Let returning visitors sign in with a single tap (no passwords) so their wishlists, price alerts, saved trips, and preferences follow them everywhere on your site. This is the foundation that powers most other Conversion Kit tools.
What guest accounts give your visitors #
Guest accounts turn anonymous browsing into a remembered, personalized experience. When a visitor signs in:
- One identity across every tool. Their Wishlist, Price Alerts, Booking Reminder, and Contact Form all recognize the same person. A wishlist saved on their phone is there when they return on a laptop.
- No passwords, ever. Sign-in works through a magic link: the guest enters their email, gets a one-tap link in their inbox, and they are in. There is nothing to remember and nothing to reset.
- A personal dashboard. Signed-in guests get an account page where they can see and manage their saved properties, price alerts, Vibe Profile, and recently viewed listings.
- A friendlier funnel. Because identity is shared, tools that would otherwise ask for an email again and again can skip the repeat ask once the guest is known.
This is the keystone feature of Conversion Kit. Many tools work without it, but they work better with it, and a few personalized experiences only light up once guest accounts are on.
How guest accounts behave when turned OFF #
Guest accounts ship off by default on a fresh install. With them off, the conversion tools still work, just without a shared login:
- Visitors who use Wishlist, Price Alerts, Booking Reminder, or Contact Form enter their email directly each time.
- They receive a confirmation email before anything recurring is saved.
- There is no sign-in modal, no header avatar menu, and no account dashboard.
Turning guest accounts on is a single switch that unlocks magic-link sign-in, the dashboard, the header menu, and unified identity all at once.
How to enable guest accounts #
Step 1: Open the Guest Accounts panel #
Go to HomeRunner -> Conversion Kit -> Guest Accounts.
Step 2: Turn it on #
If accounts are currently off, you will see a short explanation and an Enable Guest Accounts button. Click it. That one action switches on magic-link sign-in, the guest dashboard, the header avatar menu, and unified identity across all tools.
Once enabled, the panel shows a Guest accounts enabled checkbox plus the settings below.
Step 3: Choose the account page #
Set the Account Page dropdown to the page that holds your guest portal (see Set up the portal page below). This is where signed-in guests land to manage their account. If you leave it empty, Conversion Kit will try to auto-discover a page that contains the portal shortcode.
Step 4: Tune the security timings (optional) #
- Magic link expiry controls how long a sign-in link stays valid (default 15 minutes, adjustable between 5 and 60).
- Cookie duration controls how long a guest stays signed in before they need a fresh link (default 90 days, adjustable between 7 and 365).
The defaults suit most sites. Shorten them if you want tighter security, lengthen them for fewer repeat sign-ins.
Step 5: Save #
Click Save Changes. Guest accounts are now live on your site.
The sign-in modal and header menu #
With guest accounts on, Conversion Kit adds a sign-in experience to your site header:
- Anonymous visitors see a Sign in option (and a Register option), plus an optional Help link. Clicking it opens the sign-in modal, which simply asks for an email and sends the magic link.
- Signed-in guests see an avatar menu with Dashboard, Profile and preferences, and Sign out.
By default the menu attaches itself automatically to the HomeRunner site header. If you would rather place it yourself, you can turn off auto-injection and position it through a navigation menu item or shortcode instead.
Note: The sign-in modal only appears when the guest menu is actually present on the page (through the header, a nav menu item, or a shortcode). If you have turned off auto-injection and not placed the menu anywhere, the sign-in prompt and any tools that rely on it will silently do nothing. When guest accounts are on, Conversion Kit makes sure the sign-in modal is available wherever identity-aware tools need it.
Customizing the modal and menu copy #
From the Guest Accounts panel, follow the Customize sign-in modal & header menu copy link to reach HomeRunner -> Guest Menu. There you can adjust:
- The modal headline and subtitle.
- The consent checkbox text and its default state (opt-in copy for marketing emails).
- Help, Terms, and Privacy links.
- Whether the menu auto-injects into the header or is placed manually.
This sub-page is purely for wording and placement. The on/off switch and the core settings live on the main Guest Accounts panel.
Set up the portal page #
The guest dashboard is rendered by a shortcode. To create the portal:
- Create a new WordPress page (for example, My Account).
- Add the shortcode
[hrck_guest_portal]to the page content. - Publish the page.
- Return to HomeRunner -> Conversion Kit -> Guest Accounts and set the Account Page dropdown to this page.
Signed-in guests visiting the portal see tabbed sections for:
- Wishlists – their saved properties.
- Price Alerts – the listings they are watching for price drops.
- Vibe Profile – their stay preferences (see Vibe Profile).
- Recently Viewed – properties they have looked at lately.
Anyone visiting the portal page who is not signed in is shown the magic-link sign-in form instead.
What guest accounts power #
Once guest accounts are on, these tools become smarter because they share one identity:
- Wishlist – saved properties sync across devices.
- Price Alerts – watched listings live in the dashboard.
- Booking Reminder – tied to the known guest.
- Contact Form – pre-fills for recognized guests.
- Trip Builder – saved trips attach to the account.
- Vibe Profile – preferences shown in the dashboard.
For the analytics view of who your guests are and how they engage, see the Insights Dashboard. The quiet identity layer that connects all of this is described in Under the Hood.
Frequently asked questions #
Do guests need to create a password? No. Sign-in is entirely through one-tap magic links sent by email.
What happens to existing wishlists if I turn guest accounts on later? Identity is unified going forward. Once a visitor signs in, their activity is tied to that identity from that point on.
Can I keep using the conversion tools without guest accounts? Yes. Tools like Wishlist and Price Alerts work with direct email entry when accounts are off. Guest accounts simply make the experience seamless across devices and visits.