Home
>
Web Development
>
Developing A Login System With PHP And MySQL

Developing A Login System With PHP And MySQL

Most interactive websites nowadays would require a user to log in into the website's system in order to provide a customized experience for the user. Once the user has logged in, the website will be able to provide a presentation that is tailored to the user's preferences.

A basic login system typically contains 3 components:

1. The component that allows a user to register his preferred login id and password

2. The component that allows the system to verify and authenticate the user when he subsequently logs in

3. The component that sends the user's password to his registered email address if the user forgets his password

Such a system can be easily created using PHP and MySQL.

================================================================

Component 1 ? Registration

Component 1 is typically implemented using a simple HTML form that contains 3 fields and 2 buttons:

1. A preferred login id field
2. A preferred password field
3. A valid email address field
4. A Submit button
5. A Reset button

Assume that such a form is coded into a file named register.html. The following HTML code excerpt is a typical example. When the user has filled in all the fields, the register.php page is called when the user clicks on the Submit button.

[form name="register" method="post" action="register.php"]

[input name="login id" type="text" value="loginid" size="20"/][br]

[input name="password" type="text" value="password" size="20"/][br]

[input name="email" type="text" value="email" size="50"/][br]

[input type="submit" name="submit" value="submit"/]

[input type="reset" name="reset" value="reset"/] [/form]

The following code excerpt can be used as part of register.php to process the registration. It connects to the MySQL database and inserts a line of data into the table used to store the registration information.

@mysql_connect("localhost", "mysql_login", "mysql_pwd") or die("Cannot connect to DB!"); @mysql_select_db("tbl_login") or die("Cannot select DB!"); $sql="INSERT INTO login_tbl (loginid, password and email) VALUES (".$loginid.",".$password.",".$email.")"; $r = mysql_query($sql); if(!$r) {

$err=mysql_error();

print $err;

exit(); }

The code excerpt assumes that the MySQL table that is used to store the registration data is named tbl_login and contains 3 fields ? the loginid, password and email fields. The values of the $loginid, $password and $email variables are passed in from the form in register.html using the post method.

================================================================

Component 2 ? Verification and Authentication

A registered user will want to log into the system to access the functionality provided by the website. The user will have to provide his login id and password for the system to verify and authenticate.

This is typically done through a simple HTML form. This HTML form typically contains 2 fields and 2 buttons:

1. A login id field
2. A password field
3. A Submit button
4. A Reset button

Assume that such a form is coded into a file named authenticate.html. The following HTML code excerpt is a typical example. When the user has filled in all the fields, the authenticate.php page is called when the user clicks on the Submit button.

[form name="authenticate" method="post" action="authenticate.php"]

[input name="login id" type="text" value="loginid" size="20"/][br]

[input name="password" type="text" value="password" size="20"/][br]

[input type="submit" name="submit" value="submit"/]

[input type="reset" name="reset" value="reset"/] [/form]

The following code excerpt can be used as part of authenticate.php to process the login request. It connects to the MySQL database and queries the table used to store the registration information.

@mysql_connect("localhost", "mysql_login", "mysql_pwd") or die("Cannot connect to DB!"); @mysql_select_db("tbl_login") or die("Cannot select DB!"); $sql="SELECT loginid FROM login_tbl WHERE loginid='".$loginid."' and password='".$password."'"; $r = mysql_query($sql); if(!$r) {

$err=mysql_error();

print $err;

exit(); } if(mysql_affected_rows()==0){

print "no such login in the system. please try again.";

exit(); } else{

print "successfully logged into system.";

//proceed to perform website's functionality ? e.g. present information to the user }

As in component 1, the code excerpt assumes that the MySQL table that is used to store the registration data is named tbl_login and contains 3 fields ? the loginid, password and email fields. The values of the $loginid and $password variables are passed in from the form in authenticate.html using the post method.

================================================================

Component 3 ? Forgot Password

A registered user may forget his password to log into the website's system. In this case, the user will need to supply his loginid for the system to retrieve his password and send the password to the user's registered email address.

This is typically done through a simple HTML form. This HTML form typically contains 1 field and 2 buttons:

1. A login id field
2. A Submit button
3. A Reset button

Assume that such a form is coded into a file named forgot.html. The following HTML code excerpt is a typical example. When the user has filled in all the fields, the forgot.php page is called when the user clicks on the Submit button.

[form name="forgot" method="post" action="forgot.php"]

[input name="login id" type="text" value="loginid" size="20"/][br]

[input type="submit" name="submit" value="submit"/]

[input type="reset" name="reset" value="reset"/] [/form]

The following code excerpt can be used as part of forgot.php to process the login request. It connects to the MySQL database and queries the table used to store the registration information.

@mysql_connect("localhost", "mysql_login", "mysql_pwd") or die("Cannot connect to DB!"); @mysql_select_db("tbl_login") or die("Cannot select DB!"); $sql="SELECT password, email FROM login_tbl WHERE loginid='".$loginid."'"; $r = mysql_query($sql); if(!$r) {

$err=mysql_error();

print $err;

exit(); } if(mysql_affected_rows()==0){

print "no such login in the system. please try again.";

exit(); } else {

$row=mysql_fetch_array($r);

$password=$row["password"];

$email=$row["email"];

$subject="your password";

$header="from:you@yourdomain.com";

$content="your password is ".$password;

mail($email, $subject, $row, $header);

print "An email containing the password has been sent to you";

}

As in component 1, the code excerpt assumes that the MySQL table that is used to store the registration data is named tbl_login and contains 3 fields ? the loginid, password and email fields. The value of the $loginid variable is passed from the form in forgot.html using the post method.

================================================================

Conclusion

< p>The above example is to illustrate how a very basic login system can be implemented. The example can be enhanced to include password encryption and additional functionality ? e.g. to allow users to edit their login information.

Used with the author's permission.
This article is written by John L.
John L is the Webmaster of designer banners (designer banners).

no-contract cleaning service Mundelein ..

In The News:

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.

Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.

Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.

iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.

Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.

FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.

Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.

Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.

Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.

Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.

Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.

New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.

FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.

New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

OpenTable now uses AI to track your dining habits and share insights with restaurants. Learn what data they collect and how to protect your privacy.

Google's discontinued Nest thermostats still secretly upload home data to company servers despite losing smart features, raising serious privacy concerns.

New Android malware NGate steals NFC payment codes in real-time, allowing criminals to withdraw cash from ATMs without your card. Learn protection tips.

DoorDash confirms data breach exposing customer names, emails, addresses after social engineering attack. Learn how to protect yourself from scams.

Concerned about Google's AI scanning your Gmail? Learn how to disable Gemini features that access your emails, Drive files and Chat messages for privacy.

Google warns Android users about dangerous fake VPN apps hiding malware that steals passwords, banking details and personal data from phones and tablets.

Apple's digital passport feature lets iPhone users breeze through TSA checkpoints this holiday season using Digital ID technology at 250+ airports.

A new phishing scam targets family photos with fake "Cloud Storage Full" alerts. Criminals steal credit card information through fake sites. Learn protection tips.

Developing A Login System With PHP And MySQL

Web Development