Set Up Your First Captive Portal in 15 Minutes

What You'll Build

By the end of this tutorial you'll have a fully functional captive portal — branded with your logo and colours, collecting email addresses with GDPR-compliant consent, and connected to your Omada controller ready to go live.

Step 1: Log In and Create a Location

Sign in to your VoqadoWiFi dashboard at app.voqadowifi.com. On first login you'll land on the Locations screen. Click + New Location. Enter your venue name, address, and timezone. This matters for analytics — all visit timestamps are stored against this timezone. Hit Save Location. You'll be assigned a unique Location ID (e.g. 'loc_8xKp2m') — keep this tab open.

Step 2: Copy Your Omada Site Credentials

Navigate to Settings → Integrations → Omada in the VoqadoWiFi dashboard. You'll see three fields pre-populated: your Portal Callback URL, your Client ID, and your Client Secret. Copy all three to a text file. You'll need them in Step 6. The Portal Callback URL will look like: 'https://www.voqadowifi.com/portal/YOUR-LOCATION-SLUG'. Do not share the Client Secret — treat it like a password.

Step 3: Configure Portal Settings (Colours, Logo, Welcome Text)

Click Portal Builder in the left nav, then select your new location. You'll see a live preview on the right. On the left panel: upload your logo (PNG or SVG, minimum 200px wide, transparent background recommended). Choose your brand primary colour using the hex picker — this controls the login button, header accent, and link colours. Write your welcome headline (e.g. "Welcome to The Anchor") and a short subheading (e.g. "Free WiFi — just enter your email to connect"). Keep the subheading under 80 characters so it doesn't wrap awkwardly on mobile. Click Save Draft — the preview updates in real time.

Step 4: Set Up the Email Capture Form

In the Portal Builder, scroll to Form Fields. Email is enabled by default and cannot be removed — it's the primary identifier. Toggle on First Name if you want personalisation in your email campaigns (recommended). Leave phone number off unless you plan to run SMS campaigns, as it reduces conversion rate by approximately 12%. Set the submit button label to something action-oriented: "Get Connected" or "Connect Me" outperforms "Submit" by 18-22% in A/B tests across the VoqadoWiFi customer base.

Step 5: Enable the GDPR Consent Checkbox

Scroll to Compliance Settings. Toggle on Marketing Consent Checkbox. This renders a non-pre-ticked checkbox above the submit button with the text "I agree to receive marketing emails from [Venue Name]." Click Edit Consent Text to customise it — add your venue name and optionally a link to your privacy policy URL. Separately, the Terms of Service checkbox is always present and pre-enabled — guests must tick this to connect. These are two separate consent flows: one for legal access to the network, one for marketing permission. Never merge them.

Step 6: Connect Your Controller URL

Go back to Settings → Integrations → Omada. Paste your Omada controller URL (format: 'https://[your-controller-ip-or-domain]:8043'). Enter your Omada operator username and password. Click Test Connection — you should see a green "Connected" status within 3 seconds. If you get a timeout, check that your controller is reachable from the internet (not just your local network) and that port 8043 is open in your firewall. Select your Omada site from the dropdown that populates, then click Save.

Step 7: Test with Preview Mode

Back in the Portal Builder, click Preview Mode in the top right. This generates a temporary test URL you can open on your phone — it simulates the full captive portal experience without sending any real traffic through your network. Complete the form using a test email address. Check that: the logo renders correctly, the consent checkbox is unticked by default, the redirect after login goes to your intended URL (set this under Post-Login Redirect). Once satisfied, click Publish Portal. Your portal is now live. Any guest who joins your WiFi SSID will be intercepted by the captive portal and prompted to log in.