Previously found in the theme editor and now moved to its own section, Shopify’s checkout editor will allow you to add your company’s logo, add a background image, change all the page’s colors, and select a font. 

To access the checkout editor, head to your Shopify Admin, click “Settings,” then “Checkout,” and “Customize checkout.” You’ll be able to access checkout Settings options, modify all the sections of your checkout here, and preview your changes. 

The editor comes pre-loaded with over a hundred different fonts, includes a drag-and-drop style section editor, and even allows you to upload your brand’s own style guide to make it easy to stay consistent across all your store’s pages. You can also toggle between the One-Page and Three-Page checkout configurations here. When you’re happy with your checkout page’s changes, click “save,” and you’re ready to go!

This is perfect for small businesses or companies just getting started with getting their stores up and running on Shopify. While the basic checkout branding editor will enable you to match your checkout page to the rest of your store and brand, using it exclusively will mean losing out on all the additional changes you can make and functionality you can add to your checkout page with the rest the other, more involved methods we’ll get into next. 

Shopify Checkout Branding API: Consistent Branding and Visuals are Key

The Shopify Checkout Branding API is another powerful tool for customizing your checkout page. A step above the basic Checkout Editor we described earlier, with the Checkout Branding API, app developers can fully control the look and feel of your checkout experience by applying CSS styles, images, and other visual elements consistent with your overall brand identity. 

With the Branding API, developers have more control over the granular elements of your checkout page, enabling you to overhaul its appearance completely. Examples of customizations include rounding corners, adding/removing borders, changing the typography and headings, adding box shadows to individual sections, and more. The Checkout Branding API works alongside the basic editor, so changes made in that area will also apply when you begin making more complex modifications to your page. 

While the Checkout Editor makes it easy to modify simple things like the font and colour scheme of your checkout page by means of uploading files and selecting options from drop-down menus, the Branding API is much more code-heavy. It requires web development knowledge and skills to use correctly, making it a much more advanced and comprehensive tool than the simple Checkout Editor.  

Overall, utilizing the Shopify Branding API ensures consistency across all touchpoints in the customer journey, making your online store stand out among your competitors.

Additional Ways to Customize Shopify Checkout

While unrelated to the look and feel of your checkout, Shopify offers additional tools for merchants to leverage to customize their store’s checkout experience beyond its branding. 

Shopify Functions: Modify Checkout UI Behaviour

Shopify Functions allow developers to modify the behavior of specific parts of the checkout user interface (UI) without changing any underlying codebase. This capability enables you to add or remove features while ensuring that future Shopify updates do not overwrite your modifications. 

You can create personalized experiences tailored to your unique business needs by leveraging server-side functions. For example, suppose you want to offer free shipping based on certain conditions, such as order value or location. In that case, you can use Shopify Functions to make these calculations and apply them automatically during checkout. 

To use these Function APIs, your ecommerce store must update to Checkout Extensibility. You’ll also need to be a Shopify Plus merchant to build custom apps using Functions, but users on any plan can install apps through the Shopify App Store that use them.

Checkout UI Extensions: Extend Your Checkout’s Functionality

Shopify Checkout UI Extensions are like building blocks that you can add to your checkout page to add additional functionality and fields to your checkout. These extensions can be custom-built or installed from the Shopify App Store if you’re on the Shopify Plus Plan. 

With Checkout Extensibility, you can use Checkout UI Extensions to add custom fields to the Shopify checkout to gather additional customer information or customize orders. They can also be used for informational use cases, such as adding custom banners, warnings, or disclaimers to the checkout page. Create product offers like upsells, or use Shopify’s newer Discount Code or Gift Card APIs to include reading/writing cards and codes straight in the checkout.

The Ecommerce Agency Checkout Branding Advantage

Looking in from the outside, building a checkout page that accurately represents your business and brand identity seems relatively easy for anyone with little experience using platforms like Shopify. 

Unfortunately, the granular level of flexibility Shopify allows its users also makes it difficult to fully capitalize on all the features and tools available to ecommerce businesses without the help of a developer or even an entire development team. 

This is where leveraging a Shopify Plus Partner agency is your best bet for achieving a checkout experience that fits your company's needs and makes shopping with you easy and enjoyable, something your customers will be happy to do again.

Shopify Partner Agencies have a wealth of knowledge and experience building checkout experiences that convert for their clients. When it comes to Shopify checkout branding, ecommerce agencies can help in two ways:

1. Execute a rebranding strategy: If you’re looking for a new look, agencies often have professional graphic designers to help freshen up your color palettes, fonts, and logos. They can tweak your existing look or work with you to create something fresh and unique.
2. Leveraging developers to implement your checkout design: With their skills using the Branding API, agencies can customize your checkout page to match the rest of your store. This could be through working alongside the agency’s graphic design team in the rebranding phase or using your existing brand guidelines to align your checkout page with the rest of your brand’s image. 

When you’re happy with how your checkout looks, you can also use any agency’s skills to take your checkout page to the next level by using Shopify Functions to make your checkout work harder or to build custom UI extensions that can create any additional functionality or form fields you need and plug them in at key points of the checkout process. 

While there are many exciting ways to customize the checkout experience, the fastest and easiest way to get it right is to reach out to an ecommerce agency with the skills and know-how to build and implement something truly unique. 

Conclusion

By utilizing Shopify's comprehensive suite of tools, you can ensure that your checkout process is not only functional but also perfectly aligned with your brand's identity. 

Whether you're tweaking minor details or overhauling the entire look and feel of your store’s checkout, Shopify provides the flexibility and control necessary to create a checkout that truly stands out. For those seeking a deeper level of customization, consider partnering with a Shopify Plus Partner agency to unlock the full potential of what Shopify offers its merchants.

As a certified Shopify Plus Partner agency, we at Blue Badger have the experience and expertise needed to make your checkout page work harder for you. Whether you need an audit of your checkout extensibility implementation, UI Extension installation or development, or backend customization with Shopify Functions, we can build you a beautiful and functional checkout page. Get in touch with us today to learn more.