What Are Shopify Checkout Extensions?

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Over the coming months, Shopify is moving away from the checkout.liquid file for customization of the checkout process, as well as for the thank you and order status pages. The checkout.liquid file for the payment, shipping, and customer information pages will no longer be supported after August 13th, 2024 while the checkout.liquid file for the thank you and order status pages will no longer be supported after August 28th, 2025.

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There are several major advantages to the checkout extensions over the old checkout.liquid. For one there are several features such as Preorders, Shop Cash, and Product Bundles which are incompatible with the old checkout file. Additionally checkout extensions include Shopify’s pre-built UI components, allowing for easier development and customizations that blend in seamlessly with the existing checkout UI on shopify stores. The extensions API allows applications to more easily gather information from the checkout as well as perform custom actions. With extensions you can add custom fields to checkout, include loyalty redemption programs, even verify a customer’s age! All in all, the new checkout extensions greatly increase the ability to customize the form and function of a store’s checkout process without having to deviate significantly from the look and feel of the default shopify checkout.

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How Does This Impact BlueCheck?

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Older versions of BlueCheck would add custom code into the checkout.liquid file in order to add age verification into the checkout process. With the coming changes to Shopify, however, that will no longer be possible as store owners and applications will need to use the checkout extensions in order to make customizations. 

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The good news is that BlueCheck has already made the switch and is compatible with the new checkout extension functionality. Using the new functionality, BlueCheck adds a custom checkbox field for age verification to your checkout process. The field is required for checkout completion, which allows BlueCheck to block the checkout from being processed until the age verification has been completed. (Remember if BlueCheck is ever down, it will allow orders to be placed.) This solution, which is based on the extension API’s is much more robust than the previous solution which relied on inserted javascript into the checkout.liquid file or the additional scripts field. Current customers should be sure to enable BlueCheck with checkout extensions before the August 13, 2024 deadline to ensure their Age Verification continues without issue.

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How Do I Switch To Using BlueCheck With Checkout Extensions?

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First, if you have not already upgraded to checkout extensibility you should be sure to do so. If you are not already a BlueCheck customer - you will need to install the BlueCheck shopify application and activate the application. 

If you already have the BlueCheck app installed and are actively using it you will need to configure the BlueCheck app block in your checkout. You can find the instructions for adding the app block here. Remember, if you do not configure the app block, once the checkout.liquid file is depreciated from your store you will only have access to the secondary check for verifying orders and there will be no age verification done before the order is placed. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to merchant@bluecheck.me.