Your checkout page is one of the most valuable parts of your entire store - yet it’s one of the most commonly overlooked.
The truth is, on average, around 40–50% of shoppers who reach your checkout still don’t complete their purchase!
So at this stage, every tiny detail matters.
A checkout that feels “off-brand” can disrupt trust and break the flow you’ve built throughout the customer journey.
The good news?
Customising your checkout is simple, quick, and has a genuinely measurable impact on conversions.
Below, I’ll walk you through the steps on how to update your Shopify checkout so it reflects your branding beautifully - plus how to preview and publish your new design.
📽 You can watch the full walkthrough here:
Why Checkout Branding Matters
A mismatch between your store design and your checkout can:
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Undermine trust at a crucial moment
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Make customers question whether they’re still on your site
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Reduce perceived professionalism
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Ultimately - cost you sales
A branded, polished checkout keeps customers confident and focused on completing their order.
Step 1: Go to Your Checkout Settings
Head into your Shopify admin and follow:
Settings (bottom left) → Checkout
You may see one checkout style or multiple versions if you’ve created a draft in the past. Click into the one you want to customise.
Right away, you’ll probably notice:
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No logo
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Default Shopify blues
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Buttons and links that don’t match your store
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A checkout that feels…generic
So let’s sort that.
Step 2: Add Your Logo
On the left-hand side, upload your logo and adjust the size.
You can also choose:
Logo alignment: left, centre, or right
Logo placement:
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In the top header
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On the left checkout column
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On the right order summary column
For a clean, modern look, I personally prefer the centred logo on the checkout side.
Step 3: Update Your Background Colours
You’ll see two background settings:
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Background 1 - the main checkout area
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Background 2 - the order summary side
You can set these to white, a brand colour, or something more bold and expressive.
If you choose a coloured background, scroll down to Fields & Cards and decide whether you want the form fields to be white or transparent.
Transparent fields can look very sleek if your background colour is soft.
Step 4: Match Your Accent Colours and Buttons
These settings control:
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Icons
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Checkboxes
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Link colours
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The “Pay Now” button
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The discount code CTA
Your accent and button colours should be instantly recognisable as part of your brand.
For example:
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If your brand is clean and minimal, dark accents on white work beautifully.
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If your brand is bolder, choose a colour that stands out on both backgrounds.
Just make sure your button pops. This is one place where clarity matters more than subtlety.
Step 5: Update Your Typography
This is one element many store owners miss (and one I didn’t highlight in my video!) - but it makes a huge difference to how consistent and trustworthy your checkout feels.
Inside your checkout editor, you can customise:
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Heading font family
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Body font family
You can choose to match both to your store’s theme fonts, or mix and match if your brand uses different styles for headings vs body text.
Typography shapes perception instantly - so matching your fonts across your storefront and checkout helps create a more cohesive, trustworthy experience.
It’s one of the simplest ways to keep customers feeling “at home” all the way through to purchase.
Step 6: Preview Your Checkout
Click the three dots (top left)→ Preview to see what customers will experience.
This allows you to check:
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Colour contrast
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Button visibility
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Logo placement
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Mobile responsiveness
Once you’re happy, head back and publish your chosen checkout style - easy to forget, but essential.
Step 7: Improve Your Checkout Copy (Optional but Recommended)
In my video, I mention updating the opt-in label (“Email me with news and offers”).
You can change this to something more inviting like:
“Join the club”
It’s a small tweak that can increase opt-ins significantly.
You can see how to update this wording, along with other areas of your site in this tutorial here:
Bonus: Shopify Plus? You Get Even More Options
If you’re on Shopify Plus, you can enhance your checkout even further using apps like AfterSell to add:
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Customer reviews
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Post-purchase upsells
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Trust badges
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Additional customisation
Not essential, but extremely powerful if you have the option.
Don’t Forget Your Favicon
This one is small but so often missed. A polished favicon helps maintain brand consistency across tabs and mobile browsers.
If you’d like to update yours, you can see a full video tutorial for that as well.
Final Thoughts
A branded checkout isn’t just about looking good - it’s about building trust at the exact moment your customer is deciding whether to buy.
A few thoughtful tweaks can genuinely move more customers “over the finish line.”
Disclaimer: Some links in this post may be affiliate links, which come at no extra cost to you.
