April 8, 2025
You’re busy running your business — the last thing you need is a confusing tech headache when you just want your Shopify order emails to show a little more info.
Good news: adding metafields to your Shopify emails doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a simple, step-by-step way to display custom metafields inside your order notifications — no tech degree required.
By default, Shopify doesn’t display cancellation reasons when you refund or cancel an order. We get asked about this all the time.
Here’s the fix — just store that info in a metafield, and use the snippet below to display it right in the email.
{{ metafields.custom.cancelation_reason }}
Now your customer sees exactly why their order was canceled — no need for manual follow-ups or messy workarounds.
If you want to include metafields for each product or variant in the order, use this:
{% for line in subtotal_line_items %}
{{ line.product.metafields.custom.product_label }} <— Product-level metafield!
{{ line.variant.metafields.custom.item_status }} <— Variant-level metafield!
{% endfor %}
This lets you show custom product labels or variant-specific statuses, right in your customer’s inbox.
Shopify now supports rich metafield types like images, files, and JSON — which is awesome... except in email templates.
Important: Order email templates only support basic data types:
string
boolean
integer
Do not try to include images, files, or other complex field types in your order emails — they won’t render, and it’ll just confuse you (and your customer).
Giving your customers clear, customized info — like why their order was canceled — builds trust and cuts down on support tickets. It’s a small tweak that makes a big difference.
And that’s exactly what we’re about at FireNet Designs: making Shopify work for you, not the other way around.
Need help setting this up or want it done for you?
👉 Let’s Chat — We’ll make it simple.