Dokan vendor registration works out of the box, but it hands every marketplace the same fixed form. If you need a tax ID, a trade license number, or a simple terms checkbox, there is no setting that adds one. WP User Frontend Pro swaps that form for one you build yourself, and the signup still creates a real Dokan vendor with a real store. This guide walks the whole setup on a live install, with a screenshot at every step.
TLDR
- WP User Frontend Pro ships a Dokan Vendor Registration template that builds the entire vendor form for you in one click.
- The form builder is a Pro feature. The free plugin has a basic registration shortcode, but no builder and no way to set the new user role.
- Turn on Settings > General > Membership > Anyone can register first, or your form shows a notice where the fields should be.
- The template presets New User Role to Vendor, so everyone who signs up through it becomes a Dokan vendor.
- Drop the form on its own page with a shortcode. That gives you a vendor-only signup URL, separate from the customer one.
- New vendors arrive with selling disabled. You approve them from Dokan > Vendors.
Why the Default Dokan Vendor Registration Form Holds Marketplaces Back
The built-in form asks for a fixed set of fields, and Dokan gives you no admin screen to change them. It collects a name, an email, a shop name, a shop URL and a phone number. That is enough for a general marketplace where anyone can sell anything.
Most marketplaces are not general, though. A handmade goods site wants to know what the vendor makes. A food marketplace needs a hygiene certificate number. A B2B marketplace needs a company registration number before anyone lists a product. None of those fit into five fixed fields.
Until recently the only answer was PHP. You copied seller-registration-form.php into a child theme, added your markup, then hooked the save so the value landed in user meta.
It works, but it breaks quietly when the plugin updates, and it puts a developer between you and every small change. Demand for something simpler is easy to see on Dokan's own public feedback board, where a request for a custom vendor registration form is among the most upvoted ideas in its category.
A custom form is also the first thing a good vendor sees. The questions you ask set the tone for the whole relationship, which is why the signup step matters more than its five minutes of build time suggest. If you are still filling your marketplace, our guide on how to get more vendors on your marketplace covers what happens after the form goes live.
Three Ways to Customize Dokan Vendor Registration
You have three real options, and they trade cost against maintenance. Here is how they compare.
| Template override | Hooks and custom code | WP User Frontend Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you edit | A copied PHP template in your child theme | functions.php in your child theme | A drag-and-drop screen in wp-admin |
| Skill needed | PHP and HTML | PHP and WordPress hooks | None |
| Survives plugin updates | Often not, templates change | Usually, hooks are stable | Yes |
| Reorder or remove fields | Yes, in code | Awkward | Yes, drag them |
| Set the new user role | Separate code | Separate code | A dropdown in form settings |
| Vendor-only signup page | Shortcode, separate template | Shortcode, separate template | Yes, one shortcode |
| Extra cost | Free | Free | Paid plugin |
Code wins on cost and nothing else. The honest catch with the override route is that the My Account signup and the dedicated vendor signup page use two different templates, so people routinely customize one and wonder why the other still shows the old fields. The rest of this guide takes the third route, because it removes that whole class of problem.
What You Need Before You Build the Form
Four plugins have to be active, and one of them is paid. Here is the full list.
- WooCommerce, because Dokan runs on it
- Dokan, the multivendor plugin, where the free Lite version is enough for this
- WP User Frontend, the free plugin
- WP User Frontend Pro, which runs on top of the free one
Be clear about that last pair. Pro is an add-on and not a replacement, so both have to stay switched on. The free plugin does give you a basic registration form through a shortcode, but it has no form builder, no custom fields and no role setting. Registration Forms in free is a preview screen, not a working builder. Our breakdown of WP User Frontend free versus Pro sets out exactly where the line falls.
One more detail worth knowing before you start. The Dokan Vendor Registration template only appears while Dokan is active. With Dokan switched off, that card is replaced by a notice saying the integration is not installed.
How to Set Up Dokan Vendor Registration with WP User Frontend Pro
The whole build takes about five minutes. These are the five steps.
- Turn on user registration in WordPress
- Build the form from the Dokan template
- Shape the fields to suit your marketplace
- Check the vendor role and approval settings
- Publish the form on its own page
Step 1. Turn on User Registration in WordPress
Go to Settings > General, scroll to Membership, and tick Anyone can register. Then click Save Changes.
Do this first. With the box unticked, your finished form renders the message “User registration disabled, please contact the admin to enable” instead of any fields, and nothing on the WPUF side tells you why. Leave New User Default Role on Subscriber, because the form sets the vendor role itself.
Step 2. Build the Form From the Dokan Template
Hover over User Frontend in the admin menu, click Registration Forms, then click Add New. A window opens with ten ready-made templates.
Hover over Dokan Vendor Registration Form and click Create Form. WPUF then builds the complete vendor form in one go, with first name, last name, email address, shop name, shop URL, profile picture, banner, phone number, address, store location and password already in place.
Nothing on that list is guesswork. Every field maps to something Dokan needs to open a store, which is why the template exists instead of a blank form.
Step 3. Shape the Fields to Suit Your Marketplace
Hover over any field to reveal Edit, Copy and Remove.
Click Edit to change a label, mark a field required, or add placeholder text. Removing a field opens a confirmation box, and the field stays put if you close that box without confirming.
Two fields deserve a decision before you move on. Store Location is a Google Map field, so it prints a notice until you save a Google Maps API key under User Frontend settings. Remove it or add the key, because that notice is visible to every visitor otherwise.
To add something new, drag it in from the Profile Fields panel on the right. Username, website, phone, avatar, cover photo, date of birth and signature are all there, and the Custom Fields group below adds text, dropdown, checkbox, radio and file upload.
Drop the field where you want it in the form. A website field dragged to the bottom lands under the password, ready for the vendor to fill in.
Leave the meta keys on the fields the template created. Dokan reads those exact keys when it builds the store, so a renamed key means the value is saved but the store never sees it.
Step 4. Check the Vendor Role and Approval Settings
Open the Settings tab at the top of the builder. New User Role is already set to Vendor.
That single dropdown is what makes this a vendor form rather than a customer form. The template sets it for you, so check it rather than change it.
Just below sits Required Approval After Registration. Turn it on when you want to read applications before an account goes live.
Scroll down to After Sign Up Settings. The template already points new vendors at the Dokan setup wizard and labels the button Register, and you can send them anywhere you like instead.
Click Save when you are done.
Step 5. Publish the Form on Its Own Page
Copy the Registration shortcode from the top of the builder. The copy icon next to it puts the whole thing on your clipboard.
The shortcode looks like [wpuf_profile type="registration" id="60"], where the number is your own form ID. Now go to Pages > Add New Page, give it a title such as Become a Vendor, paste the shortcode in, and publish.
You now have a URL that does one job. Send it to people you want selling on your marketplace, and leave the customer signup where it is. The same approach works for any other audience you need to sign up, which our guide on how to create a registration form in WordPress covers in more detail.
Test the Signup and Approve Your First Vendor
Open the page in a private window so you see what a visitor sees.
Fill it in as a vendor would. Two fields behave in ways worth watching. Type a shop name, then move to the next field, and the Shop URL fills itself in. Leave the Shop URL and WPUF checks the address against existing stores, then marks it Available in green.
Click Register. Dokan takes over straight away and opens its store setup wizard, so the vendor can add store details and payment information while they are still in the moment.
Back in your own dashboard, hover over Dokan and click Vendors. The new store sits at the top of the list with the email address and phone number straight from your form.
Notice the status. New vendors arrive Disabled, which means the account exists but nothing is for sale yet. Vendor approval therefore has two layers here, the WPUF setting from step 4 and this status in Dokan, and the status applies either way.
When you are happy to let them sell, open Actions on their row and click Approve Vendors.
Confirm the box that appears, and the status pill turns to Enabled.
Fix the Four Problems That Stop a Vendor Form Working
Four things account for most of the time people lose on this. All four fail quietly, which is what makes them slow to spot.
The Form Shows a Notice Instead of Fields
The page is showing “User registration disabled, please contact the admin to enable” where your fields should be, which means WordPress is refusing new accounts rather than anything being wrong with the form. Go back to Settings > General and tick Anyone can register. This is the single most common cause of a vendor form that looks broken on launch day.
A Removed Field Comes Back
Remove the field again and confirm the dialog. Clicking Remove opens a Delete Field Confirmation box, and closing that box without clicking the confirm button leaves the field exactly where it was. Save the form afterwards.
Store Location Shows an API Key Error
Save a Google Maps API key under User Frontend settings, or remove the field. The Google Map field prints its notice on the public page, not just in the builder, so visitors see it too.
The Shop URL Takes Text From Another Field
Leave the Shop URL field before you type anywhere else. WPUF fills the Shop URL when the Shop Name loses focus, then moves the cursor into Shop URL and waits. Anyone who clicks a different field and starts typing without leaving Shop URL first pushes that text into the shop address instead, which produces store URLs with phone numbers stuck on the end. It is worth a line in your vendor instructions.
Spam signups are a separate problem and they arrive fast once a public vendor form is live. WPUF has reCAPTCHA and Cloudflare Turnstile available as fields, and our rundown of WordPress form spam protection covers the wider options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this replace the vendor signup on the My Account page?
No. Your WPUF form lives on its own page and runs alongside the WooCommerce My Account form, which keeps its vendor and customer toggle. Most marketplaces hide the toggle with CSS once the dedicated page is live, so people land on one clear route.
Can I collect a trade license or ID document at signup?
Yes. Drag a file upload field in from the Custom Fields group and mark it required. Dokan's own Seller Verification module collects documents later in the vendor dashboard, so a file field on the form is the earlier checkpoint if you want papers before an account exists.
Can I stop just anyone from applying to be a vendor?
Put the form on a restricted page rather than hiding the link. A page only logged-in users or a specific role can open means the form is never served to the public, which a hidden menu item does not achieve.
Do my existing vendors have to fill in the new form?
No. The form only affects new signups, and existing vendor accounts carry on untouched. Any new field you add starts out empty for them, so plan a separate prompt if you need that data from everyone.
What happens if my WP User Frontend Pro license expires?
Pro features lock and your data stays where it is. Vendors already registered keep their accounts and their stored field values, and everything comes back when you renew.
Can I use the same setup with WC Vendors or WCFM?
Yes. The same template picker offers WC Vendors Registration Form and WCFM Membership Registration Form, and each one appears only while its plugin is active. The build after that follows the steps above.
Start Taking Better Vendor Applications
Dokan vendor registration stops being a fixed form the moment you build it in WP User Frontend Pro. One template, a few dragged fields and one shortcode give you a signup page that asks your questions and still opens a real Dokan store at the end of it.
Set up your own form next, then watch the first week of applications and see which question your vendors keep getting wrong. That is usually the field worth rewriting. Take a look at WP User Frontend Pro when you are ready to build it.