Guest Checkout

Guest checkout lets customers place orders without creating an account on your site. Fewer steps at checkout means less friction, which often leads to more completed orders.

How to Set It Up

1. Go to Sunshine > Settings > Checkout
2. Check Allow Guest Checkout
3. Save your settings

Guest checkout is enabled by default, so unless you've turned it off, your customers can already check out without an account.

How It Works

When guest checkout is enabled, customers see fields for their name and email at checkout but the password field is optional. They have two paths:

• Check out as a guest — They leave the password field blank and complete their order. No account is created.
• Create an account while checking out — They enter a password during checkout and an account is automatically created for them.

After placing an order, guest customers are taken to an order confirmation page using a unique link. This link includes a secure key so only the person with that URL can view the order details. Guest customers don't have an account page or order history — their confirmation page link is the only way to review the order.

If a customer who already has an account on your site enters the same email address during guest checkout, they'll be prompted to log in instead.

When to Require an Account

If you'd rather have every customer create an account before ordering, uncheck the Allow Guest Checkout setting. Customers will then be required to set a password during checkout.

There's also a separate setting — Require account to view products — that hides purchase options entirely until a customer is logged in. This is useful for private or client-only galleries where you want to control who can place orders.

Hooks and Filters

sunshine_cart_needs_account

Controls whether an account is required for checkout. Receives a boolean value.

add_filter( 'sunshine_cart_needs_account', function( $needs_account ) {
    // Example: always require an account
    $needs_account = true;
    return $needs_account;
});

Learn how to add this custom code to your WordPress website