ReferralCandy provides several widgets and storefront blocks for your Shopify referral campaigns. This article maps which surfaces exist on the Widgets page, where each one fits in the merchant–advocate–friend flow, and where each is enabled and edited.

For Shopify merchants, ReferralCandy surfaces are edited in different places depending on what you're trying to change.

In general:

Important distinction:

If you edit in the wrong place, it can look like "my changes didn't apply" — they did, just in a different surface.

Rule of thumb:

Note: Shopify's navigation labels can vary slightly, but the editing pattern stays the same.

Listed in the order they appear on the Widgets page.

Where it shows up in the flow

A customer completes a checkout → lands on the Shopify post-checkout "Thank you" page (and related order-status pages, depending on your setup) → sees the Referral extension prompting them to share with friends. They tap it to grab their referral link and share.

The Referral extension is the share moment itself — customers see their sharing options inline, right there on the Thank You page. It's not a path to the Rewards page (advocates access that via the Your Rewards tab on their Share Page — see What advocates see after signing up). Visibility on the Thank You page also depends on the customer's enrollment state (enrolled / unenrolled / never enrolled) and whether you've enabled signup/waitlist for unqualified customers — see Referral extension for Shopify for the full behavior matrix.

Why use it

The Thank You page is the highest-intent moment in the customer journey for a referral ask — the customer just bought, so they're at peak enthusiasm. The block is a Shopify-native checkout extension, so the placement and design stay consistent with the rest of your checkout flow.

Where to enable / add it

Shopify Checkout editor — add the ReferralCandy block.

Where to customize it

Common confusion

If you're trying to change the Thank you page block text, don't look in campaign Themes — edit the widget text on the Widgets page, then confirm the block is placed correctly in the Checkout editor.

For full setup details including banner image sizing and Liquid placeholder behavior, see Referral extension for Shopify.

Where it shows up in the flow

An advocate shares their referral link → a friend clicks it. If your campaign's friend offer is a discount code, the friend needs to land somewhere that shows them the code before they shop. The Friend offer landing section controls how that delivery works on Shopify — and gives you two paths to choose between:

Which path runs depends on your setup:

Which is better for Shopify merchants?

Generally the Storefront Popup is the more seamless setup:

Keep the Friend Offer Page if you'd rather control the friend's first impression on a dedicated page you fully design (often used to feature the friend offer prominently, or when the merchant prefers a clean "here's your offer → click through" flow). Either works — the Popup just tends to feel more native on Shopify.

Where to enable each surface

Where to customize the design

Both surfaces share the same theme and layouts — edit them together in ReferralCandy Themes > Customize. For full coverage (available layouts, the Page/Popup surface toggle inside the Theme editor, what each surface controls individually, and the legacy popup migration), see Friend offer landing page and popup.

Headless / custom storefronts

Referral details and discount code parameters may not carry through automatically on custom checkout flows. This can affect discount application and referral tracking — you may need a developer to preserve the referral link parameters through your custom storefront.

Where it shows up in the flow

An enrolled advocate logs into their Shopify customer account on your store → sees their referral details inside their account area: their referral link, sharing buttons, and reward progress. They don't have to navigate to a separate ReferralCandy share page to find their info.

Why use it

Keeps everything advocate-facing in one Shopify-native place. Advocates who come back to your store to check their account see their referral progress alongside their orders and other account details, rather than having to remember where their ReferralCandy share page lives.

Where to enable / add it

Shopify Customer Accounts editor — add the Customer Referral Details Extension app block. (Depending on your Shopify setup, this is accessed via customer-accounts customization rather than the general Theme editor.)

Where to customize it

Common confusion

Some header and subheader styling lives in Shopify's block settings, while the actual words and templates live in the Widgets page. They work together — one doesn't replace the other.

For full setup details, see Customer referral details extension for Shopify.

Where it shows up in the flow

A customer or visitor browsing your storefront sees an embedded signup form — typically on a dedicated "Refer a friend" or "Rewards" page, but it can be placed on a landing page, the homepage, or anywhere a Shopify theme allows app blocks. They fill in the form to enroll as an advocate without leaving your store. Already-enrolled advocates can also use the same form as a login entry point — entering their signup email switches the widget to show their referral link, so they don't need a separate login page to come back to their share options.

Why use it

Recruits new advocates from your existing storefront traffic — visitors and customers who are already on your site. Because it submits directly into the ReferralCandy campaign, the advocate is enrolled without bouncing them off your store.

Where to enable / add it

Shopify Theme editor (Online Store 2.0) — add the Join block as an app block on the page or template you want.

One-time permission step: the first time you use a Join block, you'll see a "Grant permissions" prompt on the Widgets page. This authorizes ReferralCandy to write the metafields the block needs. Click Grant permissions once, then proceed with setup.

Where to customize it

Important distinction

The Join block is the embedded storefront widget. The Join Page is a ReferralCandy-hosted campaign Theme page (edited under Themes), accessible via a shareable link. They're related, but they're not the same thing. For Join Page setup and customization, see Join Page.

For full setup details, see Join block for Shopify.

Where it shows up in the flow

A visitor lands on your storefront → sees a sticky banner at the bottom asking for cookie consent → either consents or declines. ReferralCandy uses cookies to attribute referrals back to the advocate who shared the link, so this banner is the consent moment for that tracking.

Why use it (or not)

Turn this on if your store serves customers in jurisdictions that require explicit cookie consent (GDPR in the EU, CCPA in California, etc.). Without consent in those regions, referral tracking may not work correctly for those visitors. If you don't serve those jurisdictions, or you already have your own cookie consent system, you probably don't need this.

Where to enable / disable it

ReferralCandy Widgets page — the Cookie consent toggle.

Where to customize it

This widget is typically minimal and mostly just enabled or disabled. If your store needs deeper styling or behavior changes, that becomes theme or custom-code scope.

Beyond the storefront widgets above, your campaign also has a hosted Join Page — a ReferralCandy-hosted signup page accessible via a link you can share via email, social posts, customer support replies, or anywhere a link works (no install required). See Join Page for how to find and customize it.

For the post-signup advocate experience — the Share Page, Your Rewards tab, and authentication flow — every advocate lands in the same RC-hosted journey regardless of which signup surface enrolled them. See What advocates see after signing up.

Some older widgets were created when Shopify allowed more script-based customization. They don't appear on the modern ReferralCandy Widgets page, but some stores still run them: