Shopify launch checklist: what to do before and after you go live

Settings that stop orders or cost you money

Catalog and content

• Every product has a unique title and description, not the supplier's copy pasted in.
• Images are the same shape across a collection, compressed, and have alt text that describes the item.
• Variants have SKUs, prices and stock counts. Check one product per variant type.
• Collections are built, ordered and linked from the main menu.
• The about, contact and FAQ pages answer the questions a first-time buyer has.
• Remove sample products and placeholder text from the theme.

A single-product launch needs different work from a catalog. For Belvra, a store built around one product, the page had to explain the formula, the ingredients and the weekly routine, and let shoppers add the product to their bag from the first screen.

Search, redirects and tracking

1. Titles and descriptionsWrite them for home, collections and top products. Shopify builds the sitemap and a default robots file for you.
2. Redirect old URLsIf you are moving from another platform, add every old product and category URL to Shopify's URL redirects. See the website migration checklist.
3. Verify Search ConsoleAdd the domain, submit the sitemap and check for crawl errors after launch.
4. Set up analyticsConfirm that purchase, add-to-cart and checkout events reach GA4 and that each fires once.
5. Ad platformsInstall the pixel or server-side connection only after consent logic is working for your markets.

More store-specific search work is in the Shopify SEO checklist.

Test orders

Place each of these before launch and write down what you saw.

• A normal order on desktop, paid in test mode
• The same order on a phone, using a different browser
• An order with a discount code
• An order shipped to another country you sell to
• A declined card, to check the error message
• A refund, to check the customer email and the stock count

Launch day and the first week

1. Connect the domainSet the primary domain, check that the www and non-www versions redirect to it and that the security certificate is active.
2. Remove the password pageDo it last, once every item above is ticked.
3. Place one real orderUse a real card and refund it. Test mode cannot catch every payment issue.
4. Watch day oneCheck orders, emails, analytics events and Search Console for errors.
5. Review at day sevenLook at abandoned checkouts, slow pages and the search queries that brought people in.

Our notes and the download

• Do not launch on a day nobody can watch the store.
• Keep the old site live until redirects are tested, even if the new store is ready first.
• Write down every login and who owns it before launch. Handover problems start there.

The downloadable version adds owner and date columns and our margin notes. If you want a store built and launched with this list, talk to us.