Unlocking WordPress: A Step-by-Step Guide to Show Recently Registered Users

Have you ever landed on a website and immediately felt that it had an active, growing community? That impression matters more than many site owners realize. When visitors see that new people are joining, they are often more willing to sign up themselves.

Displaying recently registered users in WordPress is a simple way to create that effect. It adds social proof, shows momentum, and helps your site feel more alive and trustworthy.

That said, this feature should be implemented carefully. You need to think about user privacy, visual presentation, and how the list fits naturally into the rest of your website.

In this guide, you will learn how to show recently registered users in WordPress using multiple methods, from a lightweight custom code solution to more advanced directory-based setups.

Why Show Recently Registered Users in WordPress?

Featuring your newest users is a practical way to strengthen social proof. When potential members notice that others are actively registering, your site feels more credible and more appealing to join.

This approach works especially well on community-driven websites, membership platforms, nonprofit projects, online courses, and discussion-based websites. A visible stream of new users can signal that the platform is active, useful, and growing.

Here are several effective ways this type of display can be used:

• Highlight the growth of a membership site or private community.
• Create a team or contributor directory for a business website.
• Show recent donors or supporters for a nonprofit project.
• Encourage participation in a forum by making the community feel active.
• Display new learners or students in an educational platform.

Placement also matters. A list of recent users can work well in a sidebar, on an About page, inside a members area, or beside a registration form where it helps encourage sign-ups.

Below, we will walk through several ways to build this feature in WordPress.

What This Tutorial Covers

• Method 1: Show recently registered users with custom code
• Method 2: Build a richer user directory with Formidable Forms
• Method 3: Use a lightweight plugin for a simple user directory
• Bonus tip: Increase social proof even more with TrustPulse
• Frequently asked questions
• Additional user management resources

Let’s begin.

Method 1. Display Recently Registered Users with Custom Code

If you want a straightforward solution, adding a custom code snippet is one of the easiest ways to display the latest registered users in WordPress.

Many tutorials suggest placing code directly inside the functions.php file of your theme. While that can work, it is not the safest option for most users. Even a small mistake can trigger errors or break parts of the site.

A better approach is to use a code snippet plugin such as WPCode. It gives you a safer place to manage custom code and makes it easier to update or disable snippets later.

Start by installing and activating the WPCode plugin on your site.

After activation, go to Code Snippets » + Add Snippet in your WordPress dashboard.

From there, choose the option to add a new custom snippet and select PHP Snippet as the code type.

Once you reach the code editor, give your snippet a clear name so you can recognize it easily later.

Then paste the following code into the editor:

function wpb_recently_registered_users() {
    global $wpdb;

    ob_start();

    $recent_users = $wpdb->get_results(
        "SELECT user_nicename, user_url, user_email
        FROM $wpdb->users
        ORDER BY user_registered DESC
        LIMIT 5"
    );

    if ( $recent_users ) {
        echo '<ul class="recently-registered-users">';
        foreach ( $recent_users as $user ) {
            $avatar = get_avatar( $user->user_email, 45 );
            $user_url = esc_url( $user->user_url );
            $user_nicename = esc_html( $user->user_nicename );

            echo '<li>';
            if ( ! empty( $user_url ) ) {
                echo '<a href="' . $user_url . '" title="' . $user_nicename . '">' . $avatar . $user_nicename . '</a>';
            } else {
                echo $avatar . $user_nicename;
            }
            echo '</li>';
        }
        echo '</ul>';
    }

    return ob_get_clean();
}
add_shortcode( 'wpb_newusers', 'wpb_recently_registered_users' );

This snippet fetches the five most recently registered users from the WordPress database, pulls their display-friendly username and avatar, and outputs the results inside an unordered list.

It also creates the shortcode [wpb_newusers], which means you can place the list anywhere on your site without adding the code multiple times.

After adding the code, switch the snippet from inactive to active and save it.

Now you can use the shortcode anywhere you want the list to appear.

To add it to a page, open the page editor, insert a Shortcode block, and paste this shortcode inside it:

[wpb_newusers]

Then click Publish or Update to make the changes live.

You can use the same shortcode in posts, widget areas, or any location that supports shortcodes.

Method 2. Display Recently Registered Users with Formidable Forms

If you want more control over how user data is collected and displayed, then Formidable Forms is a much more flexible solution.

This method is especially useful when you do not want to simply show every newly registered user automatically. Instead, you may want users to submit a public profile with extra details such as a bio, photo, social links, or professional information.

Formidable Forms is known for advanced form building and front-end data display. With the right add-ons, it can be used to build searchable member directories, staff listings, contributor pages, and community profile systems.

This option does not automatically expose all users on your website. Instead, it gives you much more control over what gets published and which users appear in the directory.

To get started, install and activate Formidable Forms and connect your license key from the plugin’s global settings page.

Next, install the Directory add-on if it is not already active in your plan.

After that, open the directory setup from the plugin settings. The setup wizard will help you create the pages, forms, and views required for your user directory.

During the setup, choose the directory style you want, such as a two-column layout or a table layout. Then assign names for the listing page and the page where users submit their profile details.

Once the setup finishes, the plugin will generate the key pages for you automatically. These usually include:

• A public-facing user directory page
• A form page for submitting profile information
• Views used to control how the entries are displayed

The default directory can already include useful features such as:

• A search box
• Alphabet-based filtering
• Structured user cards or listing rows
• Flexible layout editing

When your base setup is ready, you can publish the generated directory page and make it live on the site.

If you want to change the way the directory looks, go to the Views section inside Formidable Forms and edit the created view. This allows you to control layout, number of entries shown, field order, filtering options, and profile details.

You can also publish the profile submission page so users can complete the additional form that feeds the directory.

This extra step is useful because it allows users to provide richer profile information only if they want that information to be public.

If you want to customize the form itself, open the related form in the Formidable builder and add, remove, or reorder fields as needed. For example, you might include:

• Short bio
• Profile image
• Social media fields
• Company name
• Job title
• Location

Once the form and the directory are published, your site will have a much more advanced user listing system than the simple shortcode method.

Method 3. Display Recently Registered Users with Dynamic User Directory

If you want a free and simpler plugin-based method, then Dynamic User Directory can be a practical option.

It is lighter than a full directory-building tool and is better suited for straightforward user listing needs. While it does not offer the same level of customization as Formidable Forms, it can still help you create and display a basic directory of users without writing code.

First, install and activate the plugin from your WordPress dashboard.

Then go to the plugin settings page under Settings » Dynamic User Directory.

Inside the settings, you can choose how your user list should behave. Key options usually include:

• Sort field
• Directory type
• Search enable or disable
• User role exclusions
• Specific user exclusions
• Display settings for avatars, names, and styling

You can also control whether the total number of users is shown. This can be useful if you want to add an extra layer of social proof by highlighting community size.

The plugin also gives you settings for pagination and alphabet links, which can make larger directories easier to browse.

Once you finish configuring everything, save your settings. The plugin will generate a shortcode for the directory.

Copy that shortcode and paste it into a Shortcode block on any page, post, or widget area where you want the user list to appear.

After publishing the page, your recent user directory will be visible on the front end.

This method works best for site owners who want something lightweight and do not need highly customized forms or profile layouts.

Which Method Should You Choose?

The best method depends on how much control and complexity you need.

• Choose the custom code method if you want a fast, lightweight solution and only need a basic recent user list.
• Choose Formidable Forms if you want a full-featured public directory with custom profile fields, search, filtering, and better control over public data.
• Choose Dynamic User Directory if you want a free plugin-based option that is easier than coding but lighter than a full form-based directory system.

If privacy is an important concern, the second method is often the strongest choice because it allows users to decide what they want to display publicly.

Bonus Tip: Strengthen Social Proof with TrustPulse

Showing recently registered users is already a useful form of social proof, but you can make it even more powerful by adding real-time notifications.

TrustPulse is a tool built for that purpose. Instead of only displaying a static list of new users, it can show live notifications when someone signs up, submits a form, or completes another key action.

This creates a more dynamic sense of activity across your site. For visitors who are undecided, seeing fresh engagement in real time can help increase trust and encourage action.

This kind of live activity can be especially effective on landing pages, registration pages, and checkout-related pages where user hesitation is common.

FAQs About Displaying Recently Registered Users in WordPress

Is it safe to show registered users publicly?

It can be safe if you only display non-sensitive information and you are careful about privacy. Avoid showing email addresses or any personal data that users did not agree to share. A form-based public profile system is usually the safer option.

Can I choose what user information appears?

Yes. Plugins such as Formidable Forms give you detailed control over which fields appear in the public directory. If you use custom code, you can also modify the snippet to change the output.

Will this slow down my WordPress site?

Not necessarily. A small recent-users list is lightweight. If your site has a very large user base, then pagination, filtering, or limiting the number of displayed users can help keep performance stable.

More User Management Tips

Displaying newly registered users is just one part of managing a strong WordPress community. There are many other ways to improve user experience, moderation, and account handling on your site.

Here are some useful areas worth exploring next:

• Allow members to invite friends to register
• Block a user without fully deleting their account
• Show personalized content to different user roles
• Email all registered users when needed
• Restrict logins to a single device if necessary
• Apply CSS rules to specific user roles
• Use dedicated user management plugins for advanced control

By combining strong user management with visible social proof, you can create a WordPress site that feels active, trustworthy, and worth joining.