Sharing WordPress User sessions in Iframes using JWT

This article outlines the use case of sharing user sessions securely within iframes on a website using JSON Web Tokens (JWT) for authentication. The scenario involves embedding content from a WordPress website/ domain within iframes on your other sites. The user session is maintained for continuity across the parent page and the WordPress site in iframe.

Suppose you have an LMS, app build using no code apps or some other website and wish to embed content from a WordPress website within iframes. If you want to maintain user sessions across the parent page and the WP iframe you can use our WordPress Login and Register using JWT plugin to achieve session sharing between the parent website and the WordPress site in iframe without the need to login again.

  Introduction

As a website owner seeking to provide a seamless user experience, there is a need to embed external content from another WordPress site within iframes on your website. However, a challenge arises in maintaining user sessions across both the parent page and the embedded WP iframes. Traditional approaches to authentication would require users to log in separately for each iframe, leading to a disjointed user experience and potential frustration.

If you are facing this issue on your website, you need our WordPress Login and Register using JWT plugin. It will allow you to automatically login users into the WP iframe session when they login into the main site.

  Problem Challenges

1. Session Discontinuity: Without a proper solution, users will need to log in separately for each iframe on your website to see content from the WordPress site, causing an inconvenient experience and bad usage experience.

2. Security Risks: Insecure session-sharing mechanisms can allow unauthorized access or data breaches, compromising user privacy and website integrity.

3. Cross-Origin Restrictions: Traditional cross-origin communication limitations can hinder the seamless exchange of data between parent website pages and iframes.

4. Integration Complexity: Implementing a secure session-sharing to log in users automatically requires expertise in both web security and front-end development.

  Proposed Solution

miniOrange WordPress Login and Register using JWT plugin allows you to automatically login users in the iframe session when they are logged into the main parent site. This process leverages JSON Web Tokens (JWT) to securely share user sessions between the parent website and embedded WordPress iframes. By generating and validating JWTs containing user session data, the plugin aims to establish a secure, seamless, and continuous user experience while addressing the challenges of session discontinuity and cross-origin communication.

  How does the session sharing between iframe and WordPress site work?

• User visits the main parent website.
• User logs in or registers using the website's login/ registration form.
• After successful authentication (login), the website generates a JWT containing user session data, such as user ID and role.
• The website owner includes an iframe which includes WordPress pages, passing the JWT as a parameter in the iframe URL or save that under a cookie in case of same subdomain.
• When the iframe loads, the included content verifies the JWT using a secret key shared with the WordPress website.
• If the JWT is valid, the embedded content extracts user session information from the JWT payload and establishes a session for the user on the embedded domain in the iframe.
• The user interacts with the embedded content within the iframe, utilizing the established session. This method automatically logs in the user so that they don’t have to log in again to the site in an iframe.

  Benefits

1. Seamless User Experience: Users can interact with WordPress iframe content without the need for repeated logins, enhancing engagement as iframe session sharing is activated.

2. Security Enhancement: JWT authentication is a secure and trusted method as it utilizes signed tokens and minimizes the leaking of sensitive user data.

3. Cross-Domain Session Sharing: JWTs facilitate secure communication between parent WordPress pages and iframes, even across different domains.

4. Enhanced User Retention: A consistent and smooth user experience contributes to higher user retention rates and improved website credibility.

  Additional Resource

• Login and Register using JWT
• Autologin in WordPress websites
• OAuth Client for SSO
• WP REST API Authentication

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