Checkout.liquid Deprecation: Reasons and Action Steps

E-Commerce is such a fast-paced journey. Merchants in this space not only need to keep up with market trends and customer preferences but also stay tuned to platform updates, including those from Shopify. With a commitment to robust support, Shopify consistently enhances its system to ensure optimal performance. A crucial update that demands the attention of Shopify merchants is the Checkout.liquid deprecation, slated to occur in 2024. The replacement, Checkout Extensibility, is set to take its place.

This article aims to explain the reasons behind the deprecation of Checkout.liquid, highlighting its shortcomings and why Checkout Extensibility has emerged as the superior choice. It will be concise yet essential, serving to raise awareness. Our goal is to provide merchants with a comprehensive understanding of this transition and unleash the full potential of strategies to elevate their store's sales.

Checkout.liquid, being a code-based checkout customization, poses challenges for Shopify merchants unless they possess advanced coding proficiency. Even for seasoned professionals, updating the code to access Shopify's latest features entails a time-consuming process. 

Consequently, Checkout.liquid lacks the seamless support for speed and conversion rate optimization found in Checkout Extensibility. Shopify asserts that Checkout Extensibility, built on cutting-edge platform technology, boasts twice the speed in checkout time and page transitions. This advancement is anticipated to contribute to an average 1% increase in conversion rates.

The deprecation of Checkout.liquid stems from the introduction of more robust and exclusive benefits for merchants adopting Checkout Extensibility. Shopify merchants embracing Checkout Extensibility can tap into the latest checkout features, including Shop Promise, pre-orders, and a streamlined one-page checkout process. Moreover, they gain access to powerful tools like Checkout Editor, Branding API, Shopify pixel manager, and other Shopify functions, elevating their store's overall performance. 

For instance, Checkout.liquid typically works well with express payment as Shop Pay; however, the customizations made to the checkout page using Checkout.liquid may not function seamlessly to Shop Pay, potentially impacting the customer's checkout experience negatively.

In contrast, opting for Checkout Extensibility enables merchants to customize Shop Pay to align seamlessly with all other checkout page customizations. The full integration of Checkout Extensibility with Shop Pay ensures a cohesive and comfortable checkout process for customers.

Crucially, Checkout Extensibility stands out by being powered by a set of Shopify UI components and APIs functioning within a sandboxed environment, ensuring not just feature richness but also an added layer of security—a feature not present in Checkout.liquid.

The utilization of checkout.liquid is being deprecated, marking its planned phase-out for the Information, Shipping, and Payment checkout steps on August 13, 2024. Subsequently, its deprecation extends to the Thank you and Order status pages, scheduled for August 28, 2025. Concurrently, additional scripts and script tags associated with the Order status page will also undergo deprecation on the same date.

To ensure a seamless transition, it is imperative for stores currently reliant on checkout.liquid to initiate an upgrade to Checkout Extensibility prior to the specified dates. This proactive step is crucial for maintaining optimal functionality and compatibility within the Shopify ecosystem.

Shopify Scripts will continue to operate alongside Checkout Extensibility until August 28, 2025. This transitional period allows for a gradual adjustment, ensuring that Shopify store owners can adapt their systems without disruptions to their operations.

Learn more about Checkout Extensibility roadmap from Shopify here. 

Upgrading from Checkout.liquid to Checkout Extensibility is a breeze, thanks to comprehensive support from Shopify for Checkout Extensibility with various checkout customizer apps provided by partners.

1. Begin by reviewing and evaluating your current checkout page customizations in the theme file. You can use the personalized report in Shopify Admin to open the page that contains information about existing customizations. 
2. Next, create new checkout customizations using dedicated checkout apps. Search for an app on the Shopify App Store that offers features similar to your existing customizations, and use it to tailor your checkout page.
3. Finally, effortlessly publish your revamped checkout page with the newly applied customizations.

Read here for a step-by-step guideline on how to upgrade to Checkout Extensibility.