Update (March 2024): We put together one-page checkout optimization guide focused solely on the new (reduced) layout.

Update (November 2023): All merchants (including Shopify Basic) can now choose between the one-page and three-page checkout layout.

The long-awaited Shopify One-Page Checkout is now officially live, and every store can activate it from the store settings. We really recommend doing so, as on October 2, 2023, every non-Plus store will be automatically migrated to the new layout.

The new layout is reducing the number of checkout steps from four to one as all the areas (customer information, shipping, payment, thank-you page) are condensed into a single page (step).

Shopify has been testing it for a while and claims it performs better than the original one, thanks to many UX and performance improvements. Some of them are faster-loaded shipping methods, streamlined billing address, and pre-filling as many fields as possible. Overall, customers are finishing the new checkout 4 seconds faster on average compared with the multi-page one.

How to activate/enable the new one-page checkout?

To activate the new checkout follow the steps below:

1. Go to your Shopify store admin > Settings > Checkout
2. At the top of the section, you should see an informational banner about the upcoming auto-update. Click on the "Update checkout now" button. Alternatively, you can also check the preview by clicking the link "Preview the new one-page checkout"
3. Go to your store and test it properly

Especially, pay attention to messaging as some of the labels which made sense in the old version, may now sound a bit weird. Also, if you are using a custom header background to display some extra content, you will be likely need to redesign it to fit the new layout.

Important note: Once you perform the upgrade, there is no way to get back to the multi-page checkout unless you are on Shopify Plus plan (see below).

How to keep the "old" multi-page checkout?

Unfortunately, it seems that all non-Plus plans will lose the option of multi-page checkout with the auto-migration on October 2, 2023.

For Shopify Plus merchants using the checkout extensibility, there will be a simple layout selection from one-page to multi-page via the theme editor.

Conclusion

Overall, the new one-page checkout is a massive step forward to better reflect the current e-commerce trends (i.e., mobile devices, speed, simplicity, one-click payments). The multi-page version hasn't been changed for years and unless you were on Shopify Plus, you couldn't do much to optimize it.

But I am pretty sure there will be businesses that will stick to multi-page layout because it works better for them. For example, high AOV segments like furniture or orders with 10+ different line items where customer wants the control and assurance before hitting the "Pay now" button. Or businesses relying on checkout upsells which will be practically invisible in the one-page layout.

Would be great if all merchants would have the freedom of choice (with one-page being forced default). Together with the possibility to perform an A/B test.

Update (October 9, 2023): Our initial data shows an improvement of 7.5% in the conversion rate of the new one-page checkout compared to the old multi-page one.