How to Display User Registration Dates in WordPress: Admin Columns, Profiles, and Frontend

Want to show when users joined your WordPress site, like "Member since 2015" on profiles? As experienced WordPress developers, we've helped countless sites add this feature for membership platforms and forums. Here's our proven guide to display registration dates in admin areas, user profiles, and frontend pages.

Where to Display User Registration Dates

Display registration dates in the admin Users page columns for quick sorting and overviews. Show them on the Edit Profile page for admins and users. Or feature them on public frontend profiles—the most common request.

We'll cover all three methods using reliable plugins and custom code we've tested extensively.

Add Registration Date Column to Admin Users Page

Install and activate the Admin Columns plugin (a trusted tool for customizing WordPress admin interfaces). Then go to Settings » Admin Columns to set it up.

In the Admin Columns tab, select Users and click Add Column. Choose 'Registered' from the Type dropdown, then hit Store Updates.

Visit the Users screen—you'll see the new 'Registered' column with each user's join date.

Explore more Admin Columns customizations for enhanced user management.

Display Registration Date on Edit Profile Pages

Create a simple custom plugin to add this to profile screens. Use a text editor to make membersince.php and paste this battle-tested code:

user_registered;
    ?>
    
Account Details
    

        

            
Member Since
            

        
    
    

Upload via FTP to /wp-content/plugins/, then activate on the Plugins page.

Edit any user profile to confirm—the Member Since date appears.

Show Registration Dates on Frontend with Shortcode

Add this code to your theme's functions.php or a site-specific plugin for a flexible shortcode:

function wpb_user_registration_date( $atts ) {
    $atts = shortcode_atts( array( 'user' => false ), $atts );
    if ( $atts['user'] ) {
        $user = get_user_by( 'login', $atts['user'] );
        if ( $user ) {
            return 'Member since: ' . date( 'd F Y', strtotime( $user->user_registered ) );
        }
        return 'Sorry, no such user found.';
    }
    return 'Please enter a username.';
}
add_shortcode( 'membersince', 'wpb_user_registration_date' );
?>

Use it like: [membersince user="peter"]. Swap "peter" for any username.

This has powered profiles on high-traffic sites reliably. For more, check our guide to adding custom user profile fields.

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