This AMA (July 22-26) featured Shopify Plus agency Autrement demonstrating checkout customization using Checkout Blocks and the checkout editor. The session focused on reducing friction while maintaining brand consistency.
Key Technical Issues Discussed:
Product Thumbnail Styling: Multiple users asked about customizing non-square product images in checkout. Currently, there’s no API or app-level option to change aspect ratios from square to portrait. The suggested workaround involves:
Creating section styles with matching background colors
Selecting “subdued background” to minimize padding
Removing borders from product thumbnails
Note: This may result in smaller image display
Font Weights: Users reported font weights not displaying correctly in the theme customizer preview, though they work properly in live/production views. This appears to be a minor editor bug.
Custom Font Upload: The custom font upload feature in Checkout Blocks is currently broken with no estimated fix timeline. The recommended alternative is using the GraphQL Admin API with provided tutorial resources.
Feature Requests:
Several participants requested additional customization options for the checkoutBrandingUpsert API endpoint, particularly for product thumbnail background colors. Autrement recommended submitting these via Shopify account managers or the GitHub ui-extensions repository.
The AMA closed with participants directed to the Checkout Extensibility Upgrade board for ongoing support ahead of the August 13th upgrade deadline.
Summarized with AI on November 7.
AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
Let the experts at Shopify Plus agency Autrement show you how to build a checkout with reduced friction that looks and feels like your brand using apps, and the checkout and accounts editor. Watch the video, and ask the team at Autrement any follow up questions you may have in the AMA thread below.
This AMA will be open from July 22nd - 26th. We’ll aim to answer questions within a 24-hour window, though we can’t guarantee that every question will be answered.
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Great video. I have some questions for Checkout styling.
Question 1 : Thumbnails
In checkout liquid we have been able to style the order summary thumbnails. There are many stores with non-square product images so we have updated styling to support rectangle images. We have also been able to load higher quality images as the default images are a bit low rez.
Shopify does not display rectangular thumbnails very well by default.
Hey, thanks for watching the video. I hope it answered some of your other questions.
Question 1 : Thumbnails
Regarding the thumbnails, indeed right now there is no way on both the app or even on the API level to choose our own aspect ratio or change it from square to portrait, for example. Have you tried using section styles and removing the borders? Since the image is not square, you have extra background padding showing below the image. To remove it, we can create a section style with the same background color but instead select subdued background. This will generate a background color the same as the padding below the image and give you that portrait aspect ratio. However, the image might be small.
Go to checkout blocks order summary section
Create a styles section, and add some padding and background color of your choice.
Hey, if Checkout Blocks font picker fails, I would recommend using the GraphQL Admin API to do so, I made a guide explainer video here, feel free to ask if you have more questions.
Hi! Many of our product images are not square, and/or have transparent backgrounds. With our existing setup (checkout.liquid), we set our product thumbnails to have a white background. However, I cannot see any method in the GraphiQL Admin API nor the checkout editor which would enable me to set specifically the product thumbnail’s background color. Am I missing something?
One more question: I have several feature requests for the checkoutBrandingUpsert API endpoint, as there are some things we would like to style but have no option for. Is there a good place to post or share those requests/suggestions?
Thank you to all who participated in this AMA for Checkout Extensibility! No new questions will be accepted moving forward.
The Autrement team will continue to respond to questions already asked as they are able, but some questions might not be answered. If your question goes unanswered you’re welcome to post on our Shopify Plus board or our one of our other discussion boards.
Make sure you check out our Checkout Extensibility Upgrade board which has many FAQs and docs to help your business with the August 13th upgrade deadline.
Hey, regarding the product thumbnail question, I already answered above will paste answer here:
Right now there is no way on both the app or even on the API level to choose our own aspect ratio or change it from square to portrait, for example. Have you tried using section styles and removing the borders? Since the image is not square, you have extra background padding showing below the image. To remove it, we can create a section style with the same background color but instead select subdued background. This will generate a background color the same as the padding below the image and give you that portrait aspect ratio. However, the image might be small.
Go to checkout blocks order summary section
Create a styles section, and add some padding and background color of your choice.
