Shopify has refined how checkout footers are displayed. The latest change clarifies that the visibility setting only controls merchant‑configurable content, while Shopify‑provided transaction information will always appear for eligible orders. This post breaks down the update, who it affects, and the practical steps you should take to keep your checkout branding accurate.
What Changed
The checkout footer now has a clear boundary: the visibility fields on CheckoutBrandingFooterContent and CheckoutAndAccountsConfigurationBrandingFooterContent control only the merchant‑configurable parts (policy links, copyright text). Shopify‑provided copy—such as order total, transaction details, and other contextual messages—will always render, regardless of the visibility setting. The GraphQL Admin API schema remains unchanged; only the field descriptions have been updated to explain this behavior.
Who Is Affected
This change primarily impacts apps that customize checkout branding for Shopify Plus stores, whether they use the legacy Checkout Branding API or the newer Checkout and Accounts Configuration API. If your app manipulates the footer visibility flag or generates preview screenshots of the checkout, you’ll need to adjust expectations. Apps that never touch the footer visibility setting are unaffected, and no existing mutations or stored configurations break.
Why It Matters
Understanding the split between merchant‑configurable and Shopify‑provided content helps you avoid misleading previews and test failures. When visibility is set to HIDDEN, merchants still see essential transaction information—so a completely blank footer is no longer a valid test case. This clarity also ensures that policy links and copyright statements remain under the merchant’s control without accidentally hiding critical checkout details.
What You Need to Do
Code & Config References
Below is a typical GraphQL mutation that sets the footer visibility. Note that the mutation itself has not changed; only the description of what HIDDEN does has been clarified.
graphql
mutation UpdateCheckoutFooter($brandingId: ID!, $visibility: FooterVisibility!) {
checkoutBrandingUpdate(input: {
id: $brandingId,
footerContent: {
visibility: $visibility
}
}) {
checkoutBranding {
footerContent {
visibility
merchantLinks {
title
url
}
copyrightText
}
}
userErrors { field message }
}
}
When visibility: HIDDEN, only merchantLinks and copyrightText are removed. Shopify‑provided copy such as the order‑total notice will still appear.
Conclusion & Next Steps
The checkout footer visibility update gives you finer control over what merchants can configure while guaranteeing that shoppers always see essential transaction details. Review your app’s preview and testing workflows today, and update any UI documentation that implies a completely empty footer. As Shopify continues to evolve its checkout branding APIs, staying aligned with these clarifications will keep your integrations smooth and your merchants happy.
Ready to fine‑tune your checkout branding? Dive into the updated GraphQL field references and refresh your preview logic now.
