Disable User Registration In WordPress¶

Use this page when a WordPress site does not need public account registration or is receiving spam user signups. Confirm the site is not using memberships, forums, courses, or customer accounts before disabling registration.

Before You Disable Registration¶

Confirm whether the site uses public accounts for anything important:

• WooCommerce customer accounts.
• Membership or course access.
• Forums or community features.
• Client portals.
• Contributor or author signups.

If one of those features is active, review the plugin settings before disabling registration globally.

Disable Registration¶

1. Sign in to WordPress as an administrator.
2. Open Settings > General.
3. Find the Membership setting.
4. Uncheck Anyone can register.
5. Click Save Changes.

New visitors will no longer be able to create WordPress accounts through the standard registration flow.

Review Existing Users¶

After disabling registration, check whether spam users already exist:

1. Open Users > All Users.
2. Review unfamiliar users, especially administrator or editor accounts.
3. Delete spam users that do not own legitimate content.
4. Change administrator passwords if anything looks suspicious.

Related Guides¶