Shopify Checkout Extensibility and the new Shopify one-page checkout

Shopify has been causing quite a stir and making a lot of moves with their checkout changes in the last year. While regular updates and improvements are nothing new, the introduction of Shopify Checkout Extensibility represents an overhaul of the checkout system that’s been used for many years - and brings a new addition, one-page checkouts, along with it.

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Keep reading to learn why the change is happening, what it means for you, and how one-page checkout for Shopify can impact your business.

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Why checkout.liquid is being replaced by Shopify Checkout Extensibility

Checkout.liquid has been a staple of Shopify’s checkout system. The code-based theme file checkout process is customizable with coding experience (after unlocking the theme file) or through the addition of Shopify checkout apps. It’s not easy for inexperienced store owners to make changes though, so it limited many users’ customization options, but it was doable.

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However, because all of the changes made by developers or apps were made directly to the page’s code, it opened the door for compatibility issues. These issues either didn’t allow apps to update or prevented Shopify updates from applying due to a risk of breaking the checkout page and putting you temporarily out of business.

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As a result, Checkout Extensibility was created to remove the code-based restrictions, minimize compatibility risks, and allow for regular updating that didn’t endanger your entire checkout process.

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Shopify Checkout Extensibility is app-based, removing the need for you to go into the code of checkout yourself and limiting the potential harm that can be done by direct edits. It also allows for Shopify’s core files to be updated without potentially breaking an app integration. 

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Plus, with greater native customization tools and the ability to support a wide range of Shopify checkout extensions, store owners of all experience levels can do more - including implement a Shopify one-page checkout.

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What’s a one-page checkout for Shopify?

A one-page checkout page aims to simplify the checkout process so that there’s fewer clicks, more information, and less time spent during the checkout process. One-page checkouts accomplish this by allowing you to organize all customer, shipping, and order information onto a single page. 

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With all of the information provided in one step, you minimize the chances of cart abandonment due to long checkout processes, excessive load times, shipping concerns, and other common complaints. Its main goal is to expedite checkout and optimize for conversions so that you can generate more revenue from customers that make it through your sales funnel. However, it also requires careful design and conversion rate optimization strategies to see the best results, so don’t expect a one-page checkout to be a magic switch for conversions.

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A one-page checkout for Shopify is just one way that the new Checkout Extensibility enables more customization than checkout.liquid could, making it the future-proof checkout framework you need. 

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Looking for help upgrading? Our migration services make it easy to prepare yourself for all future Shopify innovations.

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The addition of one-page checkout to Shopify Checkout Extensibility

A one-page checkout is not a new concept - in fact, there were previously ways for store owners to implement their own one-page checkout for Shopify just a few years ago. Third-party apps created alternative checkout pages that often still used Shopify to process transactions, providing the experience of a custom checkout with the protection of Shopify Checkout.

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However, Shopify banned the use of alternative checkouts in 2021. As a result, you were no longer able to create a one-page checkout in Shopify and were forced to use a multi-step checkout process.

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Fortunately, in a recent Shopify Editions | Winter ‘23 announcement, Shopify announced that a one-page checkout was coming to Shopify in the near future. It was based on the success of Shopify’s one-click checkout feature, Shop Pay, and aims to be faster, better, and most of all, sanctioned by Shopify.

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Now, Shopify one-page checkout is made possible by the move to Checkout Extensibility. With its checkout extension-based framework, different fields and processes can be accessed by apps and Shopify Functions to allow you to customize the checkout experience more than ever before. As a result, you’re able to change fields, positions, styling, and other visual elements of the checkout page so that they can be placed on the same page as opposed to multiple steps.

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Shopify’s native one-page checkout experience will allow store owners to create a new draft to test out the checkout experience between both one-page and multi-page processes to find what works best for you. It may work better for some stores and will be dependent on the elements of your checkout page and how your checkout is designed due to the potential for cluttering with a one-page checkout.

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There is no current arrival date for the upcoming feature, and there’s no definitive information about which store owners will be able to test it out first. However, with Checkout Extensibility being rolled out to Shopify Plus store owners first, one-page checkout is likely to follow the same trend. 

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So if you want to get your hands on a Shopify one-page checkout as soon as possible, consider if Shopify Plus is right for you. Then, visit Shopify’s checkout landing page and submit your store for early access to One-page checkout by scrolling to the bottom and entering your email.

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Upgrade any checkout with UpsellPlus

Whether you’re still on checkout.liquid or upgraded to Checkout Extensibility, all checkouts can benefit from increased revenue and average order values.

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UpsellPlus is a cross-sell and upsell app for Shopify that helps you create effective offers to present to your customers at checkout. Using its offer flow builder and conditional logic, you can create product-specific offers for upgrades or complementary products that encourage customers to spend more on your site.

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UpsellPlus is compatible with all types of checkout - multi-page or one-page - and has multiple locations for where you can place your offers so that you can refine your strategy for the best results.

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Get started with a free 7-day trial today!

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