Do not require account sign-in before checkout
Required sign-in adds an authentication stop before checkout. Leave the Shopify setting off for a B2C launch, then verify the logged-out flow.
Skip this if
- B2B and wholesale stores, where account-gated pricing and terms are the point and the trade-off is a different decision
- head-of-ecommerce at scaling: on an established store this becomes a migration with existing account holders, order history and support implications, not a launch default
Required sign-in can sound useful at launch. You want clean customer records and easier repeat purchases. But the setting adds an authentication stop before a first order, when the shopper is trying to pay.
The decision: leave "Require customers to sign in to their account before checkout" off for a standard B2C launch. This lesson does not decide how customer accounts should work after purchase.
The rest of this lesson is available once the Atlas is unlocked.