Shopify Checkout Customization: What You Can Change in 2026

Shopify checkout customization works very differently in 2026 than it did two years ago. checkout.liquid is gone, Shopify Scripts stopped running on June 30, 2026, and every store’s Thank you and Order status pages now run on the new checkout. What you can change depends mostly on your plan. I’ll cover what every plan can change, what still needs Shopify Plus, where Shopify Functions and apps fit, and why hacking around the checkout is a waste of money. Everything below reflects Shopify as of October 2026.

From February 2024 to January 2026 I built and maintained Shopify stores for the clients of a UK digital marketing agency, and custom checkout and shipping work was part of that job. The first question on a checkout request is rarely how. It’s whether Shopify allows the change on your plan at all.

How Shopify checkout customization works now

Every checkout change now happens in one of three places:

• Settings and the checkout and accounts editor. Branding, layout and form fields, available from the Basic plan up.
• Apps. They add blocks to checkout pages through checkout UI extensions, or add logic through Shopify Functions. Your plan decides where those blocks can go.
• Plus-only tools. Blocks inside the main checkout steps, the Checkout Branding API, and custom-built apps that contain Functions.

The old routes are closed. checkout.liquid no longer works for the information, shipping and payment steps. August 26, 2026 was the deadline to upgrade the Thank you and Order status pages, and Shopify automatically upgraded the stores that missed it. Code in the old additional scripts box doesn’t run on the new pages, and Shopify Scripts, the Ruby code Plus stores used for discount, shipping and payment rules, no longer runs at all.

To see where you stand, go to Settings > Checkout, find the Configurations section and click Edit. That opens the checkout and accounts editor.

What every plan can change

Branding

You can add your logo and set its width and alignment, choose colors for the header, main area, buttons, order summary and error messages, pick heading and body fonts from Shopify’s list, and choose solid or transparent form fields. The order summary can still take a background image, but since February 5, 2026 you can’t add new background images to the header or main content area.

Layout and form fields

One-page checkout is the default, and you can switch to three pages in the editor’s settings. Under Settings > Checkout you also control the form:

• Contact method: email only, or phone number or email.
• First and last name, or last name only.
• Company name, address line 2 and shipping phone number, each hidden, optional or required.
• Marketing opt-ins for email, SMS and WhatsApp, plus tipping if it suits your business.

Every required field is one more chance for a buyer to give up, so I only require what the business actually uses.

Thank you and Order status pages

From the Basic plan up, apps can add blocks to these two pages, such as a customer survey, delivery information or social links. Shopify’s free Checkout Blocks app lets non-Plus stores add static and dynamic content blocks here, and only here.

Drafts

Duplicate your live configuration, edit the copy, preview it and publish when you’re happy. Only one configuration takes real traffic at a time, so drafts are the safe way to try anything.

What still needs Shopify Plus

At the time of writing, these are Plus-only:

• Apps that add blocks to the information, shipping and payment steps, such as delivery instructions, gift messages, a terms checkbox or an upsell inside checkout.
• Different checkout fields for different countries.
• The Checkout Branding API, which controls corner radius, spacing, typography and individual components beyond the editor.
• Custom apps that contain Shopify Functions, meaning logic built only for your store.
• Everything in Checkout Blocks beyond content on the Thank you and Order status pages, including custom fields, order limits and payment or delivery rules.
• Different checkout blocks per market. Advanced stores can customize their checkout and accounts pages per market, but per-market blocks need Plus.

Shopify keeps the current comparison on its checkout customization help page. Is Plus worth it for checkout alone? Usually not, because many common requests have a non-Plus route. A gift message or delivery note can sit on the cart page, since every free Shopify theme can show an order notes box there. Upsells can go before checkout or after payment.

Shopify Functions: custom logic without Plus

Shopify Functions are small pieces of logic that Shopify runs during cart and checkout. They replaced Scripts and cover:

• Discounts beyond Shopify’s built-in types, such as tiered or bundle-based rules.
• Payment customizations that hide, rename or reorder payment methods, for example hiding cash on delivery above a set order value.
• Delivery customizations that hide, rename or reorder shipping options, such as hiding express delivery for oversized items.
• Cart and checkout validation that stops checkout when a rule fails: quantity limits, age checks or address restrictions.
• Cart transforms for bundles, plus rules for local pickup and order routing.

The plan rule is simple. Public apps from the Shopify App Store that use Functions work on any plan. A custom app with Functions, built only for your store, needs Plus. So a non-Plus store can still hide a payment method or block PO boxes with a well-reviewed public app. If you were on Plus and relied on Scripts, confirm every rule they handled has a replacement, because a lost shipping discount or payment rule is easy to miss.

Post-purchase offers, Thank you pages and tracking

The post-purchase page appears after the order is confirmed and before the Thank you page, and apps use it for one-click add-on offers. Only one app can add post-purchase features at a time, and the page doesn’t appear for every order. Wallet and installment payments, local delivery orders and some multi-currency orders with duties skip it, so treat it as a bonus, not the core of your upsell plan.

Tracking needs the most care after the upgrade. Anything that lived in additional scripts, such as an old Google Ads tag or Meta pixel code, doesn’t run on the new Thank you page. Purchase tracking now belongs in Settings > Customer events, through app pixels (Shopify’s recommended option) or custom pixels. After any change, place a real order and confirm the purchase reaches GA4 and your ad platforms with the right value. If your numbers dropped after the upgrade, my conversion tracking setup rebuilds and tests them.

Why hacking the checkout is a dead end

Editing checkout.liquid or injecting JavaScript to move things around no longer works, by design:

• Checkout UI extensions run in a sandbox. They can only use Shopify’s components and can’t reach the page’s HTML or payment data.
• Pixels run in a sandbox too. They exist to send events to analytics tools, not to change what buyers see.
• Shopify updates the checkout regularly. Supported customizations keep working, while workarounds can break quietly, and you may only hear about it from a customer.

If someone promises a checkout change that Shopify’s docs say your plan can’t have, ask exactly how it’s done. A legitimate answer is a supported app, a Function, a change before checkout, or Plus. When I scope Shopify development work, I map each checkout request to one of those before writing any code.

What to do next

1. Open Settings > Checkout, duplicate your live configuration and work in the draft.
2. Set branding and form fields, preview on a phone, then publish.
3. List everything your old checkout code, Scripts and additional scripts did, and map each item to a setting, app, Function or pixel.
4. Place a real test order and check the Thank you page, order emails and purchase tracking.
5. Only then decide whether anything on your list truly needs Plus.

Related reading: Shopify Store Cost: What You Really Pay to Build and Run It and The Shopify Store Setup Checklist I Run Before Every Launch.

FAQ

Can I still edit checkout.liquid on Shopify?

No. It no longer works for the checkout steps, and the Thank you and Order status pages moved to the new system by August 26, 2026.

Do I need Shopify Plus to add a custom field at checkout?

Inside the checkout steps, yes. On other plans, collect the information on the cart page with an order note, or after purchase with a Thank you page block.

Can I hide or reorder payment and shipping methods without Plus?

Yes, with a public app from the Shopify App Store that uses payment or delivery customization Functions. Only custom-built Function apps need Plus.

Why did my purchase tracking stop working?

Most likely it lived in additional scripts, which don’t run on the upgraded Thank you page. Move it to app pixels or custom pixels and test with a real order.

If you’re not sure what your plan allows, send me your store link and get a free website review. I’ll tell you which checkout changes are possible, which need an app and which aren’t worth chasing.