Shopify script tags end 1 March 2027: how to audit your store
Shopify stops loading storefront script tags on 1 March 2027. How to find affected apps and move to app embeds and web pixels in time.
Shopify will stop loading storefront script tags on 1 March 2027. Since 1 October 2026, apps can no longer create or update them, but existing script tags keep running until the March cutoff. If any app or custom integration on your store still relies on a script tag, the feature it powers (a widget, a popup, a tracking script) will stop working on that date unless it has been moved to a supported replacement.
The fix is usually straightforward: an app embed block for scripts that add features to your storefront, or a web pixel for analytics and conversion tracking. The harder part is finding out which of your apps are affected, because Shopify has decided not to show merchants an admin banner about it for now. This guide walks through the audit.
What is changing, and when
Script tags are an old way for apps to inject JavaScript into every page of a Shopify storefront. Shopify's developer changelog, published on 24 August 2026, sets out the timeline:
| DateWhat happens | |
|---|---|
| 26 August 2026 | Script tags had already stopped running on the Order status page for non-Plus stores (Plus stores lost them on 28 August 2025). |
| 1 October 2026 | Apps can no longer create or update storefront script tags, on any API version. Existing tags keep running. |
| 1 March 2027 | Shopify stops injecting script tags into storefronts. Anything still loaded this way stops loading. |
One detail matters for stores installing apps now: since 1 October, an app that has not shipped a replacement cannot add its script tag to a new store at all. If you install an app today and part of it silently does nothing, this may be why.
Who is affected
You are most likely to be affected if your store:
- Has been running for several years and still uses apps installed before Online Store 2.0 themes became the norm.
- Uses smaller or less actively maintained apps for reviews, popups, chat, upsells, currency conversion or trust badges.
- Uses a custom app created in the Shopify admin (often built by a previous developer) that adds scripts to the storefront.
- Connected a third-party service by pasting an access token into it rather than installing a listed app.
Stores built recently with well-maintained apps are less likely to have problems, but it is still worth a quick check, because script tags are invisible in the theme editor.
How to audit your store
Shopify's documentation does not describe a merchant-facing list of script tags, so the audit combines a few practical steps:
- 1 List your apps. Go to Settings > Apps and note every app that shows something on the storefront: widgets, popups, badges, chat buttons, tracking.
- 2 Check the theme editor. Open the theme editor for your live theme (Online Store > Themes) and look at the App embeds panel. Apps that have migrated usually appear here as embeds you can switch on or off. A storefront app that appears nowhere in the theme editor is worth questioning.
- 3 Look at the page source. On your live storefront, use the browser's developer tools to see which scripts load from app domains. A developer can then compare that list against your app embeds and theme code to spot scripts with no obvious source.
- 4 Ask your app developers. Contact the support team for each storefront app and ask directly: "Does your app still use script tags, and if so, when will you release an app embed or web pixel replacement?"
-
5
Check custom apps. If you have a custom app created in the admin, ask whoever maintains it whether it uses the ScriptTag API. A developer can check this with the
scriptTagsGraphQL query, which still works.
Keep a simple spreadsheet: app name, what it does on the storefront, whether it uses script tags, replacement status and who is responsible.
The replacements: app embeds and web pixels
Shopify's migration guide maps each kind of script tag to a replacement:
| What the script doesReplacementWhat you need to do | ||
|---|---|---|
| Adds features or content to storefront pages | App embed block (part of a theme app extension) | Switch the embed on in the theme editor once the app ships it |
| Tracks analytics, conversions or customer behaviour | Web pixel | Approve the app's updated permissions; no theme editor step |
A few points from the documentation are worth knowing:
- App embeds are enabled per theme. If you publish a new or duplicated theme, check that every embed is switched on again.
- App embeds work on vintage themes too, not only Online Store 2.0 themes, so an old theme is not a blocker.
- Watch for double loading. Until the old script tag is removed, the script tag and its replacement can both run, which can duplicate an app's widget or double-count analytics events. The app should delete its script tag once the replacement is live.
- Web pixels run in a sandbox and respect customer privacy permissions, which can change what a tracking script is able to collect compared with the old version.
Custom apps and hard-coded integrations
Custom apps created in the Shopify admin cannot use app extensions, so they cannot use theme app extensions or web pixels. Shopify's guidance is to move the script into the theme itself, ideally through a custom Liquid block. That works, with two trade-offs the documentation points out: the code stays in the theme even if the app is removed, and editing theme code takes the theme off its automatic update path.
If a third-party service had you paste an access token, that service needs to release a proper app using a theme app extension or web pixel. If it has no plans to, it is time to look for an alternative well before March.
Aim to finish the migration well ahead of 1 March 2027, so you can test each replacement on a quiet trading week rather than the night before.
A sensible timeline
- November and December 2026: run the audit and contact app developers, but avoid storefront changes during your peak trading weeks.
- January 2027: switch on available app embeds, approve updated pixel permissions, replace apps that have no migration plan and move custom app scripts into the theme.
- February 2027: test the storefront end to end: widgets display once, analytics fire once, and conversion numbers match your ad platforms.
Frequently asked questions
Will my store break on 1 March 2027?
Your store will keep running, but any feature still loaded through a storefront script tag will stop appearing. That could be a reviews widget, a chat button or a tracking script that reports conversions.
Do I need to delete old script tags?
Not after the cutoff: Shopify says leftover script tag records have no effect after 1 March 2027. Before then, the app should delete its script tag once the replacement is live, to avoid loading the same script twice.
Does this affect the checkout?
This deprecation covers online store pages. Checkout and the Thank you and Order status pages moved to checkout extensibility on separate timelines, and Order status page script tags have already stopped running.
Need help with the script tag migration?
If you would rather hand over the audit, the theme changes and the testing, our Shopify development team can review your apps and custom code, move scripts to app embeds, pixels or theme blocks, and check that tracking still matches. For context on keeping a theme maintainable, see custom vs premium Shopify themes, and if you are working with an outside team, hiring a Shopify developer in India. Get in touch to talk it through.
Sources: Shopify developer changelog: online store script tags deprecation, Shopify.dev: storefront script tag deprecation, Shopify.dev: Order status script tags
(over to you)
Planning a build like this?
Tell us what you're building and we'll come back with ideas and next steps.
