As of October 2026, every checkout.liquid deadline Shopify announced has passed. Some stores upgraded cleanly. Others lost tracking scripts, post-purchase content or custom fields along the way and haven't noticed. This guide is for store owners and ecommerce managers who want to know where checkout customization stands now and how to rebuild what matters.
Key takeaways
- checkout.liquid is unsupported for the information, shipping and payment steps, and was sunset for the Thank you and Order status pages on August 28, 2025.
- Non-Plus stores had until August 26, 2026 to upgrade their Thank you and Order status pages, and script tags on those pages are sunset for non-Plus stores on that date.
- Shopify Scripts were deprecated on June 30, 2026, and any still-published Scripts were deactivated.
- The replacement is a set of app-based tools: checkout UI extensions, Shopify Functions, web pixels and branding settings. Shopify's developer docs now also call this "Shopify Extensions in Checkout."
- Custom UI on the information, shipping and payment steps is Plus-only. Thank you and Order status customization works on every plan.
The timeline, in one place
| Date | What happened | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Already passed | checkout.liquid no longer supported for information, shipping and payment steps | Plus stores that used it |
| Aug 28, 2025 | checkout.liquid, additional scripts and script tags sunset on Thank you and Order status pages | Plus stores |
| Aug 28, 2025 | Additional scripts in Checkout settings became view-only | All stores |
| Jun 30, 2026 | Shopify Scripts deprecated; published Scripts deactivated | Plus stores using Script Editor |
| Aug 26, 2026 | Deadline to upgrade Thank you and Order status pages; script tags sunset on those pages | Non-Plus stores |
Sources: checkout.liquid docs, Help Center upgrade page, Shopify Scripts.
If you are not sure which version your store is on, go to Settings > Checkout and look at the Configurations section. Shopify shows an upgrade notice there if you still need to act.
What replaced checkout.liquid
checkout.liquid let you edit checkout HTML directly. That was flexible, but it broke on every checkout update, created security risk, and made Shop Pay and accelerated checkouts harder to support. The replacement splits the job into four tools.
Checkout UI extensions
These are app-rendered blocks that appear at defined targets in checkout and on the Thank you and Order status pages: custom fields, banners, upsells, delivery instructions, loyalty prompts. According to Shopify.dev, the current API version is 2026-07, examples use Preact with Shopify's web components, and compiled bundles can't exceed 64 KB. Extensions on the information, shipping and payment steps are available only on Plus.
Shopify Functions
Functions replace server-side logic: discounts, hiding or renaming delivery and payment options, and blocking checkout when a cart breaks a rule. They replaced Shopify Scripts. See Shopify Functions explained.
Web pixels and Customer Events
Tracking that used to live in additional scripts now runs as app pixels or custom pixels in Settings > Customer events. Pixels run in a sandbox, which is better for security and consent but means old snippets that read the DOM won't work as-is. If your ad platform numbers dropped after the upgrade, this is the first place to look. The server-side tracking guide covers this in depth.
Branding settings and the checkout editor
Colors, fonts, logos, corner radius and section styling are set in the checkout editor or through the branding API. Shopify's Spring '26 Edition added one set of brand settings across checkout, customer accounts and sign-in, which removes some of the drift between those surfaces.
What you can customize, by plan
| Customization | Non-Plus | Plus |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout branding (colors, fonts, logo) | Yes | Yes |
| App blocks on Thank you and Order status pages | Yes | Yes |
| App and custom pixels | Yes | Yes |
| Function-powered public apps (discounts, delivery, payment, validation) | Yes | Yes |
| UI extensions on information, shipping and payment steps | No | Yes |
| Custom apps containing Functions | No | Yes |
Plan details: checkout UI extensions, Shopify Functions. For the full plan comparison, see Shopify vs Shopify Plus.
Step-by-step migration plan
Even though the deadlines are past, plenty of stores upgraded by clicking a button and never rebuilt what they had. Here is the process I use.
1. Inventory what you had
Open the upgrade guide in Settings > Checkout. Shopify generates a customizations report listing your old additional scripts and checkout.liquid changes. Export it. If you already upgraded, check your theme's version history, old scripts saved in documentation, and your tag manager for anything that referenced checkout.
2. Sort each item into one of four buckets
- Native now. Many old hacks are built in: address autocomplete, order value limits (added for all plans in the Spring '26 Edition), VAT ID validation, branding. Delete the custom version.
- App block. Post-purchase surveys, reviews requests, upsells and loyalty prompts usually have an App Store app with checkout or Thank you page blocks.
- Pixel. Analytics and ad conversion tags. Use the vendor's official app pixel first, a custom pixel second.
- Custom build. Anything unique to your business. On Plus, a custom app with UI extensions or Functions. On non-Plus, limited to the Thank you and Order status pages, or a public app.
3. Rebuild tracking first
Lost conversions hurt more than a missing banner. Install official app pixels for Google, Meta, TikTok and others. Test purchases end to end, then compare platform-reported conversions against Shopify orders for at least a week.
4. Rebuild revenue-driving blocks
Upsells, post-purchase offers and loyalty enrollment next. Keep it to what you can measure.
5. Recreate logic with Functions
Discount stacking rules, shipping method hiding, payment method rules and cart validation. If you ran Scripts, use the Scripts customizations report to find a matching app or build a Function.
6. Test like a customer
Test on mobile and desktop, with Shop Pay and guest checkout, with discount codes, in each market and currency you sell in, and as a B2B buyer if you sell wholesale.
Pro tip: Keep a one-page "checkout register" listing every extension, pixel and Function on your checkout, who owns it, and why it exists. It prevents the slow pile-up of apps that made checkout.liquid stores fragile.
Common mistakes I see
- Assuming the upgrade preserved everything. Shopify's help page is explicit that upgrading replaces your existing page customizations with the new versions.
- Pasting old scripts into custom pixels unchanged. Pixels are sandboxed. Code that reads the page DOM or sets cookies the old way fails silently.
- Adding too many app blocks. Every block competes for attention on a page whose only job is to finish the order.
- Forgetting the Order status page. Customers return to it to check shipping. It's a good place for support links and reorder prompts, and a bad place for stale content.
FAQ
Is checkout.liquid still supported anywhere?
No. It's unsupported for the information, shipping and payment steps and was sunset for the Thank you and Order status pages on August 28, 2025.
What happened to stores that missed the August 26, 2026 deadline?
Shopify's help page says non-Plus stores were required to upgrade by that date and that upgrading replaces existing customizations. Check Settings > Checkout to confirm your version and rebuild anything that's missing.
Can I add custom fields to checkout without Plus?
Not in the information, shipping or payment steps. You can collect information on the Thank you page with an app block, or use cart attributes on the cart page before checkout.
Do I need a developer for checkout extensibility?
Not for branding, app blocks or official app pixels. You need a developer for custom UI extensions, custom pixels and custom Functions.
Where do I put Google Analytics and Meta tracking now?
Use each platform's official Shopify app, which installs an app pixel, then manage consent and custom pixels in Settings > Customer events.
Next steps
Pull up your customizations report or old scripts, sort each item into the four buckets above, and fix tracking before anything else. Then rebuild only what you can tie to revenue or support costs. If you want help auditing what your checkout lost and planning the rebuild, book a Shopify consultation.