Guest Checkout
Customers can buy without registering first. The Joomla user account is created silently after payment.
Flow
- Guest clicks Buy Now on a product
- On the checkout page they see an inline Have an account? Sign in panel for returning customers, alongside the guest name and email fields
- Guest fills in name, email, billing details, and pays
- After successful payment, LicenseDock creates a Joomla user with the billing email (or links the order to an existing user with the same email)
- The guest receives:
- A purchase confirmation email with order details, license keys, and download links
- An account activation email with a link to set their password
Once they activate, they have a regular Joomla account and can sign in to the customer portal.
Existing Email
If the billing email matches an existing Joomla user, the order is linked to that user automatically – no duplicate account is created.
Inline Sign-In on Checkout
Returning customers can sign in directly on the checkout page without leaving. The session preserves their selection across the sign-in flow, so they don't have to start over.
What Carries Over
| Data | Where it lives | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|
| Plan, trial flag, coupon | Session + ld_cart cookie | 24 hours (cookie) or session lifetime |
| Guest name and email | Session (BuyerContextHelper) | Session lifetime |
| Billing details | Form state, not persisted until payment | Page render |
The ld_cart cookie is first-party, strictly necessary, and stores only the plan price ID, trial flag, and coupon code – nothing personal.