How to Create a Payment Link on Shopify

You need a link that someone clicks and pays. That's a payment link. Simple concept.

The problem is that when Shopify merchants google "payment link," they end up at Stripe or PayPal. Both let you create payment links — but neither sends customers through your Shopify checkout. That means no Shop Pay, no order in your Shopify admin, no inventory updates, no Klaviyo triggers, no Shopify Flow automations. You get the money, but you miss everything that makes Shopify useful.

There's a better way. You can create payment links that go directly to Shopify checkout with the product already in the cart, the discount already applied, and the order tracked like any other Shopify sale.

Why Stripe and PayPal Payment Links Don't Work for Shopify

Stripe Payment Links and PayPal.me both process payments. But they process them outside Shopify.

When a customer pays through a Stripe Payment Link, the charge shows up in your Stripe dashboard. It doesn't create an order in Shopify. You have to manually create the order, manually update inventory, manually fulfill it. If you forget, your stock counts drift and you oversell.

PayPal has the same problem. The payment exists in PayPal's system but not in Shopify's.

This creates three specific headaches:

No checkout experience. Stripe and PayPal payment links use their own checkout UI. Your customers don't see your store branding, don't get Shop Pay or Apple Pay through Shopify, and can't apply store credit or gift cards.

No post-purchase automation. Your Klaviyo flows, Shopify Email campaigns, and Shopify Flow automations all trigger from Shopify orders. If the order doesn't exist in Shopify, none of that fires. No order confirmation, no review request, no cross-sell sequence.

No unified reporting. Your Shopify analytics show revenue from your store. Stripe revenue lives in Stripe's dashboard. You're managing two systems and manually reconciling numbers.

The Shopify-Native Approach: Checkout Links

A Shopify checkout link is a URL that opens your Shopify checkout with products already in the cart. When a customer clicks it, they land on your real Shopify checkout page — same design, same payment methods, same experience as buying from your store. (For a head-to-head with Shopify's native option, see Checkout Links vs the Shopify Buy Button.)

The difference: they skip the browsing, the product page, and the add-to-cart step. One click and they're at checkout.

Here's what you can build into each link:

• Products and variants — specify exactly which products and sizes/colors are in the cart
• Automatic discounts — applied without a code, so customers can't forget to use them
• UTM tracking — know which channel, campaign, or message drove each sale
• Quantity controls — set specific quantities or let customers adjust

The order flows through Shopify like any other purchase. Inventory updates, email flows trigger, analytics track it, fulfillment queues it. Nothing extra to manage.

How to Create Your First Payment Link

Install Checkout Links from the Shopify App Store. Open it from your Shopify admin.

Step 1: Add Products

Click "Create Link." Search for the product you want to sell and add it. If the product has variants (sizes, colors), pick the specific one. You can add multiple products to create a bundle link.

Step 2: Set a Discount (Optional)

If this link is for a promotion, add a discount. You can set a percentage off, a fixed amount off, or free shipping. The discount applies automatically at checkout — no code required. Customers see the discounted price without typing anything.

This is a big advantage over Shopify's native discount codes. You don't have to tell people the code, they can't mistype it, and it doesn't compete with other codes in the discount field.

Step 3: Add Tracking

Add UTM parameters so you know where sales come from. If you're sending this link in an email, set utm_source=email and utm_campaign=summer-sale. If it's for WhatsApp, use utm_source=whatsapp. This data flows into Shopify's analytics and any connected attribution tools.

Step 4: Copy and Share

Copy the link. Send it wherever you need — email, SMS, WhatsApp, social media DMs, QR codes for print materials. The link works everywhere a URL works.

Where Payment Links Work Best

Payment links aren't a replacement for your store. They're a shortcut for situations where browsing doesn't make sense.

Direct Messages

When a customer asks "how much is the blue one in medium?" on Instagram or WhatsApp, send them a payment link instead of directions to your website. They tap, they see their exact product at checkout, they buy. No searching, no navigating.

Email Campaigns

Drop a payment link into a Klaviyo flow or email campaign. Instead of "Shop Now" going to a collection page, "Buy Now" goes straight to checkout with the featured product pre-loaded. Fewer clicks, higher conversion.

Invoicing

Selling B2B or custom orders? Send a payment link instead of a Shopify draft order. The customer gets a clean checkout experience with the exact products and pricing you quoted. It looks professional and processes through Shopify like a normal order.

Repeat Purchases

For products customers reorder — supplements, coffee, pet food — save a payment link and send it when they're due. One tap to reorder the same thing. Simpler than subscriptions for customers who want control over timing.

In-Person Sales

Generate a QR code from your payment link (any QR generator works — the link is just a URL). Print it on packaging, business cards, trade show materials, or in-store signage. Customers scan and check out on their phone.

Payment Links vs Draft Orders

Shopify's built-in option for sending customers a link to pay is the draft order. You create a draft, add products, set a price, and email the customer a checkout link.

Draft orders work for one-off custom orders. But they're slow to create, can't be reused, and don't support automatic discounts or tracking parameters. If you need to send the same link to multiple people — or want to use it in marketing — draft orders don't scale.

What About Shopify's Cart Permalinks?

Shopify has a native cart permalink format — a URL structure that pre-fills the cart. It technically works as a payment link, but with significant limitations.

Cart permalinks use variant IDs that can break when you edit products. Discount codes aren't auto-applied — customers still have to click "Apply." And there's no tracking, no analytics, and no way to manage your links over time.

For a one-off use case where you need a quick link and don't care about tracking, cart permalinks are fine. For anything recurring or measurable, you'll outgrow them fast.

Pricing

Checkout Links costs $25/month. That's it — flat rate, no per-transaction fees, no limits on how many links you create or how many orders they generate.

Compare that to Stripe's 0.7% per transaction on Payment Links (on top of standard processing) or the time cost of manually reconciling out-of-Shopify payments. If your payment links generate even a handful of orders per month, the app pays for itself in saved time alone.