The member portal
How members sign in to update their own details, what they can change, and how to word the emails they get.
Quick answers
6 questions · click to openHow do members sign in without a password?
They enter their email address at your website's /portal/login page and we email them a link. Clicking it signs them in. There is no password to set, forget or reset.
How long does the sign-in link last?
Fifteen minutes, and it only works once. After they sign in they stay signed in on that device for thirty days.
What can a member change themselves?
Their name, phone numbers and address, plus any custom fields you have marked as self-service. Their email address is shown but locked, because it is what the sign-in link is sent to.
Can I send someone their portal link?
Yes. Open their profile, choose Send portal link from the More menu, and they will be emailed a link to the portal. They still sign in themselves — the link does not log anybody in on its own.
Can I change the wording of the portal emails?
Yes. Go to Settings, then Member portal. You can edit the subject line and the whole body of both emails, and preview or send yourself a test before saving.
Why can't I delete the sign-in button from the email?
It is the only way into the portal, so Cobber adds it back automatically. You can change the wording around it, but the button always sends.
Members can sign in to your website and keep their own details up to date, which means fewer “can you change my address” emails for you to work through.
How a member signs in
There is no password. A member goes to /portal/login on your website, enters
their email address, and we send them a sign-in link. The link lasts fifteen
minutes and works once. Once they have used it they stay signed in on that
device for thirty days.
If the email address they type is not on your list, they still see the same “check your email” message. That is deliberate — it stops the page being used to work out who is and isn’t on your membership list.
What a member can change
On Your details a member can update:
- their name and title
- their mobile and home phone numbers
- their address
- any person custom fields you have marked Allow self-service editing
Their email address is shown but cannot be edited, because it is the address the sign-in link goes to. If a member needs it changed, change it for them on their profile.
Custom fields are private unless you say otherwise. A field only appears in the portal once you tick Allow self-service editing on it in Settings.
Sending someone their portal link
Open the person’s profile, then More → Send portal link. They get an email with a link to the portal. They still have to sign in themselves when they get there, so the email is safe to forward — it does not hand anyone else access to that member’s record.
You can also drop the portal link into an email campaign using the portal link merge field.
Wording the portal emails
Go to Settings → Member portal. Two emails are listed:
- Sign-in link — sent when a member asks for a link to sign in.
- Manage your details — sent when you use Send portal link on a profile.
Each one shows its current subject and opening line. Choose Edit to change the subject and the full body, Preview to see it as a member will, or Send test to mail yourself a copy. Reset to default puts the Cobber wording back.
Both emails pick up your logo and your brand colour automatically, so they match your website without you setting anything up. Which background the logo sits on follows the same header style setting as your website header — if your logo is a white or reversed one, set the header to your brand colour so the logo is visible.
The sign-in button is added for you and cannot be removed. You can write whatever you like around it, but the button always sends, because it is the only way a member can get in.
Who this email comes from
Under Sender you can set the from address and name for both portal emails.
Leave it blank and Cobber uses your membership sender address. As with every
other email, the from address has to be on a domain you have verified — it
cannot be a cobberhq.com.au address.
Members-only pages
Any page on your website can be restricted to members. Open the page, go to the Access tab, mark it private and choose which lists can see it. Somebody who is not signed in gets sent to the portal sign-in screen first, and back to the page afterwards. Use it for branch minutes, policy documents or an AGM notice.