A client portal on the WordPress site you already have.
Each client signs in and sees only their own documents. They send files back without email attachments, and a copied file address does not work for anyone else. FileDeck runs on your WordPress site, so clients stay on your domain instead of learning another login.
- 1
- One sign-in per client
- Ordinary WordPress accounts, any role. Access is granted and removed per person.
- 2
- Clients kept apart
- A client’s documents are hidden from everyone else, not shown as padlocked rows.
- 3
- Files protected, not just pages
- Restricted files are served only after an access check, so the file’s own address does not work, and a copied download link expires within minutes.
01What it needs
What a client document portal has to do.
WordPress already gives you user accounts. The rest of this list is what turns those accounts into a portal, and how FileDeck handles each part.
Each client sees their own
Client areas · ProMake a document category per client and assign the client’s users to it. A single portal page then shows every signed-in client only their own areas, each as a titled section with its own search box; visitors who are not signed in get a login prompt. How client areas work.
Whole teams, not just people
Groups, email domains and membership plans · ProAdmit named people, a group you define once, everyone with an email address at a company’s domain, or everyone on a membership plan from MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, WooCommerce Memberships, Restrict Content Pro or s2Member. Someone who matches any one of them gets in.
The file, not just the page
File protection · ProA file uploaded to WordPress normally has a public address that works for anyone who has it. Once a document is restricted, FileDeck moves its file out of public reach and serves it only after checking the visitor’s access, so the file’s own address stops working and a copied download link expires within minutes. Apache sites need no setup; nginx needs one server rule. How file protection works.
Clients hear when it arrives
Email on publish · ProPublish a document into a client’s area, one at a time or in a batch, and the people who can open it are emailed (up to 200 per document): named users, group members and people at the area’s email domain. Members admitted by a membership plan aren’t emailed. Sending uses your site’s own mail, so a host that cannot send email needs an SMTP plugin.
Clients send files back
Uploads into moderation · ProEach area can carry a “Send us a document” form locked to that client’s category. What a client sends waits in your moderation queue and is published only when you approve it.
What changed since last time
Download history and markers · ProClients can see what they have already downloaded, which documents are new since their last visit, and keep favourites of their own. You see who downloaded what and when in the activity log, with CSV export.
One-off documents
Specific people and single-use links · ProFor a single contract or letter, set the document to specific people only. For someone without an account, a single-use link works for one download, then stops.
A record of what was sent
Watermarks, acknowledgments, transmittals · AI tierThe AI tier, from $119 a year, adds PDF watermarking with each recipient’s email and the time, read-and-confirm tracking, and numbered transmittals of what was sent to whom.
02Setting it up
A client portal in six steps.
One portal page serves every client; you add a category and a user for each new one. The full guide has the detail for each step.
1
Create the client accountsWordPress
Under Users → Add User, create an account for each client. Subscriber is enough; the role does not decide what they can see.
2
One category per clientFree
Under Documents → Document Categories, add a category such as Acme Corp. Sub-categories for projects or matters inherit the client’s access.
3
Assign the clientPro
Edit the category and add the client’s username or email under Client area — assigned users, a domain such as @acme.example, or a group.
4
Add their documentsFree
Upload files into the client’s category, one at a time or in a batch. With Pro, the people who can open each one are emailed when it is published.
5
Publish the portal pagePro
Create a page called Your documents with the portal shortcode [filedeck_my_documents uploads="1"]. Each client sees only their own areas, with an upload form in each.
6
Test with two clientsPro
Sign in as one client and check the other’s documents do not appear at all. Then, signed out, try one of their document pages and a raw file address: both should be refused.
03Is it the right tool
A document portal, not an all-in-one portal.
FileDeck does one job: getting the right documents to the right client, and documents back from them. Be clear about which kind of portal you need before you choose.
- FileDeck fits when
- The portal is mostly documents: reports, contracts, deliverables, statements, drawings, and the files clients send you in return.
- Look elsewhere when
- You need invoicing, project tasks, messaging and a CRM in one place. All-in-one portal software does that; FileDeck does not.
- Alongside a DMS
- Firms with a document management system keep it for matters and records, and use the portal to share the finished documents with clients.
- Accountants
- A folder per client for year-end accounts, tax returns and signed letters, with uploads for the client’s receipts and statements.
- Agencies & consultancies
- Deliverables, brand assets and reports per client, with a 50-site licence if you run portals for several clients’ sites.
- Law firms
- Client documents per matter, behind each client’s own sign-in. See FileDeck for law firms.
04Questions
What people ask about WordPress client portals.
Is there a free WordPress client portal plugin?
FileDeck’s free version is the document library: unlimited documents, four layouts, instant search and filters. Giving each client their own private area, protecting the files and letting clients upload are part of FileDeck Pro, from $59 a year for one site, and renewals stay at the price you bought at.
Do clients need a WordPress account?
For a client area, yes. Any role works, including Subscriber, and you can create the accounts yourself under Users → Add User. To send one file to someone without an account, use a single-use download link, which works for one download and stops working after 7 days if it is not used.
Can one client see another client’s files?
No. Documents in a client area are left out of other visitors’ libraries rather than shown as locked rows, so a file name cannot give a client away, and opening one of those documents’ pages without access returns a not-found page. Site administrators can see every area.
Can clients upload documents to us?
Yes, with Pro. The portal page can show a “Send us a document” form in each client’s area, locked to that client’s category. Uploads wait in a moderation queue and are not published until you approve them.
Can a whole company get access without adding every person?
Yes. Add an entry such as @acme.example to a client area and everyone whose account email is at that domain gets in, including new joiners. Because it trusts the email on the account, use it where you create or verify accounts yourself. You can also define a group once and give it several areas.
What happens to client files if our Pro licence lapses?
Client-area assignments keep being enforced, so client files do not become public. The Pro features themselves, including the portal page and uploads, stop working until you renew.
Is it suitable for law firms, accountants or healthcare providers?
Many firms share client documents through a WordPress portal, but whether it suits you depends on your own obligations, and FileDeck does not by itself make a site meet any regulation. Our security page sets out how file protection and access rules behave, and the secure client folders guide covers where a portal ends and a document management system begins.
Give every client their own door, on your own site.
Client areas are Pro, from $59 a year for one site, with a 30-day refund.
Or try the live demo of the library first.