When it comes to e-commerce stores on WordPress websites, WooCommerce is the obvious choice, and it has become the standard among WordPress-based store systems for both SMEs and large companies.
There are many factors to building a successful WooCommerce store. One thing that some companies forget to consider is the login page, although it has a pretty direct impact on the user experience.
Fortunately, you can choose from more than one login option depending on the type of store you have. Today we’ll introduce you to 5 different types of WooCommerce logins and show you how to create them easily.
Types of WooCommerce Login
1. Guest Checkout
Guest checkout allows customers to shop from your store without logging into an account. As the customer’s information is only used for this order, they will not be able to use it again the next time they make a purchase.
On the one hand, this process increases the conversion rate as it makes it very easy for users to buy a product. However, it can also cause some problems, as you likely want to retain repeat customers. Plus, it makes it more difficult to review, change or track orders, and users are prevented from reordering products with just a few clicks.
The guest checkout method is not suitable for every business. So if you opt for the guest checkout, make sure you are targeting new customers and not those who have already made a purchase.
How to Enable Guest Checkout in WooCommerce
Enabling guest checkout for WooCommerce stores can be done on the WooCommerce checkout settings page. These 2 simple steps will show you how to do it:
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce → Settings → Account & Privacy. If you couldn’t find the “Account & Privacy” tab, go to the “Checkout” tab
- Check the box “Allow customers to place orders without an account” next to the Guest checkout section.
If you do not want your customers to create an account even if they go to checkout or are on the registration page, you need to uncheck all the boxes in the “Account creation” section.
2. Checkout with User Accounts
Unlike guest checkout, the standard checkout process in e-commerce stores requires users to enter their login credentials for later reuse. This saves them the time of entering this information every time they visit your store again.
This checkout solution is best suited for WooCommerce stores that sell handmade products, personal care products or household goods, as customers tend to be loyal and buy the same goods for a long time.
With a saved account, they can quickly reorder their desired products without having to search the store and add items to the cart again. Customers can also save their shipping or payment information.
Processing returns or refunds is also easier. There is no need for tedious contact via emails, contact forms or social media. All a user has to do is log in to their account and submit a request to customer service.
If you offer memberships, bookings, courses, groups or digital downloads, the account checkout is a must. It allows users to manage everything from the same place: Checking order history, managing bookings, etc.
How to Set Up a Public Store with User Accounts
Similar to the guest checkout method, WooCommerce comes with a default feature that allows you to automatically create accounts for all users during the checkout process. Users will receive an email to their account with an automatically generated username and password.
Here’s how to enable users to create an account during checkout:
- Navigate to WooCommerce → Settings → Account & Privacy
- Check the box “Allow customers to log in to an existing account during checkout” only in the “Guest checkout” section
- In the “Account creation” section, deactivate the option “Customers can only create an account on the “My account” page”.
3. Social Login
Users sometimes find it annoying to register or enter checkout information, which can lead to lost customers. For this reason, WooCommerce Social Login is very useful.
With WooCommerce Social Login, customers can easily and securely log in to your website using social accounts such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, PayPal, Disqus, Yahoo or VK. They don’t have to spend time creating a new user account.
There are a few reasons for using this login method in your WooCommerce store:
- Users don’t have to create and remember new usernames and passwords.
- It helps to improve security and increase trust by using social sign-in.
- You can increase conversion rates as almost everyone has at least one social account.
Social Login
WooCommerce does not provide a feature that allows users to log in with their social accounts. You will need to install another plugin to support this feature.
The WooCommerce Social Login provided by the WooCommerce team is a reliable plugin that allows users to easily and securely log in to your WooCommerce store using Facebook, Twitter, Google accounts, etc.
Follow these 5 steps to install and get the plugin up and running:
- Download the WooCommerce Social Login extension
- Visit Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin and select the downloaded zip file
- Install and activate the plugin
Now when your customers log into your WooCommerce store and check out, they have the choice of registering or logging in. On the login page, they will see the following:
4. Private Store and Products
You may have a store with limited edition goods, in which case you’ll want to restrict some products only to certain customers. For example, consider a store selling digital products — most ebooks and courses can be bought by anyone.
However, certain products, such as a new release from a bestselling author, cannot be viewed and purchased by all customers without the appropriate authorization.
Store owners often restrict access to their products or stores via user roles and whitelist accounts. They can also password protect individual products, a product category or the entire store so that only authorized customers can make purchases. This is an example of a product before and after password protection:
How to Setup Private WooCommerce Products or Entire Store
Some WooCommerce stores allow specific users and user roles to view and purchase private products. Others want to simplify the process by assigning only one password.
You can password protect individual product pages in the same way as a WordPress page or post. On the product page edit screen, enable the Password protected option in the Publish field and set a password.
If you want to password protect all products in a WooCommerce category, you’ll need to install a password protection plugin.
Password Protect WordPress Pro locks your entire WooCommerce category with just a single click. Once protected, all product pages are automatically password protected. Users must enter the correct password to access them.
You can find out how to install the plugin in the Social Logins section. Here is all you need to do:
- Search for Products → Categories in the WordPress navigation menu
- Activate the Hide category of the desired product category checkbox in the Password protection column
As WooCommerce and WordPress do not support password protection for store pages, you can protect them in the same way as product pages.
You must use the WooCommerce integration extension together with the Password Protect WordPress Pro plugin to protect your store page with passwords.
After installing and password protecting the store page, all your products and their category pages will also be protected.
5. Auto-Login Links
Last but not least, customers can log in by clicking on a special URL without entering user names or passwords. Not only does this mean they don’t have to remember any login information, it also increases order security.
Auto-login links are perfect for setting up a private WooCommerce store. You can offer premium or customized products that are only accessible to certain buyers.
You can use auto-login links to give customers access to password-protected products. Instead of having to enter passwords, customers can click on the access link to view the product. This method is the first choice for websites that sell premium content with WooCommerce.
Login Me Now
This method allows users to log in to their WooCommerce store by clicking on a custom link. No username or password is required.
The Login Me Now solution can combine with other login methods mentioned above. This requires the Login Me Now plugin.
The instructions for using this login option are divided into the following steps:
- Under WordPress Plugins, click Add New
- Enter “Login Me Now” in the keyword field
- Install and activate the plugin
- In your WordPress admin dashboard, go to Users
- Select the desired users for whom you want to provide the auto-login link
- On the ‘Edit User’ page, look for the Login Me Now section
- Generate a new hidden login URL and copy the link
- Update the profile
- Send users the login link
In fact, you have to email users the link to their accounts manually, which can take a lot of time and effort. Password Protect WordPress Pro and its WooCommerce integration extension can take care of this.
While the former locks your individual products or product categories with passwords, the latter helps to create quick access links for virtual products and password protect the entire WooCommerce store.
As soon as a customer purchases your virtual products using one of the above login options, they will receive a quick access link that allows them to access the protected content directly without having to enter passwords.
Conclusion
The login experience can make or break your WooCommerce store. Each login method we’ve covered—from frictionless guest checkout to secure user accounts, social logins, private stores and auto-login links—serves a different business need or customer preference.
The beauty of WooCommerce is that you can do multiple at once and create a different experience for different customer segments. For example, offer guest checkout for first time buyers and encourage account creation with loyalty benefits, then simplify return visits with Login Me Now links.
For premium or membership based stores, Password Protect WordPress Pro with WooCommerce integration is the perfect solution for creating protected content that’s still accessible. By designing your login system thoughtfully you’re not just removing barriers to purchase you’re building a foundation for stronger customer relationships and repeat business.
