Is my Shopify store ready to launch?
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The details Shopify prints on receipts, emails and the checkout.
Pages shoppers look for before trusting a new store.
How money reaches you, and what shoppers can pay with.
Rates and zones a shopper meets at checkout.
A reminder to set up, not a statement of what you owe.
The address customers type and the one search engines index.
What a search result shows before anyone visits.
So the first week of traffic can be read afterwards.
Launch traffic is the traffic most likely to leave and not come back.
The last thing before the password comes off.
Tick each item as it is done in your Shopify admin. What is left, area by area, shows here.
Ten areas to clear before opening
A Shopify store launch checklist is the set of settings, pages and tests to finish before the password page comes off, grouped into areas such as payments, shipping, taxes, domain and a test order, so a store with its checkout configured but no signup form yet is ready to sell but not ready to keep in touch.
A working list, not an inspection: it cannot see your Shopify admin and nothing you tick leaves this page. The tax and policy items are reminders to set something up, not legal or tax advice.
10 areas and 34 items, roughly in the order a new store meets them in the Shopify admin. The test order comes last because it exercises everything above it.
- Store settings
- The details Shopify prints on receipts, emails and the checkout.
- Policies and legal pages
- Pages shoppers look for before trusting a new store.
- Payments
- How money reaches you, and what shoppers can pay with.
- Shipping and delivery
- Rates and zones a shopper meets at checkout.
- Taxes
- A reminder to set up, not a statement of what you owe.
- Domain
- The address customers type and the one search engines index.
- Search basics
- What a search result shows before anyone visits.
- Analytics
- So the first week of traffic can be read afterwards.
- Email capture
- Launch traffic is the traffic most likely to leave and not come back.
- Test order
- The last thing before the password comes off.
Nudgesmart is available on the Shopify App Store. Browse the template library or see what it costs.
Four launches, part way through
Invented stores, not real ones. Each row is ticked into the same list the tool above runs, so the counts and the next area come from the same function.
| Launch situation | Items ticked | Areas cleared | Next up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Theme picked and products loaded, nothing else touched | 2 of 34 | 0 of 10 | Store settings, 3 to go |
| Payments, shipping and policies done, no email capture yet | 20 of 34 | 5 of 10 | Taxes, 1 to go |
| Night before launch, only the test order left | 31 of 34 | 9 of 10 | Test order, 3 to go |
| Every area ticked, test order refunded | 34 of 34 | 10 of 10 | Take the password page off |
Where this list stops
Not legal or tax advice
The policy and tax items are prompts to set something up, not a statement of what your store is required to publish or collect. That depends on where you are registered and where you sell, so confirm it with an accountant or a lawyer.
Ticked here is not tested there
A box ticked on this page proves nothing about the store. The test order at the end is the one item that checks the others really work together.
Your store may need more
Subscriptions, pre-orders, wholesale pricing, age-restricted products and selling in several currencies each bring setup steps of their own that a general list cannot cover.
Launch day is a start, not a finish
Rates, policies and descriptions written before the first order are guesses. Expect to revisit most of them once real customers start asking questions.
Nothing is saved
Ticks stay in this browser tab and vanish on reload. Nothing is recorded or sent anywhere.
Store launch questions
What should I do before launching a Shopify store?
Finish the store details and notification emails, publish refund, privacy and terms pages, activate payments and check payouts, set shipping zones and rates, set up tax collection, connect the domain, write the home page title and description, connect analytics, put a signup form live and place a test order.
How do I place a test order on Shopify?
Use the test mode of your payment provider, or place a real order with a low-priced product and refund it. Either way, follow it all the way through: payment, the confirmation email, fulfilment and the shipping notification.
Do I need a privacy policy and refund policy before launch?
Shopify expects refund, privacy and terms pages, links them at checkout and offers starting templates. What each one has to say depends on your location and the apps you use, so treat any template as a draft to review.
Why set up email capture before launch?
Launch week traffic is often the most you will see for a while, and most of those visitors will not buy on the first visit. A signup form or popup gives them a way to hear from you again.
When should I remove the password page?
After the test order goes through cleanly and the domain, payments and shipping are confirmed. While the password page is up, search engines and shoppers cannot see the store.
The password comes off once. The first visitors do not come back on their own.
Put a signup popup live before launch. Nudgesmart starts from ready-made templates, grouped by industry and campaign type.
