Custom pixels in your Shopify Store are a secure way to add tracking codes to your store without altering your website. They run in a sandbox environment, keeping your site safe and preventing unwanted changes. This makes it easier to manage tracking scripts for ads, analytics, and other tools, all in one place.

Shopify keeps custom pixels within a secure sandbox environment to help merchants comply with data privacy laws such as GDPR and CCPA regulations. Using Shopify’s Customer Events API, these pixels track predefined user actions, and merchants manage them without modifying the theme code. 

Shopify’s admin section houses a user-friendly Custom Pixels Manager tool that enables users to create, monitor, and manage their custom pixels to simplify third-party tracking solution integration.

Managing Custom Pixels in Shopify

Shopify allows merchants to manage their custom pixels through the Customer Events section in the admin dashboard. Here’s how you can add and monitor your pixels:

Access Custom Pixels:

• Go to Shopify Admin > Settings > Customer Events.
• Navigate to the Pixels tab, where you can see existing custom pixels or add new ones.

Adding a New Custom Pixel:

• Click “Add Custom Pixel” and enter a name for your pixel.
• Paste your JavaScript tracking code. Ensure it aligns with Shopify’s sandboxed pixel environment.

Monitoring Performance:

• Use the Pixel Diagnostics tool in Shopify to check if your pixel is firing correctly.
• Shopify will alert you if the pixel encounters errors.

Testing Custom Pixels in Shopify

Testing ensures that your custom pixels track customer actions correctly. Here’s how to verify their functionality:

Use Shopify’s Pixel Diagnostics Tool:

• Go to Shopify Admin > Settings > Customer Events > Pixels.
• If there are errors, Shopify provides debugging information.

Check Browser Developer Tools:

• Filter for network requests and verify that the pixel fires correctly.

Coming to the customer privacy section. Here you will see two options, permission and data sale.

In the permission section, you will see the required and not required option.

Merchants from regions/countries that must adhere to any customer privacy regulations like GDPR must select the not-required option. This will trigger the custom pixel tags in all cases irrespective of the consent given by the visitor on your online store.

Further, these merchants must then enable the Advanced Consent Mode for adjusting the behavior of Google Tags for collecting and tracking data based on user consent states.

It can be enabled using our Simprosys Google Shopping Feed app or any Consent Management Platform (CMP). That way they can also adhere to application regulations while tracking and sending data to Google.

Note: By default, the consent state will be passed as “Denied” until the visitor interacts with the cookie consent banner.

Make a Test Purchase:

Ensuring your custom pixels track customer actions correctly is essential for accurate marketing and analytics. Follow these steps to verify their functionality:

• Add an item to the cart and go through the checkout.
• Check if your pixel logs the event in Shopify’s diagnostics or the third-party tracking tool.

Following these steps will allow you to efficiently manage and test custom pixels in Shopify, ensuring accurate data collection for marketing and analytics.

Also, you can refer to our help doc on how to set up custom pixels in your Shopify Store using our app. 

For further information, please feel free to contact us at support@simprosys.com