How can I edit the checkout section text in the Debut theme?

Store Design

Topic summary

A user wants to customize three elements in their Debut theme checkout:

Requested Changes:

  • Change shipping method text from “FREE Shipping” to “FREE express shipping”
  • Modify shipping page button to read “CLICK TO PAY” at 18px
  • Change payment page button to “PAY NOW” at 18px

Key Limitations Identified:
Checkout code cannot be directly edited for security reasons. Debut is a vintage theme with limited customization options compared to newer Online Store 2.0 themes.

Solutions Provided:

  1. Shipping text: Edit the shipping rate name in Settings > Shipping > Manage rates. This changes the displayed shipping method name.

  2. Button text: Use the language editor (Online store > Themes > … > Edit default theme content > Checkout & system tab) to modify button wording on both shipping and payment pages.

  3. Button size (18px): Not possible to change through theme editor without checkout code access.

Recommendation: Consider upgrading to an Online Store 2.0 theme for enhanced customization capabilities and better ongoing support. The responder also advised keeping “Continue to payment” wording to avoid confusion about when customers will be charged.

Summarized with AI on November 22. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hello everyone,

I need to make some edits to our Checkout section (Shipping & Payment pages).

Shipping Page

  1. Change the text underneath Shipping method to say “FREE express shipping”.

  2. Change button to say CLICK TO PAY and make 18px

Payment Page

  1. Change button text to say PAY NOW and make 18px.

Please see screen shots to understand the 3 changes. My theme is Debut and my preview url is below

https://sytxmc3vr1gkubsb-54993551588.shopifypreview.com

Thank you for your time.

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2

Hi, @Timstar . I’m happy to help you out with this! I just have a few questions to make sure I give you helpful advice going forward.

  • Are you setting up your shop for the first time or are you making changes to an existing store?
  • Have you considered upgrading to an Online Store 2.0 theme?

To start, for context, you can’t make edits or adjustments to your checkout beyond what’s possible using the theme editor, or other settings in your Shopify admin. This code is not made accessible for security purposes. That being said, there are customizations you’re still able to make. You can find a list of them here. Since you’re using Debut (a vintage theme) you will also be limited in the page customization options that are available. If you’re updating your theme, I definitely recommend switching to an Online Store 2.0 theme. They have many more customization features and you’ll receive better support for these themes going forward. You can find more information on Online Store 2.0 themes here and you can also find a list of free Online Store 2.0 themes here.

1. Change “FREE Shipping” text to “FREE express shipping”

The “FREE Shipping” text you highlighted is the name of your shipping rate. To change this you will need to edit the shipping rate within your shipping settings. To get there go to Settings > Shipping in your Shopify admin. From here, click Manage next to the shipping profile with the rate you want to edit. Once you locate the rate click the … button and select Edit rate from the dropdown menu. Here, you can change the rate name, and other details like the rate price and conditions that need to be met for customers to see the rate. You can find the steps to edit shipping rates here. We have a guide on how to create free shipping rates here as well.

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2. Change the wording of buttons on your shipping and payment pages

You can change the wording of these buttons using your language editor. To get there go to Online store > Themes > … (next to the theme you’re working on) > Edit default theme content. From here, locate the phrase or wording you want to change, and replace it with the text you want to see instead. For content on your shipping and payment pages you should find the phrases under the Checkout & system tab. Make sure to save your changes before leaving the page and this will be updated on your storefront. I’ve included a screenshot to show an example of this below. You can also find more information on using the language editor here.

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That being said, for the shipping page I recommend leaving the text as “Continue to payment” to better reflect the next stage of the checkout. Changing it to “Click to Pay” may make your customers think they’ll be charged after clicking that button.

3. Make buttons 18px

I checked the settings for Debut in the theme editor and it doesn’t appear this is possible to edit without access to the checkout theme code. I’m happy to pass along any feedback you have about this to our team of developers who look into improvements we can make to the platform.

Please let me know if you have any questions!