Difference Between 'Order Confirmation' and 'Thank You' Pages in Shopify - When Are They Triggered?

[IntAdm]

Hello,

I've noticed that after placing an order on my Shopify store, customers sometimes see a 'Thank You' page with an order number, while other times, they see a 'Confirmation' page.

Could someone explain why Shopify shows different pages upon order completion? What factors determine whether a customer sees a standard 'Thank You' page or a 'Confirmation' page after placing an order?

Understanding the conditions that trigger each page would help me ensure a consistent experience for my customers.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Imogen]

Hey there, @IntAdm! Thanks for your question around the behaviour and nature of the 'Order Confirmation' page and the 'Thank You' page! My name is Imogen. It's a pleasure to connect with you!

The 'Order Confirmation' page is displayed to the customer after an order is placed; this would be the screen the customer would see immediately after they place their order. The 'Thank You' page appears for customers once the order has successfully been created, and would be the page that your customer's would see if they visit your store to check on the status of their order.

[IntAdm]

Thank you for the explanation, @Imogen! Could you please clarify under what scenarios or conditions a user would end up on the 'Confirmation' page instead of the 'Thank You' page? I want to better understand when and why this happens.

[Summer]

I'd be happy to help further, @IntAdm! To clarify, the screenshots you provided are both of our Thank You pages, which all customers see after they have placed an order and completed their payment.

Here’s why you might see differences between the two pages: Our checkout flow has been optimized to display a Thank You page before the order creation process is fully complete. This approach speeds up the experience for customers, who will initially see a confirmation number immediately after payment (e.g., #1WEKKC4VT). Once the order is fully created, an order number is generated (e.g., #5001).

As a result, customers may encounter both versions of the Thank You page. Depending on the timing, they might see either a confirmation number or an order number, based on whether they reach the Thank You page before or after the order has been created in the admin.

Let me know if you still need further clarification!

[IntAdm]

Thank you for the detailed explanation! I have one more question: Could using a VPN during the order creation process affect whether the customer sees the confirmation number or the order number on the Thank You page? I'm curious if VPN usage could influence the timing or behavior of these pages.

[IntAdm]

How can I ensure that my tracking codes and analytics work on the confirmation page? Currently, neither my custom pixel nor the code in the 'Additional Scripts' field seems to be working. Any advice on how to resolve this?

[Sophia]

Regardless of whether the customer is using a VPN, they'll likely see the confirmation number first, since this appears before the order is technically complete on the back end. They'll see their order number once the order is complete. 

Pixels are outside the scope of what Shopify Support is able to help with, but our Help Center guide to pixels and customer events may answer your questions. If not, I recommend posting a separate topic to ask the Community about this, with the specifics of the types of pixels you've added.