Before the build

  • Decide who owns the store account and who approves changes
  • Gather logo files, brand colors and fonts
  • Export your product list (or start a spreadsheet: title, price, SKU, weight, variants)
  • Collect product photos at consistent sizes
  • Write down your shipping zones, rates and free-shipping threshold
  • Write your returns and exchange policy in plain words
  • Find your domain registrar login

Products and collections

  • Every product has a title, price, SKU and weight
  • Variants use three options or fewer per product
  • Every product has at least one photo and alt text
  • Collections match how customers shop, not how the stockroom is organized
  • Inventory tracking is on for items you count

Payments, taxes and checkout

  • Payment provider set up and payout bank account verified
  • Sales tax collection set for every state where you are registered
  • Checkout asks only for what you need
  • Order confirmation and shipping emails show your brand and return policy
  • Test orders placed in test mode, then refunded

Shipping

  • Shipping rates tested for a light, a heavy and an oversized order
  • Local pickup or delivery set up if you offer it
  • Packing slip template shows your returns address
  • About, contact, shipping and returns pages published
  • Privacy policy and terms of service published
  • Contact form tested (a real message arrives)
  • Page titles and meta descriptions written for home, collections and top products
  • Redirects imported for every old URL with traffic (if moving from another platform)
  • Sitemap ready to submit to Google Search Console and Bing

Launch day

  • Password page removed
  • Domain connected and loading over https
  • One real order placed and refunded
  • Analytics receiving visits
  • Staff know how to find and fulfill a new order

First two weeks

  • Check every order for tax and shipping errors
  • Watch Search Console for pages that fail to load
  • Ask the first customers what was confusing at checkout