- Short answer
- Yes — the gift card email is an editable notification template, but Shopify limits what you can change.
- Body and subject
- Editable only in the template code (HTML, CSS, Liquid), and only after you confirm your sender email
- Never editable in the email
- The 16 character redemption code is randomized, and the template can't rewrite the card's value either
- Two emails, not one
- New gift card: fulfilling the gift card product, or you sending one; Gift card receipt: needs theme recipient support
- Recipient field without code
- Native from v9.0.0 of Shopify's free Online Store 2.0 themes, in Dawn and the Horizon family
- Where the recipient fields are
- Documented in the gift_card Liquid reference; the notification variables reference has 16 sections, none gift card
What can you change, and where?
The two gift card notifications sit in Settings > Notifications > Customer Notifications: New gift card, Gift card receipt, then Edit code. These are notification templates; the gift card page the recipient opens is a theme template with its own answer.
They are not interchangeable. New gift card goes out when the gift card product is fulfilled, or when you send a card you created yourself. Gift card receipt exists only where your theme gives the buyer a recipient field — the box naming who receives the card.
What you can change is the look of the email — body copy, subject line and the default gift card image — but all of it lives in the template files: HTML, CSS and Liquid. But first: you need to confirm your sender email address.
What can't you change?
Two things the template can't touch.
The 16 character gift card redemption codes are randomized, and can't be customized.
The same page rules out the card's value. Gift cards as a product — how you price and manage them — are our gift card guide's subject.
The variable list is the gap: read on 8 August 2026, Shopify's notification variables reference carries 16 sections, none of them gift card. For the recipient information fields, Shopify's recipient fields page points to the gift_card Liquid reference instead.
Do you need a developer?
For the body and the subject, yes — Shopify says CSS styling needs advanced HTML and CSS knowledge.
Plans don't come into it: gift cards are available on all Shopify subscription plans, and none of the gift card or notification pages we read in August 2026 gates access to these templates by tier.
The recipient field is the one part that goes without code — only on some themes: introduced from v9.0.0 of Shopify's free Online Store 2.0 themes, in the Dawn and the Horizon family. On any other theme, you or your developer can add it from Shopify's developer documentation; until then Gift card receipt has nothing to fire on.
This article was written entirely by AI under human editorial direction. The editor sets the topic and structure, runs multi-stage validation on facts, links, and interactive elements, and verifies the output is useful from a business perspective. All claims are checked against official Shopify sources. Details may change — always confirm critical data at shopify.com.
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