Readiness panel & emergency access – how to safely roll out Passwordless Mode

Applies to: Pro
Location: VentraConnect → Passwordless Mode

Passwordless is powerful, but if you flip everything to “Strict” without thinking, you can make life painful for yourself and your users.

VentraConnect gives you two guardrails:

1. A Readiness panel that tells you which parts of your site are safe for stricter modes.

2. Built-in Emergency access paths for site owners.

This article explains how to use both so you can roll out Passwordless Mode without drama.

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1. Where to find the Readiness panel

Go to:

VentraConnect → Passwordless Mode

At the top of the screen you’ll see:

• The current Passwordless Mode (Off, Recommended, Strict).

• A Readiness / Health panel showing which methods and integrations are ready.

This panel runs internal checks such as:

• Are any passwordless methods enabled?

• Are required providers configured?

• Is HTTPS available?

• Are WooCommerce / membership / LMS integrations active and hooked correctly?

• Are email-based methods (Magic Link, OTP) configured?

It then shows a quick summary per area, for example:

• WordPress login – Ready / Not ready

• WooCommerce – Ready / Not ready

• Memberships & communities – Ready / Not ready

• LMS – Ready / Not ready

• Comments – Ready / Not ready

(Exact labels may vary, but that’s the idea.)

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2. What “Ready” vs “Not ready” actually means

“Ready”

An area is considered Ready when:

• At least one passwordless method is active (Social, Magic Link, or OTP), and

• VentraConnect can safely add login buttons there (integration toggles on, Woo/membership/LMS detected correctly), and

• Basic requirements (like HTTPS for provider callbacks and email config for Magic Link/OTP) look sane.

Ready means:

“If you turn on Recommended or Strict, users still have a working way to log in here.”

“Not ready”

An area is Not ready when:

• No passwordless methods are available on that surface, or

• The integration is disabled, or broken, or the plugin isn’t active, or

• A key requirement is missing (e.g. email login method enabled, but mail config is clearly broken).

Not ready means:

“If you start blocking passwords here, some users may have no reliable way to log in.”

Translation:
If you ignore Not Ready warnings and flip to Strict, any form in the red zone is where users will scream first.

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3. Emergency access for site owners

Even if you misconfigure everything, VentraConnect is designed to not permanently lock site owners out.

You always have:

A. Admin login via wp-login.php

Regardless of Passwordless Mode:

• At least one admin-level account can still log in via:
  https://your-site.com/wp-login.php

If strict passwordless is applied to other forms (Woo, membership, LMS, comments), you can still use:

• Username / email + password on wp-login.php as a last resort.

• Or your Social / Magic Link / OTP flow there if you prefer.

Keep at least one admin user with:

• A strong password, and

• (ideally) 2FA via your security plugin.

Don’t rely on passwordless-only accounts for all admin users.

B. Passwordless Mode switch

Once you’re in the dashboard:

1. Go to VentraConnect → Passwordless Mode.

2. Switch back to Off.

3. Save changes.

This instantly:

• Stops blocking password logins.

• Restores normal password behaviour on all supported forms.

• Keeps passwordless buttons visible where configured, but no longer enforces them.

C. Dedicated “Emergency access” path (if shown)

Depending on your version, you may see an “Emergency access for site owners” note or link within the Passwordless Mode screen.

Typical uses:

• Temporarily relaxes Passwordless Mode for certain forms.

• Provides a short-lived recovery link or override for site owners.

Use that only when necessary, then restore your normal mode after fixing the configuration issue.

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4. Safe rollout plan (do this, don’t be clever)

Here’s how to roll out Passwordless Mode without shooting yourself in the foot.

Step 1 – Start in Off mode

Set Passwordless Mode to Off:

• Users can log in normally with passwords.

• Passwordless buttons appear where you enable them, but nothing is enforced.

In this phase:

• Configure Social providers (Google, Facebook, etc.).

• Set up Magic Link email template (if using).

• Set up Email OTP (if using).

• Enable WooCommerce / membership / LMS / comments integrations where needed.

Step 2 – Test each login surface

For each area you care about:

• WordPress login (wp-login.php)

• WooCommerce (login, registration, checkout)

• Membership plugin(s)

• LMS plugin(s)

• Comments

Do real tests in a private/incognito window:

• Can a new user sign up if allowed?

• Can an existing user log in?

• Are redirects correct?

• Are error messages clear when something is wrong?

Fix issues now, before you start blocking passwords.

Step 3 – Check the Readiness panel

Go back to:

VentraConnect → Passwordless Mode

Look at the Readiness panel:

• Any area you’re not using (e.g. LMS on a non-LMS site) can be ignored even if it says Not ready.

• For areas you are using (Woo, memberships, etc.), aim to get them to Ready status before you tighten modes.

If something shows as Not ready:

• Check its integration settings tab (Woo, Memberships, LMS, Comments).

• Make sure at least one passwordless method appears on those forms.

Step 4 – Move to Recommended

Once your important areas are Ready:

• Change Passwordless Mode to Recommended.

• Save changes.

In this mode:

• Users see both password fields and passwordless buttons.

• Password logins on supported forms are blocked for normal users, but:

  • Admins still have a safe password login path via wp-login.php.

Run another round of tests:

• Try to log in with a password on a front-end form → you should see a friendly error.

• Try Social / Magic Link / OTP → they should work.

• Confirm admins can still log in via wp-login.php.

Stay in Recommended for a while (days/weeks), watch for support tickets, and fix anything that comes up.

Step 5 – Consider Strict (optional)

Only if:

• You’ve been stable in Recommended Mode.

• All the login surfaces you care about are Ready.

• Your team understands how to handle passwordless support questions.

Then:

• Switch to Strict.

In Strict:

• No normal user can log in with a password on supported forms.

• All user logins go through Social Login, Magic Link, or OTP.

• You keep the admin/emergency paths described earlier.

If you see unexpected problems:

• Log in as admin via wp-login.php.

• Switch back to Recommended or Off.

• Fix the configuration, then try again later.

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5. When things go wrong (checklist)

If you or users are locked out of normal logins:

1. As site owner, go to wp-login.php and log in with your admin password.

2. If that fails:

   • Try your own Social/Magic/OTP login on wp-login.php.

   • Use your host’s control panel (or WP-CLI / SFTP) to temporarily deactivate the Pro plugin if needed, then log in and reconfigure.

3. Once you’re in:

   • Go to VentraConnect → Passwordless Mode.

   • Switch to Off.

   • Confirm everyone can log in again using passwords or Social.

4. Revisit Readiness, fix the underlying issue, and only then move back to Recommended/Strict.

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6. Summary – how to not screw this up

• Don’t jump straight to Strict on a live store you haven’t tested.

• Do use the Readiness panel as a sanity check before changing modes.

• Always keep at least one admin account with a known-good password and 2FA through your security plugin.

• Know how to get to wp-login.php and how to temporarily revert to Off.

If you follow this process, Passwordless Mode becomes a genuine upgrade, not a new way to lock yourself out at 2 AM.