Shopify Basic Plan & Conversion Tracking

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

A Shopify Basic plan user discovered that Google Tag Manager (GTM) tags stop firing on checkout, cart, and thank-you pages, preventing proper conversion tracking.

Core Issue:

  • Shopify Basic and Starter plans don’t allow custom scripts in checkout pages due to security and PCI compliance restrictions
  • GTM/GA tags only work on storefront pages where theme files can be edited
  • Full checkout tracking requires Shopify Plus plan with Checkout.liquid or Checkout Extensibility access

Available Workarounds:

  1. Use Shopify’s native Google channel integration (limited customization)
  2. Add conversion scripts to the “Order status page” field under Settings → Checkout
  3. Implement server-side tracking via Shopify’s GA4 integration or Conversions API

Additional Context:
One responder noted that checkout disconnection in GTM Tag Assistant is normal due to the sandbox environment, but events (checkout & purchase) remain visible in the console. Custom pixel scripts can be previewed using Chrome extensions to verify tag firing status.

Summarized with AI on October 23. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hi, do I understand correctly, that due to my shopify Basic plan, I am unable to track my conversions via Google Analytics tag on my TagManager?

I can clearly see that the tags stop firing while I am at checkout or shopping cart page, even thank you page is basically not even showing any tags.

Thank you,
David

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2

Hi David, great question — and yes, you’ve understood the situation correctly (unfortunately).

Here’s what’s happening:

On Shopify Basic (and also Starter) — you cannot fully track conversions via Google Tag Manager (GTM) or Google Analytics because Shopify doesn’t allow custom scripts inside the checkout pages.

  • The checkout domain is hosted by Shopify and locked down for Basic and Shopify plans for security and PCI compliance.

  • Your GTM or GA tags can fire on your storefront and cart pages (where you can edit theme files), but not on the checkout or thank you page.

Who can track conversions properly?

  • Only stores on the Shopify Plus plan can inject custom GTM or GA scripts into the checkout and post-purchase pages via the Checkout.liquid or Checkout Extensibility options.

Workarounds (for Basic plan users):

  1. Use Shopify’s built-in Google channel integration → It automatically tracks conversions through Shopify’s backend (though with limited customization).

  2. Use “Additional Scripts” field in Settings → Checkout → “Order status page” to paste your conversion tracking script (not full GTM, but single event tags).

  3. Server-side tracking (Shopify + Google Ads or GA4) via Shopify’s native GA4 integration or Conversions API if you’re doing ads.

If you need help to integrate this in the Basic shopify plan then share the collab code in the p/m so that I can integrate it.
Thanks

2 Likes
4

Hi,

It is common to be disconnected the checkout and thank you page on GTM tag assistant due to checkout page works on sandbox environment. you can still see the events(checkout & purchase) on console.

IF you have a custom datalayer/GTM script on custom pixel you can preview the events and tag firing status using a chrome extension.

purchase event in GTM preview for shopify
purchase event in GTM preview for shopify1378Ă—1256 158 KB

purchase datalayer 3
purchase datalayer 32131Ă—1118 309 KB

1 Like