Shopify Launch Checklist: Everything to Do Before Going Live

Launch Day Is Not the Time to Discover What You Forgot

A botched launch can undermine months of preparation. Orders that can’t process, emails that never send, legal pages that are missing, tracking that doesn’t fire — these issues are embarrassing at launch and expensive to fix under pressure. Use this checklist to verify everything works before the first visitor arrives.

Domain and Technical

• ✅ Custom domain connected and SSL certificate active (padlock visible in browser)
• ✅ www and non-www both redirect to the same version
• ✅ Password protection removed from storefront
• ✅ Store loads correctly on iPhone (Safari), Android (Chrome), and desktop (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
• ✅ No console errors in browser DevTools on key pages

Payments and Checkout

• ✅ Payment gateway connected and test transaction processed successfully
• ✅ Shopify Payments activated (or PayPal, Stripe, etc. fully configured)
• ✅ Buy Now Pay Later options enabled (Klarna, Clearpay) if applicable
• ✅ VAT/tax settings configured correctly for all shipping zones
• ✅ Checkout tested end-to-end on mobile (add to cart → checkout → payment → confirmation)
• ✅ Order confirmation email received after test purchase

Shipping

• ✅ Shipping zones created for all regions you sell to
• ✅ Shipping rates set (flat rate, calculated, or free threshold)
• ✅ Heavy/oversized product shipping profiles configured
• ✅ Estimated delivery time displayed at checkout

Legal Pages

• ✅ Privacy Policy (required by GDPR — Shopify auto-generates a template)
• ✅ Terms of Service
• ✅ Refund/Returns Policy
• ✅ Shipping Policy
• ✅ Cookie consent banner (required for UK/EU visitors)
• ✅ All legal pages linked in footer

SEO Basics

• ✅ Homepage title tag and meta description set
• ✅ Sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
• ✅ Google Analytics 4 connected and tracking purchase events
• ✅ Meta Pixel installed and firing on key events
• ✅ Product schema returning valid data (check with Rich Results Test)

Email Marketing

• ✅ Email platform connected (Klaviyo / Omnisend / Mailchimp)
• ✅ Welcome email flow active and tested (sent to your own email)
• ✅ Abandoned cart flow active
• ✅ Order confirmation, shipping, and delivery emails all tested
• ✅ Signup popup active with offer

Ready to launch your Shopify store and want expert eyes before you go live? Our team conducts pre-launch audits. Book a launch review or see our launch portfolio.