Launching your Shopify store is an exciting milestone. However, the difference between a successful launch and a problematic one often lies in the final preparations. Overlooking a small setting can lead to lost sales, a poor customer experience, or even legal issues. This detailed Shopify pre-launch checklist is designed to be your definitive guide, ensuring you cover every critical task before you remove the password and open your digital doors to the world. Following this plan is one of the most crucial Shopify pre-launch tasks you will complete.
Why a Meticulous Pre-Launch Checklist is Non-Negotiable
Before we dive into the specifics, it’s important to understand the “why.” A comprehensive Shopify pre launch checklist does more than just prevent mistakes; it builds a foundation of trust with your customers from the very first click. It ensures your store is secure, functional, and professional.
The stakes are high: according to Statista, the global shopping cart abandonment rate reached 70% in 2023—meaning 7 out of every 10 potential customers leave without completing their purchase. This makes it even more critical that your store functions flawlessly from day one. Ultimately, working through these Shopify pre-launch tasks methodically is the best way to answer the vital question: what to check before launching shopify store?
Phase 1: Foundation & Core Commerce Settings
Firstly, you must ensure your store’s backbone is strong. This phase covers the essential settings that make your store a functioning business.
Payment Providers: Activate Shopify Payments and/or PayPal. Test both using a fake order to ensure transactions proceed smoothly to the “thank you” page.
Shipping Settings: Define your shipping zones, rates (free, flat, or calculated), and packaging preferences. Be clear and transparent about costs to avoid cart abandonment.
Tax Configuration: Set up tax calculations correctly for your region. Shopify can automate most of this, but it’s critical to confirm it’s active and accurate.
Legal Pages: This is a mandatory step. Draft, generate, and link your store’s Refund Policy, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service. These pages protect both you and your customers.
Phase 2: Product & Collection Perfection
Secondly, your products need to be presented in the best possible light. This stage is all about optimization and organization.
Product Information: Audit every product. Each needs a clear title, multiple high-resolution images from different angles, a compelling description that highlights benefits, accurate variants (size, color), and correct inventory counts.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Optimize product pages and collections by using relevant keywords in page titles, meta descriptions, and product descriptions. This helps Google understand your store.
Collection Organization: Group products into logical collections to make browsing intuitive for your customers. Ensure these collections are easily accessible from your navigation menu.
Phase 3: The Critical Quality Assurance (QA) Test
Now, this phase is the most important. Rigorous shopify store quality assurance testing is what separates professional stores from amateur ones. Do not skip a single step here.
Test the Entire Customer Journey: Place a real test order. Add a product to the cart, proceed through checkout, complete payment, and ensure the order notification emails are received.
Mobile Responsiveness: Review every single page on your store using a smartphone. Buttons should be easy to tap, text should be readable, and images should load quickly.
Link and Form Testing: Click on every link in your menus, footer, and product descriptions to ensure nothing leads to a 404 error. Test any contact forms to confirm you receive the submissions.
Speed Test: Use a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights to check your store’s loading time. A slow site will kill your conversion rate. Research from Shopify shows that well-optimized stores can achieve conversion rates above the industry average of 2-3%, with top-performing stores reaching conversion rates of 4.7% or higher.
If you’re still in the setup phase, our step-by-step guide on how to create a Shopify store walks you through the process from scratch — helping you build a strong foundation before optimizing for speed and conversions.
Phase 4: Final Pre-Launch Administrative Tasks
Finally, before you hit the switch, there are a few last administrative Shopify pre launch tasks to complete.
Remove Sample Pages: Delete the default “Congratulations on your new store” page and any other placeholder content.
Set Up Email Notifications: Review and customize the automatic emails Shopify sends to you and your customers for new orders, shipments, and password resets.
Install Essential Apps: Consider installing a few key apps like an email marketing integrator or a SEO manager but avoid bloating your store with too many at first.
Your Launch Day Execution Plan
Your shopify launch day checklist is short but critical. Once you are 100% confident in your testing, it’s time to go live.
Remove the Password: In your Shopify admin, navigate to Online Store > Preferences and disable the password protection.
Announce Your Launch: Send an email to your pre-launch mailing list (if you have one) and announce your store’s opening on all relevant social media channels.
Monitor Closely: For the first 24-48 hours, keep a very close eye on your analytics and order notifications. Be prepared to address any unforeseen issues quickly.
Conclusion
Think of this checklist as your instruction manual you have now done all the hard work to get your store ready you have set up all the important things like payments and shipping you made your products look great you tested everything to make sure it works perfectly on phone and computer you didn’t just hope for the best you made sure of it you answered the question what do I need to check now there is nothing to be nervous about you have followed the plan your store is professional and ready for customers go into your Shopify settings turn off the password and open your store you’ve got this.
Frequently Asked Questions
While all are important, the most critical is shopify store quality assurance, specifically placing a full test order. This confirms your payment gateway, shipping calculations, and notification emails all work correctly.
You should allocate at least one full week to work through this list thoroughly. Rushing the testing phase almost always leads to mistakes.
It’s never too late. Put your store back into “password protected” mode and work through this Shopify pre launch checklist from top to bottom. A delayed but professional store is better than a live but broken one.
After completing your shopify launch day checklist, immediately begin driving traffic through social media, monitor your site’s performance, and provide exceptional customer service to your first buyers.