey for each registration type respectively.)
Go to the 'Members Area'| 'Registration System' | 'Configure' page.
Tick the box labeled 'Display the following survey in the Registration Form' and choose the appropriate survey from the drop down list.

Changing the order of the Registration pages

If you have both a survey and the 'Create Profile' form in the registration process, you can decide whether the survey should appear before the the create profile form or visa versa. To do this, go to the 'Members Area'| 'Registration System' | 'Configure' page. On this page you will see two options allowing you to choose to display the 'survey after the profile form' or 'survey before the profile form'.