How to tell if a website is a Shopify store

Shopify stores leave the same public traces no matter how custom their design is. Any one of these checks is usually enough.

1. Open /meta.json

Add /meta.json to the store’s address, for example example.com/meta.json. A Shopify store answers with a short JSON file that includes its myshopify_domain (like storename.myshopify.com), its currency and how many products it publishes. Other platforms return a 404 page.

2. Open /products.json

example.com/products.json lists the store’s products as JSON on almost every Shopify store. Some stores turn it off, so a 404 here doesn’t prove the store isn’t on Shopify.

3. Search the page source

View the source (Ctrl+U / ⌥⌘U) and search for cdn.shopify.com, /cdn/shop/ or Shopify.theme. Any of them means Shopify.

4. Look at the cookies

In your browser’s developer tools (Application → Cookies), Shopify stores set cookies whose names start with _shopify_, such as _shopify_essential.

5. Add something to the cart

Shopify’s checkout shows Shop Pay and the familiar Shopify checkout layout. Headless stores built on Shopify still use it, even when the storefront looks completely custom.

The fast way

Paste the address into the free Shopify theme detector. It tells you whether the site runs on Shopify, which theme it uses and which apps it has installed.