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For the most part, clients hire you to build or manage their WordPress websites because they don’t know how to or don’t have the time or interest to do it themselves. But just because they’ve offloaded the bulk of the responsibility to you doesn’t mean they won’t ever have a reason to log into their WordPress website.
This can be problematic for many clients.
WordPress is a great place for a web developer or maintenance professionals to work, but its cold and overly technical nature can be quite off-putting to clients. This is just one of the reasons why you should consider white-labeling WordPress websites.
In the following guide, I want to show you all of the ways you can make use of WordPress white-labels to improve the user experience and increase your profits. We will cover how to white-label:
- The WordPress admin with code
- The WordPress dashboard with code
- WordPress with a white-label plugin
- WordPress builder tools
- Web development services
- Marketing services
- Hosting services
- WordPress maintenance services
What Does It Mean to White-Label WordPress?
THAT Company has a great analogy for this:
“If you go to a grocery store such as Walmart, you’ll notice that you can buy all sorts of products that are sold under the Great Value brand. Does this mean that Walmart is producing all of those products? No way! They simply have various companies that already provide those products and are willing to put the product in Great Value packaging instead of their own on Walmart’s behalf.”
[bctt tweet=”🏷️ White-labeling doesn’t have to be stressful. Work with a solid team, communicate well and focus on what you really want to do! #WordPress” username=”thewpbuffs”]You didn’t have anything to do with building the product or you might not have a hand in managing the service going forward. But you’re able to slap your business’s name and logo atop it, charge a markup on the price, and sell it as your own.
There are actually a bunch of other ways to white-label WordPress beyond just adding your branding to it, too. But I’ll get into that a bit later.
Why Should You White-Label WordPress?
If you think about it, WordPress is the perfect tool to white-label.
Much of what we’re able to do in WordPress we source from others. Developers have written and continuously manage the code behind the core, your theme, as well as the plugins you use. There’s other software you integrate into the system — like CRMs and multi-site management tools. In addition, you probably utilize services from external services in order to get the most out of your website.
You’d be surprised how much of this you can white-label.
But why would you want to do this?
1. Reinforce Your Brand
It doesn’t matter what type of WordPress service you sell. You’d like clients — past and present — to think of you and only you the next time they need help with their website. Doing good work is obviously part of how you convince them to do this. Leaving your personal stamp on the backend of the website is another.
This will do a few things to reinforce your brand:
- It’ll be easier for clients to remember who that awesome web designer was who helped them out last year.
- It’ll prove to them that you’re invested in the website as a long-term partner and not just an acquaintance that bobs in and out of their lives when you have to deliver a report.
- It’ll help demonstrate the scope of your services. You’re not just a one-stop-shop. You really can do it all.
As you spend more time building your business, you’ll quickly realize how valuable long-term and loyal customers are. Not only do they spend more money than one-off jobs, but they’re more willing to refer people they know to you. Anything you can do to establish these kinds of bonds with clients is crucial.
2. Offer More But Do Less
As you’ll soon see, you can use white-label services and brand them as your own. This is especially helpful if your area of expertise is in something like web development or WordPress maintenance, but you want to offer a more complete solution to clients. You can then use a white-label agency that specializes in other areas to fill in your gaps.
This is also something to use if you don’t have any technical expertise in WordPress, but are good at the management side of being in business. While you can certainly outsource the work to freelancers, Vertical Rail explains why you might want to go with white-labeled services instead:
“An outsourced service by itself is usually less inexpensive, and for a reason. A white label service is controlled by contract, managed by your company. You are technically outsourcing client work, but to a trusted partner that has agreed to provide your quality and brand of service for an agreed upon rate.”
That doesn’t mean freelancers and other outsourced services can’t be trusted. There’s just a certain guarantee that comes with white-label services that might put your mind at ease if you don’t have the ability to swoop in and fix something yourself before handing it over to a client.
3. Make WordPress More Client-Friendly
Although you’ve been hired so clients have to spend less time in WordPress, that doesn’t mean they won’t have any reason to ever step inside it.
With a white-label WordPress dashboard, you can:
Simplify the user interface by cleaning out the menu items they don’t need to see and renaming the others.
Add your professional contact information and links to other support channels, so clients have a comforting lifeline inside of WordPress.
Improve their trust in you as their WordPress provider. Rather than seeing the WordPress logo and a smattering of other brand logos and names attached to plugins and themes, you can put a blanket over all of it. As far as they know, this software is owned and managed by you.
How to Choose a White-Label WordPress Partner or Solution
As you’ll see below, there are a number of WordPress-related companies that offer white-labeled agency products and services to developers such as yourself. If you can take advantage of these and make a profit off of them, you can sign higher-ticket clients and a greater quantity of them simultaneously, too.
But this is all contingent on the quality of the outcome, isn’t it?
As such, make sure you use vetted solutions to white-label your clients’ WordPress sites. Vendasta recommends that white-label partners have three of the following characteristics:
- Their goals align with your own. In other words, don’t accept a product or service that seems like it would be “okay”. If you’re not 100% thrilled to put your name on it, don’t use it.
- Their reputation is spotless. You’re not the only one who has considered adopting this white-label solution, and you have testimonials that can back up the quality of it.
- They’re honest. There is a lot at stake if something goes wrong with the implementation of a white-label solution. As such, you should either be able to give it a test run first to personally vet its quality or they should provide a contract that clearly defines and guarantees outcomes.
It’s also important that you get proof of contract fulfillment from third parties. They should provide these as regular reports.
Now that you know what to look for in a white-label partner or solution, let’s talk about the various ways in which you can use white-label in WordPress to improve the client experience and boost your bottom line!
How to White-Label the WordPress Admin with Code
You’re all aware of what the WordPress admin page looks like. Here’s an example of the login form, courtesy of the WordPress Codex:
Let’s break down the various places in which you can alter the look and content of this page:
Replace the Logo
The WordPress “W” is the default logo shown on the admin screen. In the code of WordPress, the logo is controlled by this snippet:
<h1><a href="http://wordpress.org/" title="Powered by WordPress">Your Site Name</a></h1>
This can be changed.
To swap out the WordPress logo, locate the functions.php under Appearance > Editor in your client’s WordPress website.
You will need to adjust the <code>login_enqueue_scripts</code> hook to add your own logo (or the client’s logo, if you don’t intend on supporting their website after it’s built). Here is the hook to use:
function my_login_logo() { ?>
<style type="text/css">
#login h1 a, .login h1 a {
background-image: url(<?php echo get_stylesheet_directory_uri(); ?>/images/site-login-logo.png);
height:65px;
width:320px;
background-size: 320px 65px;
background-repeat: no-repeat;
padding-bottom: 30px;
}
</style>
<?php }
add_action( 'login_enqueue_scripts', 'my_login_logo' );
Notice this line in the center of the hook that says:
background-image: url(<?php echo get_stylesheet_directory_uri(); ?>/images/site-login-logo.png);
Update site-login-logo.png to the file name of your logo. Add the hook to functions.php and save your changes.
Next, log into your control panel. From the file manager or FTP manager, locate this file structure:
/wp-content/themes/[theme name]/images/
Inside the images folder, upload your logo. It should be 80 x 80 pixels.
This will replace the WordPress logo on the login screen with your own.
Change the Logo Link
The link of the WordPress logo can cause confusion with clients as well. Imagine being new to the CMS and thinking you can just bypass the login to get to your website… only to discover the logo goes to wordpress.org. Let’s remove that friction from the clients’ lives, too.
To update the logo link, insert the following hook below the one you just added to functions.php:
function my_login_logo_url() {
return home_url();
}
add_filter( 'login_headerurl', 'my_login_logo_url' );
function my_login_logo_url_title() {
return 'Your Site Name and Info';
}
add_filter( 'login_headertitle', 'my_login_logo_url_title' );
Just remember to update the values in this snippet to your business name and website link before you save changes.
Style the Rest of the Login Page
WPBeginner suggests taking this a step further and using CSS to fully customize the look of the admin screen. There’s surprisingly a lot WordPress allows you to do, all with snippets of code.
You can:
- Add a title to the page (like their website name or a branded message from your company).
- Add a custom login message above the login form.
- Add a custom error message if they have difficulty logging in.
- Enable users to request registration from the login screen.
- Adjust the password retrieval process.
WordPress also enables you to create a completely custom login page. You can get information on how to do that here.
How to White-Label the WordPress Dashboard with Code
It’s not just the admin login page that can be white-labeled in WordPress. There’s so much that can be done inside the dashboard to improve the user experience and increase the visibility of your branding.
Here are some ideas:
Change the Welcome Message
In the top-right corner of the dashboard, your clients will see the warm welcome WordPress has left for them:
Inside the theme’s functions.php file, you will need to add the following code:
<script src=”https://gist.github.com/digitalinkwell/02f7f098e17a1ae33860.js”></script>
If you’d rather it not say “Welcome” instead of “Howdy”, you can update that bit of the code to say whatever you prefer. When you’re done, save your changes.
Change the Footer Message
At the very bottom of the WordPress dashboard is this message:
Some of your clients might not take notice of it, especially if they’re just logging in to create a new post. That said, for those who do, they might be thrown off by the message from WordPress and think they need to click the link.
That’s why it’s best to remove the distraction.
Return once more to the functions.php file for your theme. At the very bottom of the page, add this snippet:
// Admin welcome message
function remove_footer_admin ()
{
echo '<span id="footer-thankyou">Add your custom message here.</span>';
}
add_filter('admin_footer_text', 'remove_footer_admin')
In place of “Add your custom message here.”, write whatever it is you want the message to say (if anything). Then, save the changes.
Change the Dashboard Logo
Just as you can replace the WordPress logo on the login screen, you can do the same here in the top-left corner of the dashboard.
For this one, you’re going to need your logo sized to 16 x 16 pixels. Go ahead and store it in the same theme images folder as before.
Then, go to your functions.php file and add the following code:
function wpb_custom_logo() {
echo '
<style type="text/css">
#wpadminbar #wp-admin-bar-wp-logo > .ab-item .ab-icon:before {
background-image: url(' . get_bloginfo('stylesheet_directory') . 'https://wpbuffs.com/images/dashboard-logo.png) !important;
background-position: 0 0;
color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0);
}
#wpadminbar #wp-admin-bar-wp-logo.hover > .ab-item .ab-icon {
background-position: 0 0;
}
</style>
';
}
//hook into the administrative header output
add_action('wp_before_admin_bar_render', 'wpb_custom_logo');
Be sure to update the name of dashboard-logo.png to the name of your properly-sized logo.
Customize Dashboard Widgets
By default, WordPress will display a bunch of introductory and basic widgets on every user’s dashboard:
Now, users can manually dismiss them using the Screen Options tab at the top of the dashboard. However, your clients likely won’t know about that feature and may probably be confused when you try to walk them through the process. What is this for? Why am I doing this? Why can’t you just do it? You know the sorts of questions and frustrations they’re going to express.
The thing is, you really shouldn’t leave those widgets in their WordPress dashboard. To remove them and create a more customized (and helpful) dashboard experience, you can use the Dashboard Widgets guide from WordPress. With this, you’ll learn how to:
- Add your own welcome widget with contact details. If clients run into trouble, they’ll see your name and contact info, front and center.
- You might also want to consider adding links to supporting documentation or tutorials to a custom widget.
- Move the custom widget to the top so they see that before anything else.
- Delete widgets altogether from the dashboard so that it’s not even a matter of whether to hide them or not.
Why am I not providing you with this code? Well, that’s because the white-label WordPress plugins I’m about to show you will cover this more succinctly.
How to White-Label WordPress with a Plugin
If all you want to do is swap out a logo or change some wording, code snippets make a lot of sense. It keeps bulky plugins off your site when they’re not absolutely necessary.
That said, white-label WordPress plugins allow you to go above and beyond. [bctt tweet=”👩💻 White-label plugins often bundle a number of customization capabilities in both the admin and dashboard, so you can do a lot more with less work. #WordPress” username=”thewpbuffs”]
So, let’s start digging into your best options.
AGCA
AGCA is one of the free white-label WordPress plugins recommended by Flywheel and it’s certainly a good choice. Unlike most top-rated free plugins, this one enables you to white-label everything — not just the admin or just the dashboard. While it does have some limitations that you wouldn’t have to worry about with a premium plugin, it’s a pretty robust solution all in all.
To give you a sense for what kind of white-labeling you can do, here is a custom admin page I threw together:
Take note of the following changes:
- Background color changed
- Logo replaced
- Subscribe request removed
- Forgot password removed
Here are some tweaks I made to the dashboard with this plugin:
Note the following:
- Screen Options and Help tabs removed
- Default WordPress widgets removed
- Custom dashboard title and message added
- Dashboard footer removed
- Color palette slightly changed (you can actually change everything – background and text colors for all elements here)
- Logo replaced and different link-to address created
- Number of admin toolbar options removed (like the distracting “updates waiting” ticker)
- “Howdy” message changed
- “Log Out” message customized
- Dashboard menu tabs removed
- Dashboard menu tabs renamed for clarity
- Dashboard menu tab added for “Support” (hint: if you want to hide the dashboard, you can store welcome messages and support links over here instead)
The plugin itself is very easy to use. Settings will appear under the Tools menu and then you can tab through the options based on what part of the login page or dashboard you want to white-label.
White Label CMS
Next up is a freemium plugin called White Label CMS.
Now, the free version of White Label CMS is a lot like AGCA in terms of what it can do. However, there is a certain refinement to the output of this plugin that you should pay attention to if you’re interested in white-labeling on a massive scale.
For instance, here is an example of the admin screen rebranded with White Label CMS:
And here is an example of the dashboard:
Since I’m an admin, I’ve chosen not to hide the menu tabs from myself. For this example, just have to focus on the admin toolbar design changes and the edits to the dashboard itself.
This plugin also goes into a much deeper level of attention to detail as well and it’s very easy to navigate through.
For instance, there’s an entire section dedicated to branding:
A section that gives you more granular control over which menus and sub-menus appear:
Plus, there’s an option to export your configuration. This way, the next time you want to white-label a client’s WordPress site, all you have to do is import the pre-made configuration. It’ll save you loads of work!
As I already mentioned, White Label CMS is a freemium plugin. It also has a premium version you can upgrade to through the Video User Manuals website. If you want to unlock more white-label features as you serve more WordPress clients, the upgrade is indeed worth it.
Other White-Label WordPress Plugins
The plugins above are going to be your best bets in using an all-in-one white-label solution that you can try for free.
If you’re convinced that white-labeling is right for your WordPress business and want to unlock more WordPress customization and branding capabilities, you can upgrade to the premium version of White Label CMS. There is also a multitude of well-reviewed premium plugin alternatives that might be worth exploring:
WordPress Admin Theme – WPShapere
WPShapere really shines as an admin theme plugin. Although you can find a number of admin theme plugins in the WordPress repository, they’re usually very limited in terms of color palette and allow for no customization. This one, however, comes with both color palette templates and open customization rules. Plus, you can adjust the appearance of the dashboard menus and add your company’s logo with this plugin.
White Label Branding (for WordPress and Multisite)
White Label Branding does it all. Add your company branding. Minimize WordPress menus. Develop custom dashboard widgets. And more. What’s particularly nice about this plugin, though, is that it has a Multisite counterpart. This way, you can either create consistent branding across all sub-sites (and configure it all just once) or you can give each sub-site’s admin control over their interface.
Ultimate Branding
Ultimate Branding is a fantastic white-label plugin. That said, it’s put out by WPMU DEV, which means you can’t license this plugin as you would some of the other options. Instead, you’ll have to purchase a monthly membership which grants you access to any and all WPMU DEV plugins.
Ways to White-Label WordPress Builder Tools
There are many ways to white-label websites and WordPress page builder tools offer even more ways to do this.
Beaver Builder is one such plugin you can white-label. This way, your clients don’t have to be confused when they see a button for “Beaver Builder” in their Post or Page options. Instead, you can clearly label the builder so that they understand its a frontend visual editor. Or you can give it a name that matches your brand so that they consistently associate the functionality of WordPress with your company and services.
How to White-Label Web Development
As I mentioned earlier, there may be some of you that aren’t WordPress developers at all.
Perhaps you’re a consultant who’s been hoping to expand their repertoire, but don’t know a thing about coding or how to use WordPress plugins to design a website. You still want to provide a full-scale premium service, and you want to make sure it gets done right. And this is when you should think about hiring a white-label WordPress development company.
There are companies like Limonade that do this very thing. You sell yourself as a WordPress developer or agency. You sign the client and manage the relationship. Then you offload the web development piece to the white-label WordPress agency. It’s as simple as that.
How to White-Label Marketing and Branding
Here’s another great way to offer an end-to-end WordPress website solution to clients without having to do all the work yourself. In this case, you might be capable of handling things like WordPress development and copywriting, but need a white-label marketing agency to handle:
- SEO
- PPC
- Content marketing
- Email marketing
- Social media marketing
- Reputation management
- Graphic design
- Videography
- And more
If there is a great enough demand for it and you’re confident you’ve found a white-label partner you can trust, this is a great way to increase your cash flow without having to add too much more work to your plate.
How to White-Label WordPress Hosting Services
You’re probably already familiar with one way to white-label hosting services. Now, reseller hosting itself isn’t a form of white-labeling since you’re still managing the hosting account and configurations for your clients. But take a look at SiteGround’s reseller hosting features:
What you can white-label is the control panel experience — which is basically what we’re trying to accomplish by white-labeling WordPress. By adding your brand elements to the control panel, you keep clients from having to stress over who owns or manages their website. Because it’s your trusted company name and logo that sits atop it.
Another interesting example of white-labeled hosting comes from Flywheel.
In this case, Flywheel has provided a white-labeled billing tool they can use to manage their reseller hosting packages and accounts.
How to White-Label WordPress Maintenance
There’s one more way to white-label WordPress, and this one has to do with those of you who sell WordPress maintenance services (or want to).
I’m, of course, talking about WP Buffs white-labeled WordPress maintenance plans.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a freelancer, business owner, or agency. No matter what size you are, if you just don’t feel like managing WordPress maintenance, but still want to provide clients with this high-quality service, you can outsource the work to WP Buffs. Your clients will never know that another company is on the other end of the maintenance work, and all communications between them and WP Buffs will be branded to your business.
Again, this is another great way to add profit-boosting services to your business without having to add more work to your plate. Besides onboarding maintenance clients, that is.
Wrapping Up: White-Labeling WordPress Starts with You
What’s nice about white-label WordPress solutions is that you can pick-and-choose which ones make the most sense for your clients.
For the ones who are super shaky when it comes to WordPress, but want all the help you can give them, use all of the white-label services and products you can manage. For those who you simply want to leave a strong impression on, a white-labeled WordPress dashboard and admin might suffice. Really, it’s up to you to decide what’s best for your client and then shape the white-label experience around it.
Want to give your feedback or join the conversation? Add your comments 🐦 on Twitter.
