Sidebar Login is the #37 ranked login app on WordPress, with a 4.5 average rating from 78 reviews, as of Aug 31, 2026.
Sidebar Login is a WordPress Plugin Directory app by Mike Jolley. With a rating of 4.5★ from 78 reviews, it currently ranks #37 in the Login category.
AppRanks data: Sidebar Login ranks #37 in Login on WordPress Plugin Directory, placing it in the top 7% of that category.
AppRanks verdict
Generated from live marketplace data — refreshed daily
Sidebar Login is a highly rated WordPress app with a limited review volume. It is listed in the Login category on WordPress Plugin Directory, which AppRanks treats as the canonical taxonomy node for ranking and competitor comparison. 78 reviews put it in the early-traction tier — useful for early-stage stores willing to be on the leading edge. Early-traction review counts are sensitive to single launch periods or feature events, so a 30-day re-check before bigger commitments often resolves whether the trend is sustained. Paid-only pricing means evaluating fit on the marketplace listing or via the developer's documentation before installing. AppRanks tracks rating, review count, pricing tier, and category position daily — the figures on this page reflect the most recent scrape from the canonical WordPress Plugin Directory listing.
Pros
- +High average rating (4.5★) signals consistent merchant satisfaction
- +Published by Mike Jolley — established developer track record
Cons
- −Limited review base (78) — ratings can shift significantly with new feedback
Looking to switch from Sidebar Login?
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How Sidebar Login works
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Sidebar Login adds a useful login widget which you can use to login from in the sidebar of your WordPress powered blog.
Once a user logs in they are redirected back to the page they logged in from, rather than the admin panel (this is configurable).
If you’d like to contribute code to the plugin you can do so via GitHub.
If you’d like to contribute a translation, the project is hosted on WordPress.org.
Usage Simply go to Appearance > Widgets and drag “sidebar login” to the sidebar of your choice. Within the widget are several options you can use for changing the titles or the links displayed to the user.
To use this widget in a template, use the the_widget() function which WordPress provides.
Tags for titles + links These tags can be used in the widget settings for titles + links and will be replaced at runtime.
%username% – logged in users display name
%userid% – logged in users ID
%firstname% – logged in users firstname
%lastname% – logged in users lastname
%name% – logged in users firstname + lastname
%nicename% – user nice name
%admin_url% – url to WP admin
%logout_url% – logout url
%buddypress_profile_url% – Buddypress Profile URL
%bbpress_profile_url% – Buddypress Profile URL
%avatar% – User Avatar
Filter Reference
sidebar_login_include_css – return false to not include the CSS stylesheet
sidebar_login_widget_logged_in_links – An array of links shown when logged in.
sidebar_login_widget_logged_out_links – An array of links shown when logged out.
sidebar_login_widget_display – Return false to hide the widget.
sidebar_login_widget_logged_in_title – The widget title shown when logged in.
sidebar_login_widget_avatar_size – The avatar size – defaulted to 38 (thats in px)
sidebar_login_widget_logged_out_title – The widget title shown when logged out.
sidebar_login_widget_form_args – Arguments for the wp_login_form function.
sidebar_login_widget_login_redirect – Redirect URL after login.
sidebar_login_widget_logout_redirect – the redirect after logging out.
sidebar_login_widget_register_url – The URL for registration links.
sidebar_login_widget_lost_password_url – The URL for lost password links.
sidebar_login_widget_wp_login_form – The HTML of the Login form.
Action Reference
sidebar_login_widget_start – Fired before the widget.
sidebar_login_widget_{logged_in || logged_out}_content_start – Fired before the widget content.
sidebar_login_widget_before_{logged_in || logged_out}_links – Fired before the links.
sidebar_login_widget_after_{logged_in || logged_out}_links – Fire after the links.
sidebar_login_widget_{logged_in || logged_out}_content_end – Fired after the widget content.
sidebar_login_widget_end – Fired after the widget.
Notes
Due to AJAX not working across different domains (see same_origin_policy), AJAX logins will be disabled if your site it non-SSL, but the FORCE_SSL_ADMIN constant is set to true. Instead it will fallback to a traditional POST.
Category rankings
As of Sep 7, 2026See 90-day rank history for each category
Track daily rank changes, category shifts, and position volatility.
Competitors & alternatives
Sidebar Login doesn't have curated competitor matchups yet. Other tracked login apps on WordPress:
Where Sidebar Login stands in the Login category
Sidebar Login ranks #37 of 607 apps in the Login category, placing it in the top 7% of the listing.
Frequently asked questions
What is Sidebar Login?
Sidebar Login is an app for WordPress. It currently holds a 4.5-star rating from 78 merchant reviews, and AppRanks has been tracking its public marketplace data on the refresh cadence published in our methodology. It is listed under the Login category on AppRanks, where you can see its current category position, review-velocity trend, and how it compares against the top alternatives in the same space. Developed by Mike Jolley.
Who uses Sidebar Login?
Currently around 9,000 active stores have installed Sidebar Login. Its review base is still building, which usually maps to early-stage merchants and stores piloting a new workflow. It is part of the Login category on WordPress.
Where does Sidebar Login rank on WordPress?
Sidebar Login currently sits at position #37 in the Login category on WordPress. That places it in the top 6% of 607 apps tracked in the same category. Category positions are read from the live marketplace ranking and refresh on each scrape, so the number you see here reflects the most recent crawl rather than a long-running average.