Customizing Central's login page

[norlowski]

Today, the Central login page looks the same for everyone. For organizations running multiple servers or onboarding new team members, this can sometimes cause confusion about which Central you’re logging into.

We’re starting a new body of work in Central focused on customizing the login experience so users can feel confident they’re accessing the right server and feel a stronger sense of ownership when they do.

Admins will be able to upload their own logo and a hero image directly in Central. These assets will be applied consistently across the login experience, without affecting data collection or project configuration.

The login page will then reflect your organization’s branding, making it easier for users to recognize the correct server at a glance and feel confident they’re signing into the right place.

We’d love to hear your thoughts: would branded login pages help reduce confusion or improve trust for your teams? Are there other elements you’d expect to customize as part of this experience?

[MinimalPotato]

That's a really great idea - I'd definitely prefer this!

Maybe we could also consider adding an option to change the default theme color (I think it's magenta right now?) in ODK Central. This would allow organizations to align the interface with their own logo or brand color, and could really help create a more familiar and organization-friendly user experience.

[jniles]

I agree with @MinimalPotato’s suggestion.

I think the three core things that would be nice to change are:

1. Theme colors, just as suggested above.
2. Site title/name, so that it says “PNLP Data Collection Server” or “Maternal Health Project” instead of ODK Central in the top left corner. Still happy to have “Powered by ODK Central” appear prominently elsewhere (e.g. footer) for brand purposes or as makes sense.
3. Logo/Favicon. This would help with bookmarking, as all the favicons currently point to ODK, and would help distinguish in the browser omnibox so users click on the correct site if they have access to multiple sites.

I would prefer these things over the hero image, but would welcome any change to allow additional distinguishing between sites.

[mscholtens]

I think this idea is amazing and addresses a common request that I get from my teams.

[Dr_Vivek_Gupta]

Great Idea

I think two versions of violets are used.
Another low haggle fruit would be selector for custom font from say Google Fonts vast library.

We may also think about Add footer customisation and an static page where markdown based information can be displayed in greater detail such as who is owner, terms of use etc.

While we are at it, within system management, can we save SMTP settings that may be used for email sending rather than depending on .env

Similarly we may also save s3 credentials and connection info there !

Thanks
Vivek

[Yakub]

This is great.

I have had users who have access to multiple ODK Central instances, trying to log in and failing only to realise they have the server URLs mixed up, because “the login pages all look the same.”

It would work well for institutions with instances that are up for a long time.

[Stephen_K_ojwang]

Nice and timely feature. I like this branding customization. Is there an intention to do the same to ODK COLLECT app?

[Aly_Blenkin]

Hi @Stephen_K_ojwang, I’m curious to know what you would like to see in Collect in terms of branding!

[Stephen_K_ojwang]

Hi @Aly_Blenkin ,

​Thanks for asking. The new branding features in Central are a game-changer for organizational trust. To maximize this impact, I propose extending this customization into ODK Collect.

​As ODK evolves into a powerful tool for Entity Management, our UI needs to reflect that shift—moving away from a generic "survey app" feel toward a professional, branded "Organization Portal."

​1. Global Mobile Branding (via Central)

​I suggest a new "Mobile Branding" section in the Central Customization tab to give the app a "White Label" feel:

​Hero Logo: Place an organization logo top-center on the home screen, above the main buttons.

​Custom Org Title: Replace the ODK version text below the menu with a custom title (e.g., "National Health Registry").

​Technical Footer: Move the ODK versioning to a subtle, bottom-aligned footer: "Powered by ODK Collect v2026.x.x".

I’d love your thoughts on these or whether to make some setting configurations at the project level.

​2. "Entity-Ready" Action Labels

​With the shift toward Entities, "Start new form" is often inaccurate. I propose that the Primary Action Button text be customizable in Central. Admins should be able to choose labels that match their specific workflow, such as:

-​"Add New Record" (Ideal for Entity registration)

-​"Collect Data" (A professional, neutral default)

-​"Start Assessment" (Common for engineering or health)

-​"Add New Entry" (Simple and modern) or “Add new Task”

​3. Form-Level Branding (via XLSForm)

​To prevent errors when an App User has access to multiple similar projects/forms, we should allow branding at the Form List level using the settings sheet:

​form_icon: Display a unique icon (from the media folder) for each form in the "Start New Form" list.

​form_color: Assign a unique color to each form to provide a visual "shorthand" (e.g., Red = Emergency, Green = Routine).

​Why this matters:

This isn't just about "looking pretty."

​Trust: Enumerators feel they are using an official, secure tool provided by their organization.

​Accuracy: Visual cues (colors/icons) in the form list prevent users from selecting the wrong "workflow" or entity-update by mistake.

​Modernization: It aligns the app's language with ODK's powerful new Entity features, moving beyond the "paper-replacement" mindset.

​I’d love to hear the team's thoughts on making the Home Screen more adaptable to these professional needs!

[Aly_Blenkin]

Thanks for the detailed feedback @Stephen_K_ojwang. This is really helpful as we scope out this area for Collect (and Web Forms). I’m curious if others have similar needs for branding on the collection side of things?