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Guest Checkout

With guest checkout, a customer can place an order without a customer account. The customer enters an email address and the addresses at checkout, and the order has no customer account.

Turning guest checkout on or off

Go to System > Configuration > Sales > Checkout, group Checkout Options, and set Allow Guest Checkout. With Yes (the default), a customer can check out as a guest. With No, the customer must register or log in.

The setting has the scope [STORE VIEW], so each store view can have its own value (see Scope). When guest checkout seems on in Default Config but a store view still asks for an account, check the value of that store view and of its website.

Carts with downloadable products

Go to System > Configuration > Catalog > Catalog, group Downloadable Product Options, and look at Disable Guest Checkout if Cart Contains Downloadable Items. This setting has the scope [WEBSITE].

Value What happens
Yes (the default) A cart that holds at least one downloadable product needs a customer account, also when Allow Guest Checkout is Yes. The Shareable setting of the links does not change this
No A guest can buy a downloadable product. After the order, the guest can download only the links that are Shareable. A link that is not shareable needs a logged-in customer with the same account as the order, and a guest order has no account

So with the value No, set the links of your downloadable products to Shareable, or guests pay for files that they cannot download.

Customer accounts turned off

System > Configuration > Customers > Customer Configuration > Account Options > Enable Customer Accounts in Frontend turns off registration, login and the account pages of the storefront. Its help text says that only guest checkout is then available, so keep Allow Guest Checkout set to Yes in the same scope.

After a guest order

  • The order has no customer account. In Sales > Orders, the customer group of the order is NOT LOGGED IN.
  • The guest finds the order on the Orders and Returns page of the storefront, with the order number, the billing last name and the email address or the post code.
  • The tax of a guest uses the tax class of the NOT LOGGED IN customer group (see Tax in the cart and in the order).

Troubleshooting

What you see Why What to do
The checkout asks for an account, but Allow Guest Checkout is Yes The cart holds a downloadable product, and Disable Guest Checkout if Cart Contains Downloadable Items is Yes Set that setting to No, and make the links Shareable
Guest checkout works in one store view and not in another The other store view, or its website, has its own value of Allow Guest Checkout Select that scope in Current Configuration Scope and check the value
A guest cannot download a file that they bought The link was not Shareable when the guest bought it. The order keeps the Shareable value that the link had at the purchase For the next orders, set the link to Shareable on the Downloadable Information tab of the product. This does not change an order that is already placed. A link with the value Use config reads Shareable in System > Configuration > Catalog > Catalog, group Downloadable Product Options, at each download. For any other link, send the file to the customer another way