wordpress customer database

Maintaining a database of customer information is a smart idea for most businesses. If you have to deal with a lot of customers or clients, it can pay off to keep track of their basic data in one convenient place. That’s where a WordPress customer database can help you out.

A database is a centralized collection of information. You can use it to take note of any important details about your customers and their transactions. This has applications far beyond simple organization. For example, you could track when each customer made his or her last purchase and use that information to plan an email marketing campaign.

In this article, we’ll talk about the many uses of a WordPress customer database. Then, we’ll teach you how to build your own in three simple steps, using the Participants Database plugin. Let’s get started!

Why you might need a WordPress customer database

An example of a WordPress customer database.

Customer databases enable you to keep track of valuable information in an organized manner.

A customer database can be anything from a simple ledger that includes basic client information, to sophisticated software that integrates with your other platforms and automates some of the record keeping. No matter the format, a database enables you to organize data and access it as efficiently as possible. Customer databases have plenty of applications, but they come in handy particularly for e-commerce or service websites. If you’re in either of those fields, you may want to consider setting one up for yourself.

WordPress lets you log some of your users’ data, such as emails, by default. However, if you have a solid customer base, you’ll likely want a more comprehensive solution. Setting up a WordPress customer database will save you time and keep you from having to use a third-party tool that doesn’t integrate with your website.

How to create a WordPress customer database (in three simple steps)

For this guide we’re going to use the Participants Database plugin, since it offers a straightforward, user-friendly solution:

Participants Database is designed to let you store information about anything in general – it’s not limited to customers. It accomplishes this because it’s incredibly flexible in the information that it tracks. In fact, you’ll be able to configure literally every field that you store data for.

Furthermore, you will also be able to use a search feature to find information and even export your data if necessary.

Before moving on to the first step, make sure you install and activate the plugin properly.

Step #1: Configure the Participants Database plugin

Participants Database includes a lot of settings, but you only need to concern yourself with a handful of them right now. First, go to the new Participants Database tab from your dashboard, and access its Settings page. Then select the Admin Settings tab:

The admin settings tab.

Start by choosing the order in which you want to display your database entries. By default, the plugin will show your records from newest to oldest, but there are other options, such as alphabetical order.

You may also want to enable horizontal scrolling for your WordPress customer database, depending on how many fields you plan on adding to it:

Enabling horizontal scrolling for your database.

Finally, you’ll need to configure who has access to your database. By default, the plugin will enable users with the Editor role and above to add and remove entries, but you can limit access only to administrators if you’d like:

Limiting access to your database.

You can also enable editors to export your database as a CSV file, but you may not want to do this, depending on what type of information you’re handling. Either way, remember to save your changes when you’re done.

Step #2: Manage your database fields

If you think of your WordPress customer database as one big table (or multiple ones), it makes sense that you need to configure what fields it will contain. Out of the box, Participants Database packs a wide variety of preset fields, such as addresses, phone numbers, personal photographs, and more:

Some of the fields included in the Particpants Database plugins.

If you want to track additional information by adding new fields, just go to the Manage Database Fields tab under Participants Database. Then, look for the option that reads Add Field at the top:

Adding new fields to your database.

Pick a title for your new field and click on the Add Field button. For this example, we created a new field called Additional Notes. To find your new entry, just scroll down to the bottom of the list of fields. You can then assign it to a group, and choose what type of field it should be:

Setting an entry type for your new field.

We chose a simple text field, but there are several options available, including checkboxes and multiple selections. You should select a field type that fits the type of information that you want to collect. You can also make changes to the default fields if you’d like.

As for your field’s group, there are three options: main, personal, and admin. The first includes all the most common customer data, while the second is limited to more personal information such as ID numbers and photographs. The admin group is reserved for information that only you should have access to.

Step #3: Add new participants to your WordPress customer database

Now that your WordPress customer database is running and has all the fields you’ll need, all that’s left is to start adding information to it. Keep in mind that this is supposed to be a private database, so you’ll have to complete this step by hand. To get started, go to the Participants DatabaseAdd Participant tab:

Adding a new participant to your database.

Once you’re in, all you have to do is fill out the fields you want and leave the rest blank, depending on your needs. When you’re done, click on the Submit button to return to your database and check out your new entry:

Your new database entry.

Whenever you want to take a look at your database, just go to the Participants DatabaseList Participants tab. There, you’ll be able to sort your records according to every field you’ve enabled.

Plus, if you want to export your database as a CSV file, you can do so by clicking on the Download CSV for this list button at the bottom of the page:

Exporting your database as a CSV file.

Now, you just need to add the rest of your customer list to your brand new database (or get one of your editors to do it for you)!

If you have a unique situation in which you want to allow your customers to create their own entry, you can use the [pdb_signup] shortcode to display a signup form.

Conclusion

The more you know about your customers, the better you’ll be at your job. To do that, you need data.

Using a database is perhaps one of the best ways to keep track of vital customer data, particularly if you value organization and security.

With that in mind, here’s how you can create your own WordPress customer database using the Participants Database plugin:

  1. Configure the plugin’s key settings.
  2. Manage your database fields.
  3. Add new participants to your WordPress customer database.

Do you have any questions about how to create a WordPress customer database? Ask away in the comments section below!

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nasri fawaz
August 24, 2018 2:51 pm

hello
am building a wordpress website for a third party administration company (insurance). I need the pation login to the site and view his history of claims. the database of all insurer is msaccess.
what is the best way to do that ?

Cassandra York
July 24, 2018 4:00 am

I am trying to customize the form and using the [pdb_signup] shortcode. My issue is the only fields that show up are first name, last name, email, and captcha. Though, I have other fields in addition to those I would like someone to fill out when they are filling out the form. What am I doing wrong?

James Riddle
May 24, 2018 1:22 am

Great post John. Very thorough and helpful. Thanks!

Chris Christian
May 15, 2018 9:53 pm

I have PDB installed and like it for managing a club, my issue is my site is hosted on WordPress.com and they don’t allow CSV imports. Support with both sides were of little help. I guess this data can be entered by hand but prefer not to. Any guidance here would be great… Tia.

Reunited
May 3, 2018 5:06 pm

I currently use the Participants Database with my Scalia Theme but when viewed on mobile it’s a disaster. I use Scalia as it is easy to edit the pages without being a programmer. Is there any other WP Theme that this database will work on for mobile, that is easily edited by a non professional?

Visualmodo WordPress Themes
September 4, 2017 8:46 pm

Great article!

Paul J Crecca
September 4, 2017 2:22 pm

New to this Blog – great and helpful posts. From a novice wordpress person, a crazy question on this post. I assume there is no way of collecting email address of visitors to my website?

Sabina Ionescu
September 5, 2017 2:51 pm
Reply to  Paul J Crecca

Hey, I love wine too 🙂 The simplest way is to use Jetpack’s module https://jetpack.com/support/subscriptions/ The crazy question comes after that and it’s how do you use those emails? This list of tools might help https://www.codeinwp.com/blog/email-marketing-tools-wordpress-for-small-business/ Glad you stopped by!

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