Some associations let members sign in through another service, such as the association’s website or membership database, instead of using a separate portal password. When you arrive at the portal already signed in, the portal checks your member record before it opens the page you requested.
Tip
If the sign-in page needs more context, the association may add a short message there. For example, they may explain which sign-in method to use, or whether you should create an account before continuing. Some associations send visitors to a plain page outside the sign-in flow first when that gives them more room to explain a change.
The Checking Page
When you arrive through single sign-on, you may briefly see a plain page that says it is checking your contact linkage. This page does not show your personal information. It runs a few quick checks, confirms your linked-contact information is ready, and then sends you to the next step.
Some associations use an outside sign-in connection from their website, membership database, or another site they manage. When you reach the portal already signed in through that connection, the portal checks your member record before it shows the page you asked for.
The Checking Page
If you arrive at the portal through single sign-on, you may briefly see a plain page that says it is checking your contact linkage. The page does not show your information; it only runs the checks needed to send you onward.
Prerequisites
- This applies only when you arrive through an outside system's single sign-on connection to the portal, not when you sign in directly on the portal itself.
While this page is checking, it looks at these items in order:
- Whether your single sign-on identity is already connected to a member record.
- Whether the email address associated with your identity is verified.
- Whether you have ever completed your member profile on this portal before.
Different entry points can behave differently. If you are troubleshooting a sign-in issue, note exactly how you arrived: directly on the portal, through the association’s website, or through a specific microsite. The checking page and the next step can change based on that entry point.
Where You End Up
The checking page sends you to the right place based on what it finds:
- No connected member record yet. You are sent to a sign-up page provided by the association, where you can connect your single sign-on identity to your member record. See Create Your Contact the First Time You Sign In for what that involves. This same sign-up and account-linking step can also appear when you open a direct portal link without a connected member record, not only when you arrive through single sign-on.
- Email not yet verified. You are sent to verify your email address. This sign-in path does not keep the page you originally wanted, so after you verify your email, you may need to return to that page yourself. See Verify Your Email Address to Continue. If you are caught in a repeating loop between a microsite and the main portal, first check that the microsite or link is sending you to the correct destination address, then check whether your email is verified.
- Profile never completed. You are sent to complete your contact details for the first time, even if another sign-in path would normally skip that step for you.
- Everything checks out. You continue to the page you originally wanted. A later update was intended to make this return-to-the-original-page behavior more reliable for portal sign-in in general, not only for this single sign-on path, though reports on how consistently it works are still mixed. A secure action from a public page, such as a registration link on a public pricing or landing page, depends on the same redirect handling to bring you back after you sign in.
Tip
If you want to see your membership status as soon as you sign in, ask the association whether the page they send you to, or the portal home page, can include or redirect to a membership overview page. Some associations set this up so members can reach that information without an extra step.
When you connect your single sign-on identity to a member record, a few details affect whether Rhythm finds the right record. Automatic linking by email address works only when exactly one contact record uses that address. If more than one contact shares the email address, you are asked which record to link. This automatic match checks only a contact’s primary email domain, not an organization’s other recognized domains, so an address on one of those other domains may not connect you to that organization the way it does elsewhere in Rhythm. If the association has records with very similar names, it helps to distinguish those records before you create a new account, so you do not link to the wrong one by mistake. During linking, you may be asked to confirm your name. Enter your name the way the association has it on file, because a longer or different version, such as one with a middle name, may not match a shorter stored name. The verification step is intentional because it helps prevent duplicate accounts and keeps you from linking to someone else’s record. If you start from a branded microsite and the account-creation pages look visually different after the redirect, that mismatch is a known rough edge in how those pages appear, not a sign that something went wrong.
Signing in successfully on the portal does not automatically give you access to everything on the association’s own website. Website-controlled features, including WordPress-protected content, can use a separate login or authorization path, so the rest of the site may not recognize your portal sign-in.
Warning
This checking page does not confirm that your member record is currently active. If your record has been deactivated, the page still lets you continue, but you may be refused later when you reach a page that checks for an active record.
Depending on what the checking page finds, you are sent to one of a few places:
- No connected member record yet. You are sent to a sign-up page provided by the association, where you can connect your single sign-on identity to your member record. See Create Your Contact the First Time You Sign In for what that involves.
- Email not yet verified. You are sent to verify your email address. Unlike some other sign-in paths, this one does not carry along the page you originally wanted, so after you verify your email, you may need to return to that page yourself. See Verify Your Email Address to Continue.
- Profile never completed. You are sent to complete your contact details for the first time, even if you are the kind of user who would normally be exempt from this step on other sign-in paths.
- Everything checks out. You continue to wherever you were originally headed.
Warning
This checking page does not confirm that your member record is currently active. If your record has been deactivated, this page still lets you continue; you may instead be refused later, once you reach a page that does check for an active record.
If Something Goes Wrong
| What you see | What it means and what to do |
|---|---|
| The checking page never moves past "Checking for contact linkage..." | The check could not confirm your identity, such as when the sign-in token was not accepted. Start your sign-in again from the association's other site. |
| You are sent to sign-up even though you believe you already have a member record | Your single sign-on identity may not be connected to that record yet. Complete the sign-up steps, or contact the association if the connection should already exist. |
| After verifying your email, you do not return to the page you wanted | This is expected on this sign-in path. Navigate back to the page yourself. |
| You reach a page later that says your account is inactive | The initial checking page does not test for this. Contact the association to have your account reviewed. |
| Sign-in works sometimes but not others, depending on how you reach the portal | Try signing in directly at the portal’s own address, separate from any button on the association’s website. If direct sign-in works but the website button or return path does not, the issue is more likely in that website’s integration than in your account. |
| You are not sure whether a sign-in problem is with your account or with a custom integration | Try the association’s baseline portal sign-in directly. If that works normally, the issue is more likely in a custom integration than in your account access. Also check whether you are already signed in elsewhere, clear your browser cache, and try another sign-in method if more than one is available. |
| The checking page never moves past "Checking for contact linkage..." | The check could not confirm your identity, for example because the sign-in token was not accepted. Start your sign-in again from the association's other site. | | You are sent to sign-up even though you believe you already have a member record | Your single sign-on identity may not yet be connected to that record. Complete the sign-up steps, or contact the association if the connection should already exist. | | After verifying your email, you do not return to the page you wanted | This is expected on this particular path; navigate back to the page yourself. | | You reach a page later that says your account is inactive | The initial checking page does not test for this. Contact the association to have your account reviewed. |