In February 2023, Shopify announced the deprecation of checkout.liquid, by transitioning to a more robust and secure foundation known as Checkout Extensibility. This move ensures the checkout process is secure, up-to-date, and future-proof. Below is a comprehensive guide to understanding this transition, the timeline for the required upgrades, and the benefits of adopting Checkout Extensibility.
The Need for Transition
The checkout.liquid framework, once the means for customizing Shopify checkouts, has become outdated. The shift to Checkout Extensibility offers several key advantages:
- Security: With ever-evolving regulations and security standards,
checkout.liquidcan no longer meet the required security benchmarks. Checkout Extensibility aligns with the latest Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements. - Performance: Checkout Extensibility is designed for better performance, ensuring faster load times and a smoother checkout experience for customers.
- Upgrade-Safe Customizations: Customizations made through Checkout Extensibility are integrated via apps, making them easier to manage and less prone to issues during platform updates.
Important Deadlines
Shopify has outlined two critical deadlines for merchants to transition from checkout.liquid:
- August 13, 2024: This is the deadline for upgrading the Information, Shipping, and Payment pages. Failure to do so will result in the following:
- Locking of
checkout.liquidCustomizations: Merchants will no longer be able to edit customizations. - Payment Method Restrictions: Adding or modifying payment methods will be disabled.
- Disabled Risk Indicators: Fraud indicators will become unreliable, impacting risk assessments.
- Delayed Payouts: Payments processed through Shopify Payments may be delayed by up to five days.
- Locking of
- August 28, 2025: This deadline applies to the Thank You and Order Status pages, including any scripts or tags associated with these pages. After this date, all unsupported customizations will cease to function, and merchants must have fully transitioned to the new system.
Steps to Upgrade to Checkout Extensibility
The transition to Checkout Extensibility involves several key steps, each designed to ensure a smooth and effective migration:
- Review Existing Customizations: Merchants should start by reviewing their current checkout customizations. Shopify provides a personalized report that details all existing customizations, which can be accessed via the Shopify admin. This report includes information about customization categories, source files, and guidance for recreating these customizations within Checkout Extensibility.
- Evaluate Thank You and Order Status Pages: Similar to the checkout pages, merchants need to review customizations on the Thank You and Order Status pages. This involves assessing any apps that modify these pages and identifying scripts that need to be replaced.
- Create and Publish New Customizations: Once existing customizations are reviewed, merchants can create new customizations using Checkout Extensibility. This process involves setting up a draft checkout, adding necessary apps, configuring branding elements, and reviewing the changes before publishing.
- Optional Enhancements: Merchants can further enhance their checkouts by installing checkout apps from the Shopify App Store, setting up pixels for event tracking, and utilizing additional features supported by Shopify.
Benefits of Checkout Extensibility
Adopting Checkout Extensibility comes with many benefits, including:
- Enhanced Security: Compliance with the latest security standards ensures that customer data remains protected.
- Improved Performance: Faster load times and optimized performance enhance the overall shopping experience.
- Seamless Upgrades: Customizations integrated through apps are less likely to break during platform updates.
- New Features: Checkout Extensibility supports a range of new features and integrations, such as Shopify Functions, Pixels, and more.
Reverting to checkout.liquid
While Shopify strongly encourages the transition to Checkout Extensibility, it is possible for merchants to revert to checkout.liquid under certain conditions until August 13, 2024. However, this is not a recommended.
Need Help Upgrading to Checkout Extensibility?
Transitioning to Checkout Extensibility is crucial for maintaining a secure, performant, and customizable checkout experience on Shopify. Merchants should take proactive steps to review and upgrade their customizations before the specified deadlines to avoid disruptions and ensure compliance with the latest standards. However, we know that many merchants may not want to make this switch themselves, especially considering it involved the most crucial part of the online shipping process – the checkout.
At Your Store Wizards, a Shopify developer partner, we’re here to help! Whether you need assistance with evaluating your current customizations, creating new ones, or making the switch to Checkout Extensibility, our team is ready to assist. Contact us today at support@yourstorewizards.com for more information on updating your Shopify checkout.
Scott Sanfilippo began his eCommerce journey in 1994 by co-founding one of the Internet’s first online retailers, TheFerretStore.com, which was acquired by PetCo in 2006. In 2001, he co-founded the eCommerce design and marketing firm Solid Cactus, which was acquired by web.com in 2009. Today, Scott is the General Manager of Your Store Wizards and lives in Delray Beach, FL. Scott can be contacted at scott@yourstorewizards.com.