Stop Forcing User Registration in Your WordPress Plugin — Here’s a Better Way
in For Developers, Plugin, Wordpress on November 18, 2025If you’re selling digital products (like WordPress plugins) through your site, you might think user registration is necessary for order tracking, license activation, or support.
But here’s the truth: forced registration is one of the top reasons users abandon checkout — especially developers who just want a quick, clean purchase.
At SWSPlugins, we removed user registration entirely and saw higher conversions, fewer spam accounts, and happier customers. Here’s how to do it right.
✅ Why Registration Hurts UX (and Security)
Friction: Developers hate creating yet another account.
Spam risk: As you’ve likely experienced, bots love registration forms (2000 fake accounts, anyone?).
GDPR/privacy overhead: Storing user data = more legal responsibility.
The good news? You don’t need WordPress user accounts to sell or validate licenses.
✅ The Smarter Approach: Email + License Key
Instead of forcing a WP account, use this flow:
Customer enters email at checkout.
After payment, they receive:
A download link,
A unique license key,
Instructions to activate the plugin using that key (no login needed).
This is how top plugin shops (like Gravity Forms, WP Rocket, and ACF) handle it.
✅ How to Disable Registration in Easy Digital Downloads (EDD)
If you’re using EDD (as you plan to), here’s how to allow guest purchases:
Go to Downloads → Settings → General.
Make sure “Disable Guest Checkout” is UNCHECKED (yes — the wording is confusing!).
Under “Account Creation”, uncheck “Allow customers to create an account during checkout”.
Now, users can buy with just name + email — no password, no account.
Note: You can still offer optional accounts for power users (e.g., “Create an account to manage licenses later”), but never force it.
✅ Bonus: Validate Licenses Without User Accounts
In your plugin, store the license key as an option, not tied to a user ID:
// Save license key during activation
update_option('sws_plugin_license_key', $license_key);
// Validate it against your server
function sws_validate_license() {
$key = get_option('sws_plugin_license_key');
// Send $key to your validation endpoint
} No get_current_user_id() needed. Clean, secure, and user-friendly.
✅ Final Thought
Removing forced registration isn’t just about convenience — it’s about respecting your users’ time and privacy.
When your checkout takes 30 seconds instead of 3 minutes, you don’t just reduce cart abandonment…
you build trust from the very first interaction.
Built with care at SWSPlugins.com — where simplicity meets professionalism.