How the Request Form Works

What is the Request form?

The Request Form is available for all DoOO Institutions, though it may be disabled by default if you have not previously requested it. When activated, all new users will be prompted to request an account before they can officially sign up for a cPanel.

Benefits of the Request Form

This can be beneficial for a couple of reasons:

1. Allows you to gather more information about incoming users, like why they want an account, what course they're apart of, their expected graduation date, etc.
2. Allows you to keep track of new users for personal outreach and help, which may be helpful for newer schools that are looking to build momentum on campus.
3. Helps control growth on the Domain of One's Own server, since not everyone would be given an account automatically. 

The Extra Steps

That said, by enabling the request form, you would be removing one of the elements that makes Domain of One's Own completely self-service for end users. With the request form activated, admins would be responsible for:

1. Moderating and reviewing new account requests
2. Approving or denying new account requests
3. Communication to user about the status of their account

Enabling the Request Form - User Roles

To enable the request form, you need to make sure that all users that login for the first time are associated with the Subscriber role. Navigate to your DoOO WordPress dashboard and go to Settings > General. Scroll down to New User Default Role and select Subscriber: 

If you ever want to deactivate the form (temporarily or permanently), simply change the New User Default Role back to Author. 

Editing the Request Form

All newer Domain of One's Own institutions will be using the Gravity Forms plugin for the Request Form. Legacy DoOO schools will be using Ninja Forms (if you would like to be upgraded to Gravity Forms, please let us know). Please refer to Plugin documentation or Reclaim Hosting support if you need additional assistance with configuring your Request Form. 

Viewing Submissions

From WordPress, navigate to Forms > Entries:

Approving a New User Request

You can “approve” the new users by switching their user role from subscriber to author in WordPress. Navigate to the Users section, select the user(s) you want to approve, and then select Author role:

Once a new user account has been approved, you'll want to let them know as much via email. Next time the user logs in, they'll be able to see the standard Signup screen.