Shopify order status page: what to check before holiday orders ship

The Shopify order status page is where a customer goes after checkout to see whether their order is confirmed, on its way or delivered. When it works, many "where is my order" questions answer themselves. When the link is missing from your emails, or the tracking number points nowhere useful, those questions land in your inbox instead, and in the holiday rush that adds up fast.

This guide walks through what the order status page shows, how customers reach it, and the checks to run in your Shopify admin before Black Friday orders start shipping. Everything here uses Shopify's built-in settings, so you can work through it in an afternoon.

What the order status page shows

The order status page is where customers check the progress of their order after checkout, from confirmation through delivery. According to Shopify's guide to order status pages, a shipment with a supported carrier moves through these statuses:

• Confirmed: the order is placed but not yet in transit.
• On its way, Out for delivery and Delivered, as tracking events arrive from the carrier.
• Attempted delivery, when the carrier reports one.

For supported carriers, the page updates as the carrier reports progress and shows the shipment's location on a map. For an unsupported carrier, the page shows the tracking number as a link to the carrier's website, but no status and no moving map pin. If you split an order into several shipments, the page adds a section for each fulfillment.

One detail catches a lot of stores: a fulfilled order without a tracking number stays at Confirmed, unless you mark it as delivered. To the customer, that looks like nothing has happened since they paid.

How customers reach the page, and how long it stays open

The thank you page shows once, straight after checkout. From then on, the order status page is the one customers come back to. They usually arrive from a link in an email or text:

• Shopify's guide to order status updates says the default Order confirmation, Shipping confirmation and Shipping update email templates include a link to the order status page, and Shopify's SMS templates include one too.
• From your admin, you can open an order and choose More actions then View order status page to see what the customer sees, though as an admin you get the limited view described below.

Access without signing in is time limited. A customer can open the full page for 3 weeks in the same browser, and for 2 weeks in other browsers, up to 5 browsers. After that they see a limited view with the items, order total, discounts and status, while their name, addresses, payment method, shipping method and tracking number are hidden. To see everything, they sign in or enter their order number with the email or phone number used at checkout. Login links only appear if you use customer accounts with Show login links turned on.

For a holiday gift bought in early November and asked about in mid December, that limited view is what the customer may see, so it helps to keep the tracking link in your shipping emails too.

Check your shipping emails still link to it

This is the most common reason customers never find the page. Shopify's guide says that if you have customized an email template, Shopify can't include the order status link for you. Check each one:

1. Go to Settings then Notifications.
2. Open Order confirmation, Shipping confirmation and Shipping update in turn.
3. If you see a Revert to default button, the template has been customized.
4. For a customized template, either revert it, which can't be undone and removes your edits, or add the link yourself with the order_status_url Liquid variable. Shopify labels the manual edit an advanced tutorial that its support team doesn't cover, so copy the code exactly as the guide shows it.

Then test it: place a test order to your own email, fulfill it with a tracking number from a supported carrier, and click the link in the shipping email you receive.

Get tracking numbers and carriers right

The page can only show what you give it. When you fulfill an order, Shopify might recognize the tracking number format and pick the carrier for you. Check it before you save:

• If the carrier is wrong or blank, choose it from Shipping carrier.
• If your carrier isn't listed, or you choose Other, enter the full tracking URL. The order status page uses it to link to the carrier's tracking page.
• Forgot to add tracking? Open the order, click Add tracking in the Fulfilled section and save. You can add several numbers, all from the same carrier.
• When the carrier doesn't track delivery and you didn't buy the label in Shopify, Mark as delivered updates the customer's order status page and customer account.

If you need to change an order before it ships, our guide on how to edit an order on Shopify covers the holiday requests that come up most.

Decide which shipping notifications to send

Shopify's customer notifications page lists four shipping notifications:

• Shipping confirmation, sent when an order is fulfilled.
• Shipping update, sent when tracking information is updated.
• Out for delivery and Delivered, sent when a tracking event with that status arrives from the carrier or fulfillment app.

You can skip Shipping confirmation or Shipping update for a single order by clearing the notify checkbox when you fulfill it or edit its tracking. Out for delivery and Delivered are switched on or off under Settings then Notifications, Customer notifications, in the Shipping updated section.

Out for delivery and Delivered depend on carrier tracking events, whose timing varies by carrier, and they don't apply to local delivery orders. Shopify notes that Shop app tracking notifications can't be turned off or edited by merchants, so a customer who uses Shop may hear from it as well as from you.

Edit the page in the checkout and accounts editor

You customize the order status page in the same editor as checkout. Go to Settings then Checkout, and under Configurations click Edit. Then pick the Order status page from the page menu.

• Settings in the editor holds branding such as your logo, colors and fonts.
• Sections controls what appears on the page.
• Apps lets you add app blocks.

On the Basic plan and higher, you can use the editor and add eligible apps to the thank you and order status pages. Market-specific versions of these pages are available only on the Advanced and Plus plans. The editor is a preview, so you can't place orders in it, and the Buy again button is deactivated there. The order status page includes a Buy again button by default, and can show self-serve returns.

If your store relied on the old Additional scripts box, note that Shopify's upgrade guide says it has been view-only since August 28, 2025, and that August 26, 2026 was the deadline for non-Plus stores to upgrade their thank you and order status pages. Tracking code that used to live there should move to app pixels or web pixels.

A worked example

Say you sell candles and ship with a regional courier that isn't in Shopify's carrier list. Before the holidays, here is what a customer sees:

Before: the shipping email was customized last year, so it has no order status link. The fulfillment has a tracking number but no URL, and the page sits at Confirmed. The customer emails to ask where the parcel is.

After: the shipping email links to the order status page again. Each fulfillment uses Other with the courier's full tracking URL, so the page links straight to it. When the courier confirms delivery, you click Mark as delivered and the page updates.

Nothing here needs an app. It needs a template check and a habit in fulfillment.

Pre-holiday order status checklist

• Open the order status page from a real test order on desktop and phone.
• Confirm Order confirmation, Shipping confirmation and Shipping update link to it.
• Make sure every fulfillment has a tracking number and the right carrier, or a full tracking URL for other carriers.
• Decide whether Out for delivery and Delivered notifications stay on.
• Check your logo, colors and policy links in the checkout and accounts editor.
• Confirm customer accounts and login links are set up so gift buyers can see full details later.
• Move any old Additional scripts tracking to pixels.

What this won't fix

The order status page reports what the carrier tells it. It won't speed up a late parcel, and it can't show progress for a carrier Shopify doesn't support. It also won't reach shoppers who are still deciding whether to buy, which is where shipping cutoffs and delays need to be clear. Our guide to the shipping delay message to customers covers that side.

A quick note on Atomato, since stores ask: Atomato has no checkout extension, so it doesn't appear on Shopify's checkout, thank you or order status pages. On your storefront, though, NotiFeed can hold shipping cutoffs, delivery delays and holiday hours in a feed shoppers open from the bell in your store's header or floating on the page. NotiFeed is on every plan, and on the free Starter plan you run one active NotiFeed campaign with one message.

2

Free shipping over $50Ends Sunday. Applies to every order over $50.

Back in stock: Canvas ToteLimited quantity. Tap to shop before it goes.

New arrivals: the fall editTwelve new styles, in stock now.

For the wider picture of order handling in sale week, start with what to check on high risk orders before you ship.

Common questions

Where do I find the order status page in Shopify?

Open any order in your admin and choose More actions, then View order status page. To change how it looks, go to Settings, then Checkout, and edit your configuration.

Why does my order status page still say Confirmed?

Usually the fulfillment has no tracking number, or the carrier isn't supported. Add tracking from the order, or mark it as delivered when the carrier doesn't report delivery.

Can customers see the order status page without an account?

Yes, for a limited time. After that they see a limited view and need to sign in or enter their order number with the email or phone used at checkout.

Can I add custom content to the order status page?

Yes, through the checkout and accounts editor, with app blocks from eligible apps on the Basic plan and higher. The old Additional scripts box is view-only.

Next step

Place one test order today, fulfill it with a tracking number and follow the link from the shipping email to the order status page. If anything on that path is missing, fix it now, before the first Black Friday order ships.

Install Atomato free on Shopify