Introduction
Cart permalinks are special URLs that take customers directly to a Shopify store’s cart or checkout page with products already added. These links are perfect for businesses that want to send customers straight to purchase specific items without making them browse through the entire store first.
How to create cart permalinks
Basic cart permalink setup
To create a cart permalink, you add product information to your shop’s URL using this format:
http://{shop}.myshopify.com/cart/{variant_id}:{quantity}
For example, to add two different products (one of each) to the cart:
http://yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/70881412:1,70881382:1
This adds product variant 70881412 and variant 70881382, each with a quantity of 1.
Adding product properties
You can include custom properties for the first product by encoding them in Base64 format. For example, if you want to add engraving text and color options:
https://yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/70881412:1?properties=eyJlbmdyYXZpbmciOiAiSGVsbG8gd29ybGQiLCAiY29sb3IiOiAicmVkIn0
Pre-filling checkout information
You can automatically fill in customer details by adding checkout parameters:
http://yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/70881412:1?checkout[email]=customer@email.com&checkout[shipping_address][city]=NewYork
Available checkout fields include:
- Email address
- Shipping address (first name, last name, address, city, province, country, postal code)
Adding discount codes
Apply discount codes directly in the link:
http://yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/70881412:1?discount=SAVE20
For multiple discounts:
http://yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/70881412:1?discount=SAVE20,FREESHIP
Tracking and attribution
Add tracking information for better analytics:
http://yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/70881412:1?note=newsletter-campaign-jan2024
You can also use attributes or ref parameters for different types of tracking data.
Language and regional settings
Include the buyer’s language in the URL for localized checkout:
http://yourstore.myshopify.com/fr/cart/70881412:1
Redirecting to cart instead of checkout
To send customers to the cart page rather than directly to checkout:
http://yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/70881412:1?storefront=true
Shop Pay integration
Direct customers to Shop Pay checkout:
http://yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/70881412:1?payment=shop_pay
Important limitations
Cart permalinks cannot work with selling plans (subscriptions) and cannot bypass storefront passwords if your store is password-protected.
Conclusion
Cart permalinks offer a simple way to streamline the buying process for your customers. By pre-loading products and checkout information, you can reduce friction and potentially increase conversion rates. These links work particularly well for email campaigns, social media posts, and any situation where you want to direct customers to purchase specific products quickly.
