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Why Your Shopify Permalinks Expired (And How to Fix It)

Shopify checkout links showing "Link expired"? Discover exactly why your permalinks broke and get simple solutions to fix them permanently - no more lost sales.

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Why Your Shopify Permalinks Expired (And How to Fix It)
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You sent a perfect direct checkout link to your customers yesterday. Today, they're hitting "Link expired" errors instead of completing their purchase.
Frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it.
This happens to more Shopify merchants than you'd think. One day your direct checkout links work flawlessly, driving conversions and streamlining sales. The next day, customers are stranded on error pages, and you're scrambling to figure out what went wrong.
If you're dealing with expired Shopify permalinks right now, you're in the right place. We'll walk through exactly why these links fail and, more importantly, how to fix them permanently. By the end of this guide, you'll understand the root causes and have concrete solutions to ensure your checkout links never leave customers hanging again.
Time to solve this problem for good.
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Shopify permalinks (also called cart permalinks or direct checkout links) are special URLs that send customers straight to a pre-filled cart or checkout on your store. Instead of the traditional browse → add to cart → checkout flow, a permalink bundles those steps into one click.
When someone clicks your permalink, the specified products and quantities automatically load into their cart. The checkout process begins immediately. No browsing. No extra clicks. No friction.
You can generate permalinks in two main ways:
Through Shopify Admin:From any product page in your admin, use More Actions > Create Checkout Link. This generates a direct URL for that product's checkout.
Manual URL Construction:You can build cart URLs by appending variant IDs and quantities to your store's URL:
https://yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/123456789:2,987654321:1
This would pre-load 2 units of one product and 1 unit of another. You can also add query parameters for discount codes and customer information.
The appeal is obvious: frictionless conversions. Email campaigns, social posts, and ads use these links to boost sales by eliminating extra steps.
In theory, a "perma-link" should be permanent and reusable. Shopify's documentation even states that cart links are reusable and create a new checkout for each customer.
So why do so many merchants complain about links that suddenly stop working?
The answer lies in several technical gotchas that aren't immediately obvious.
Shopify's direct checkout links can and do fail under specific conditions. Here are the most common culprits behind those dreaded "Link expired" messages:
The Problem:
Many merchants accidentally share temporary checkout URLs instead of permanent cart links. If you copied a URL from your browser's address bar during a checkout session, that link is session-based and will expire quickly.
These temporary URLs look like:
https://yourstore.myshopify.com/checkouts/XYZ...
They contain long tokens and they're tied to a specific cart session on Shopify's servers.
Why They "Expire":
Once that checkout is completed or sits incomplete for a while, Shopify invalidates the session. Anyone clicking that /checkouts/XYZ... link later will see an error or empty cart.
The Fix:
Don't share ephemeral checkout session links. Instead, use permanent cart permalinks that create a fresh checkout each time.
The proper format is:
yourstore.myshopify.com/cart/VariantID:Quantity
Pro tip: To get a permanent link, add items to your cart on your live store, then copy the cart page URL (not the checkout page URL). Or use Shopify's Create Checkout Link tool in admin. Actually, try Checkout Links' quickstart wizard for a more powerful solution.

2. When Shopify Purges Abandoned Checkouts (And How Long You Really Have)

Even proper cart permalinks have a hidden expiration window. When customers click your link and land on checkout but don't complete the purchase, that particular checkout becomes "abandoned."
Shopify's Purge Timeline:
According to Shopify's guidelines, abandoned checkouts are typically retained for about 3 months before being purged. After that, trying to return to that exact checkout results in a "Link no longer exists" error.
Important Note: Some merchants report links dying much sooner than 3 months. In one case documented in the Shopify community, a link created in mid-December expired by late January (about 6 weeks later). The exact purge timeline can vary.
The Fix:
Always have customers start a new checkout. Use your cart permalink URL each time, so it generates a fresh checkout instead of reusing an old one.
For abandoned cart recovery emails, understand that Shopify's native recovery links have a limited lifespan. Plan to nudge customers well before the 3-month mark.
Real Example:
One merchant's cart permalink worked for months, then suddenly showed an empty cart. The culprit? A domain redirect issue combined with the product being deactivated on the Buy Button sales channel.
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The Fix:
• Product issues: Ensure the product/variant in your URL is active and available on the relevant sales channel.
• Discount problems: Keep discount codes up to date. Or just remove expired codes from URLs.
• Subscription products: Include the necessary selling_plan parameter for subscription items.
This is technical but crucial: Shopify enforces strict session rules for checkout. If a customer already has an active cart or checkout in progress, clicking a new direct checkout link can cause a conflict.
Shopify throws a "Link expired: Link no longer exists" error even though the link itself is perfectly fine.
When This Happens:
You'll notice this during testing. A developer in the Shopify Partner forum shared that their checkout link always showed "Link expired" in their regular browser. But it worked perfectly in Incognito mode.
The reason? Their regular browser had leftover cookies from a previous cart, causing a token mismatch. Incognito had no prior session, so Shopify allowed the link through.
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Solutions:
→ For testing: Use Incognito mode to verify if session conflicts are the issue.
→ For customers: Design flows where the permalink is the first interaction in that session (like abandoned cart emails).
→ For developers: Use Shopify's Storefront API to add items to the user's current cart instead of creating a new checkout token.

5. Domain Redirects That Kill Your Cart Data

The Hidden Issue:
If your permalink uses yourstore.myshopify.com but your store redirects to a custom domain like www.yourstore.com, it can break the cart transfer.
Cart data is stored in domain-specific cookies. When the link hits one domain but redirects to another, the cookie might not persist across domains. You get an empty cart.
The Fix:
Always use your primary custom domain in permalinks. Instead of:
myshopify.com/cart/123:1
Use:
www.yourstore.com/cart/123:1
This avoids cross-domain cookie issues. Plus it looks more professional to customers.
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Sometimes an "expired" link is by design. Shopify's native cart permalinks don't have expiration dates. But if you're using an app or custom solution, you might have intentionally time-limited a link.
For example, Checkout Links allows you to schedule links to start or end at specific times for limited promotions. Or cap the number of uses.
If you set these limits and forgot, a link might "expire" because it hit its end date or usage cap.
The Fix:
Check your app settings to see if expiration was configured intentionally.
Now that we know what causes the problems, it's time to focus on solutions that actually work:
If you suspect a flawed or expired link, the simplest fix is generating a fresh one correctly.
Best Practices:
• Use Shopify's cart permalink format or the admin's Create Checkout Link tool
• Keep a record of how and when you generated each link
• Double-check variant IDs and parameters (one wrong digit = empty cart)
Think of broken links as lost maps. You need to double-check the coordinates to ensure they lead somewhere.
Avoid cross-domain headaches by using your shop's primary domain for all external links.
Domain Consistency Checklist:
→ Marketing emails use primary domain
→ Social media links use primary domain
→ PDF catalogs use primary domain
→ Ad campaigns use primary domain
If your store runs on www.mydomain.com, your permalinks should start with that. Not my-store.myshopify.com.
Make sure your checkout link URLs include everything Shopify needs:
Standard Products:→ Variant IDs and quantities
Subscription Products:→ selling_plan parameter for the specific subscription terms
Discounted Items:→ Valid discount code parameter (and verify the code is still active)
Custom Properties:→ Any line item properties expected by your theme or apps
Missing data might not throw an "expired" error, but it can lead to unexpected checkout behavior.
Be strategic about when and how customers encounter your links:
For high-risk scenarios, consider sending customers to a dedicated landing page that explains the offer and adds items to their existing cart. This way, you don't force a new checkout session.
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Regular Maintenance Tasks:
① Product Changes:If you discontinue a product or change variants, update any permalinks that reference them.
② Pricing Updates:Permalinks always pull current prices, so your marketing messages might need updating even if the link still works.
③ Domain Changes:After website upgrades or domain changes, test your key checkout links to ensure they don't hit unnecessary redirects.
④ Discount Updates:Swap out hard-coded discount codes when they expire. Better yet, switch to automatic discounts that don't require codes.

6. Why Purpose-Built Tools Solve These Problems Automatically

If manual management sounds overwhelming (and honestly, it can be), purpose-built solutions can eliminate most of these issues.
How We Solve These Problems at Checkout Links:
Truly Permanent Links:Our app uses Shopify's cart permalink framework, so links won't mysteriously expire. Each link consistently brings customers to a live checkout with current product information.
No Session Conflicts:Our app-generated links are hosted on your store's domain and integrated as a Sales Channel. They work seamlessly with Shopify's session management.
Automatic Parameter Handling:When you build a link in our interface, you just pick products from a visual builder. We construct the correct URL with all needed parameters automatically.
Health Monitoring:See when links were last used. Get alerts if products go out of stock or become unpublished. (We're developing a "Link Health" feature that flags potentially stale links before customers encounter problems.)
Scheduled Controls:Optionally set expiration dates for promotional links. Use custom redirect pages instead of generic error messages.
One-Click Updates:If a link needs changes, update it in one place. No rebuilding URLs from scratch across multiple campaigns.
Bottom line: You can eliminate the guesswork and constant vigilance with technology designed specifically for this purpose.
Whatever approach you choose, testing is absolutely non-negotiable:
For New Links:
• Test on different devices and browsers
• Try logged-in vs. logged-out states
• Verify in Incognito mode vs. regular browsing
For Existing Links:
• Set calendar reminders to review evergreen links monthly
• Create test orders through major permalinks quarterly
• Check after any significant store changes
It's much better to discover issues yourself than to learn about them from frustrated customers on social media. Trust me on this one.
For merchants dealing with high-volume campaigns or complex product setups, basic fixes might not be enough. Here are advanced strategies:

Using Shopify's Storefront API for Better Cart Management

Instead of relying purely on URL-based permalinks, use Shopify's Storefront API to programmatically add items to carts. This approach:
• Eliminates session token conflicts
• Allows dynamic pricing and inventory checks
• Enables more sophisticated cart merging logic
• Provides better error handling and fallback options
For developers, our API reference shows how to create checkout links programmatically with full control over parameters and settings.
Set up systems to automatically test your most important checkout links:
Monitoring Tools:
• Uptime monitors that check link functionality
• Automated browser testing for complete checkout flows
• Alert systems for when links start failing
Health Dashboards:
• Track click-through rates on checkout links
• Monitor conversion rates from links vs. normal site flow
• Identify links that may need updating based on performance drops
Instead of static permalinks, generate checkout links dynamically:
Benefits:
→ Always use current product and pricing data
→ Can incorporate real-time inventory checks
→ Allows for personalization based on customer data
→ Reduces maintenance overhead
Implementation:This typically requires custom development or specialized apps that integrate with your email platform, CRM, or advertising tools.
Monthly Reviews:
• Audit your most important checkout links
• Verify all products are still active and properly configured
• Test links across different scenarios
After Store Changes:
• Domain updates → Test all external links
• Product catalog changes → Update affected permalinks
• App installations/removals → Verify link compatibility
• Theme updates → Check for session handling changes
Performance Monitoring:
• Track conversion rates from checkout links
• Monitor customer support tickets about link issues
• Set up alerts for unusual patterns in link performance
Shopify permalink expiration isn't random. There's always an underlying cause, whether it's session conflicts, outdated tokens, or subtle changes in your store setup.
The good news? Every issue has a solution.
By implementing the fixes we've covered, you can ensure your checkout links remain rock-solid conversion tools:
• Use proper permanent URL formats
• Maintain domain consistency
• Include all required parameters
• Plan for session management
• Monitor and maintain links over time
• Consider purpose-built tools for reliability
When customers click your links, they should get exactly what they expect: their items ready to buy and a secure Shopify checkout they trust.
No more mystery "link expired" errors. And definitely no more lost sales to empty carts.
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The e-commerce landscape evolves constantly. As of 2025, this information addresses all currently known causes of expiring links. Keep an eye on Shopify's updates and community forums for new developments.

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