Shopify Checkout Extensibility not only replaces the checkout.liquid for Plus stores but also brings customization opportunities for all Shopify merchants.
Here, we are covering:
- Shopify Checkout Extensibility
- How to track conversions with Checkout Extensibility
- Why Shopify Checkout Extensibility is important
along with many other insights to help Shopify merchants better understand what’s changing with Shopify Checkout Extensibility and take the actions needed.
Let’s explore how this new framework can significantly enhance your store’s performance by providing more control over the checkout process and how you can effectively navigate this transition.
What is Shopify Checkout Extensibility?
Shopify Checkout Extensibility is a new framework introduced by Shopify to replace the deprecated checkout.liquid file and enable all Shopify plans to customize their checkout experiences.
In the past, this was only possible through code customization for Plus stores.
This system allows merchants to customize the checkout process using apps instead of direct code modifications, enhancing flexibility and security.
With Checkout Extensibility, merchants can add custom UI elements like upsells, banners, and loyalty programs through the Shopify App Store or custom-developed apps.
It introduces Customer Events for detailed conversion tracking within a sandbox environment, ensuring accurate and secure data collection.
Checkout UI Extensions enable seamless integration of new functionalities directly into the checkout flow, adapting automatically to various checkout processes.
Additionally, the Branding API allows for advanced customization of the checkout’s appearance, maintaining a consistent brand experience.
This upgrade enhances the checkout process’s stability and security, making it easier to manage and scale.
Details of Conversion Tracking with Shopify Checkout Extensibility
With Shopify announcing the depreciation of the checkout.liquid file for Shopify Plus stores, significant changes are on the horizon for both Plus and Non-Plus stores to manage and track their checkout processes.
Here is a timeline:
- August 13, 2024: checkout.liquid will be turned off for Info, Shopping, and Payment pages.
- August 28, 2025: For plus stores checkout.liquid will be turned off for Thank You and Order Status pages, including Additional Scripts. For nonplus stores, only additional scripts will be unavailable.
Checkout Extensibility (Checkout Customization) for Non-Plus Shopify Merchants
The most notable update is that all Shopify merchants (not just Plus stores) will be able to customize their checkout processes with checkout extensibility.
Here’s a comprehensive breakdown of what this means for conversion tracking and how to navigate the changes effectively.
Impact of Deprecation
The checkout.liquid file has been a crucial component for embedding tracking scripts for tools like Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Ads, and other marketing platforms.
With its removal, Shopify Plus merchants won’t be able to directly insert tracking scripts within the checkout process. This change will affect:
- Tracking Scripts: Any scripts embedded within checkout.liquid will be lost upon upgrading for Shopify Plus merchants. This includes important conversion tracking for GA4, Google Ads, and similar platforms.
- Order Status Page Scripts: The Order Status Page, which typically holds 80% of a merchant’s conversion tracking tags, will be unavailable once you upgrade. This applies to both non-Plus and Plus stores.
Preparing for the Transition
Before upgrading, it is essential to ensure that new tracking systems are in place because your conversion tracking might break if you upgrade right away.
At this point, you have two options:
Move your scripts to Customer Events, or
Opt for a professional & easier solution for Checkout Extensibility
Since direct access to the checkout code will be restricted, Shopify offers two alternatives through Customer Events to maintain effective tracking more easily:
Custom Web Pixels: This feature provides a code editor and it operates within a sandbox environment. It allows you to subscribe to a specified event for tracking implementations in a controlled space to secure the storefront checkout from potential risks associated with code insertions.
App Web Pixels: This feature allows apps to send data to marketing or analytics destinations via the server. Compared to the Custom Web Pixel running on the client, its capability is currently quite limited.
For a smoother transition, you can consider using Analyzify (v3.3 or higher versions), which supports the new checkout extensibility features and “Professional Implementation” at no extra charge so that you make sure your conversion tracking won’t be broken.
Implementing Tracking with Shopify Customer Events
With Customer Events, you can manage your tracking scripts in a sandboxed environment by using Custom Web Pixels. Here’s how you can leverage this feature:
- Analyzify Web Pixel Integration: Analyzify, a comprehensive tracking solution, supports Shopify Checkout Extensibility and integrates with Shopify Customer Events. It ensures your tracking remains effective by providing custom scripts for tracking checkout events.
- Google Tag Manager (GTM): Analyzify utilizes GTM functionalities, ensuring robust and flexible tracking across the checkout process. GTM can relay transformed data from the dataLayer to various destinations, including GA4, Google Ads, Facebook, and more.
Tracking Important Events
The transition will affect the tracking of crucial events like purchase, checkout events, etc. You should make sure these events are tracked accurately. It allows you to subscribe to any other web pixel events (standard or custom) to enhance your tracking capabilities.
Here is what you need for better conversion tracking with Shopify Checkout Extensibility:
- Google Ads Conversion Tracking: This includes conversion actions associated with purchases.
- Google Ads Dynamic Remarketing: Events like navigating through checkout steps.
- Google Analytics 4 Checkout Events: Tracking interactions and conversions throughout the checkout process.
- Other Tracking Pixels: Any affiliate tracking or other manually added pixels need to be moved to the new system.
Important: It should be noted that the codes placed in the Customer Events field operate in a sandboxed environment.
Therefore, if you have other third-party marketing, affiliate, and analytics destinations managed from the Order Status Page field that Analyzify does not support, we recommend contacting their support to see if they support data transmission from a sandboxed environment.
Benefits and Limitations of Conversion Tracking with Customer Events
Using Shopify Customer Events and tools like Analyzify provides several benefits:
- Efficient Data Utilization: GTM can manage and transmit checkout data efficiently, ensuring comprehensive tracking of events.
- Detailed Tracking: You can monitor crucial events such as adding shipping information, contact information, and payment details.
- Constant Updates: Stay updated with Shopify’s latest enhancements, ensuring codes remain compatible and functional.
- Easy Debugging and Documentation: Benefit from a user-friendly system for debugging and comprehensive documentation.
- Data Privacy Compliance: Adhere to GDPR and other data privacy regulations with full compatibility with Shopify’s privacy API and consent management tools.
However, there are some limitations:
- Event Tracking Constraints: Limited scope of events that can be tracked.
- Restricted Data Transmission: Limited granularity of information sent with each event, which can impact the depth of analytics.
In summary, transitioning to Shopify Checkout Extensibility requires careful preparation and the use of new tools to maintain effective conversion tracking.
Leveraging solutions like Analyzify ensures that your conversion tracking remains accurate and reliable.
Why Shopify Checkout Extensibility is Important for Conversion Tracking
Shopify’s Checkout Extensibility is set to become the primary method for customizing checkout processes and managing conversion tracking.
This change is crucial for several reasons, particularly for maintaining and enhancing conversion tracking capabilities.
Continuity and Accuracy in Conversion Tracking
The deprecation of checkout.liquid and Additional codes for the Order Status Page section means that all scripts and plugins currently modifying this file will cease to function.
This includes essential tracking scripts for platforms like Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Ads, Facebook, Microsoft Ads, and others.
Without a migration plan, merchants risk losing the ability to track critical conversion events, which can significantly impact their marketing and analytics efforts.
Shopify Customer Events feature, which comes with Shopify Checkout Extensibility as a new method for running JavaScript code throughout the site, replaces the need for direct code edits in checkout.liquid and Additional codes for the Order Status Page section, and offers an alternative for implementing conversion tracking scripts.
By leveraging the Shopify Customer Events feature, merchants can ensure that their tracking remains functional and accurate even after the deprecation deadlines.
Enhanced Security and Stability
Customer Events operate within a sandbox environment, providing a controlled and secure space for running tracking scripts.
This setup minimizes risks associated with code insertions, such as security vulnerabilities and checkout disruptions.
While the sandbox environment does impose certain limitations, it significantly enhances the stability and security of the checkout process, which is critical for both merchants and customers.
Unaffected by Theme Changes
One of the advantages of using Shopify Pixels is that tracking scripts are isolated from theme changes.
This means that any updates or modifications to the store’s theme will not affect the tracking mechanisms, ensuring consistent and uninterrupted data collection.
This isolation is particularly beneficial for stores that frequently update their themes or undergo regular design changes.
Flexibility and Customization
Shopify Checkout Extensibility allows for detailed and specific event tracking through the use of Shopify Customer Events.
Merchants can define and track standard events such as “checkout_completed” (aka “purchase”), which is important for precise tracking of customer interactions and conversion events.
This level of customization ensures that all relevant data points are captured, providing a comprehensive view of customer behavior and checkout performance.
Adaptability to New Requirements
The shift to Shopify Checkout Extensibility encourages merchants to review and simplify their conversion tracking strategies.
By migrating to a more flexible and robust system, merchants can adapt to new tracking requirements and industry standards more efficiently.
Professional Support and Resources
With the complexity of the migration process, Shopify and tools like Analyzify offer extensive support and resources to assist merchants.
Detailed documentation, custom scripts, and professional migration services ensure that the transition to Shopify Checkout Extensibility is smooth and effective.
These resources help merchants maintain their tracking capabilities and make the most of Shopify Checkout Extensibility.
Checkout Extensibility Solutions: Analyzify
Several apps and tools are available to facilitate the migration of conversion tracking scripts.
For instance, Analyzify provides effective solutions with Shopify Checkout Extensibility, along with professional implementation support at no additional cost.
Analyzify saves time and reduces the effort required to move your tracking scripts, allowing you to focus on optimizing the checkout process and improving your overall conversion rates.
Frequently Asked Questions about Conversion Tracking with Shopify Checkout Extensibility
Here are the most common questions about conversion tracking with Shopify Checkout Extensibility:
Will my conversion tracking break if I upgrade to Checkout Extensibility?
Your conversion tracking may break if you do not update your setup. You need to migrate your tracking scripts from checkout.liquid and the Additional codes for the Order Status Page section to Custom Pixels. This involves using the new Customer Events feature in Shopify to handle conversion tracking.
Ensure that all your tracking scripts are compatible with the sandbox environment of Custom Pixels.
If this sounds too complex, you can use Analyzify v3.3 and track purchase and checkout events through Customer Events easily or get the Analyzify team’s professional implementation support.
What will happen to Google Ads conversion tracking?
Google Ads conversion tracking can be maintained by migrating your current tracking scripts to Customer Events. You will need to move your Google Ads tracking codes to work within the sandbox environment of Shopify pixels.
Does GTM work in Shopify Checkout Extensibility?
Google Tag Manager (GTM) can work within Customer Events, but with limitations. GTM scripts in the sandbox environment cannot modify or scrape content from the front-end, which may affect how some tags function. You can install GTM specifically for checkout pages using Customer Events, but be aware of these restrictions.
Can I upgrade to Shopify Checkout Extensibility?
It depends on your technical expertise. If you are experienced with JavaScript and Shopify’s customization features, you may be able to do this yourself. However, because this process involves critical changes to your tracking setup and may have significant impacts if done incorrectly, it is advisable to seek professional help if you are unsure.
Conclusion
In summary, Shopify Checkout Extensibility marks a transformative shift in how Shopify merchants can customize and manage their checkout processes.
This new framework not only ensures continuity and accuracy in conversion tracking but also enhances security, flexibility, and adaptability to changing requirements.
As checkout.liquid is being phased out, adopting Checkout Extensibility will be crucial for maintaining robust tracking systems and optimizing the checkout experience.
