Building an affiliate tracking extension for Shopify stores

Other Questions Shopify
1

I need to build a tracking system for affiliate marketing on Shopify and I’m stuck on the technical approach. Here’s what my extension needs to do:

Landing page functionality: Extract referral_code from URL parameters, generate a browser fingerprint using JavaScript, then POST both values to my backend API.

Checkout completion page: Create another browser fingerprint, combine it with order details, and send everything to my server via POST request.

Compatibility requirement: Must work for regular Shopify stores, not just Plus tier merchants.

I can handle all the server-side logic myself. The challenge is implementing the client-side tracking.

What I’ve attempted so far:

  • Web Pixel extension - only functions after users accept cookie consent, which won’t work for my use case.
  • Shopify Script Tags - perfect solution but getting deprecated in August.
  • Checkout extensions - limited to Plus merchants only.
  • Theme app blocks - would involve custom JavaScript blocks but violates Shopify’s affiliate tracking policies.
  • GraphQL API - can retrieve order data but can’t execute JavaScript for fingerprinting.

Any suggestions on the right approach for this?

2

yea, shopify can be tricky. have you considered using google tag manager? you can add custom tracking pixels without getting into issues with their rules. it’s a bit of a workaround, but it might be the best way since those script tags are going away.