Launching a Shopify store is exciting. It’s also the kind of thing where skipping a few steps early creates problems that are much harder to fix after customers have already visited. This checklist covers what to do before you flip the switch.

Business and Account Setup

Define your pricing plan and sales channels. Decide whether you’re selling online only, in person, or both. This determines which Shopify plan and apps you’ll need from the start. Review current Shopify plan pricing and choose based on your actual business model.

Enter your business information. Legal business name, address, and contact details should all be filled in accurately. This affects invoicing, taxes, and Shopify Payments eligibility.

Connect a custom domain. Don’t launch on yourstore.myshopify.com. Purchase a custom domain through Shopify or transfer one you already own. Make sure SSL is active — Shopify handles this automatically, but verify it’s showing the padlock before launch.

Shipping and Taxes

Configure shipping zones and rates. Set up each region you ship to with appropriate rates. If you’re offering free shipping over a threshold, make sure the rule is set up and tested. Check that your rates calculate correctly on a test order.

Set up taxes. Shopify Tax handles US sales tax automatically for most merchants. If you’re selling in multiple countries, review each market’s requirements. This is one area where it’s worth getting it right before launch rather than cleaning up after.

Products and Collections

Audit every product listing. Check that titles, descriptions, prices, variants, and inventory counts are all correct. Use consistent formatting across your catalog.

Optimize product images. Upload images at the right size — Shopify recommends 2048x2048px for square images. Compress them before uploading (TinyPNG is a simple free tool). Make sure alt text is filled in for each image.

Build collections with a customer in mind. Your navigation should reflect how a customer thinks about your products, not how they’re organized in your backend. Test every collection filter.

Payment and Checkout

Connect your payment gateway. Shopify Payments is the simplest choice and carries no transaction fee. Activate accelerated checkout options (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay) — they meaningfully reduce friction on mobile.

Place a test order. Use Shopify’s Bogus Gateway to test the full checkout flow without a real transaction. Confirm the order shows up in admin, confirmation emails send correctly, and inventory decrements properly.

Review your abandoned checkout emails. Shopify sends these by default. Check the timing (10 hours after abandonment is the default), review the copy, and make sure your branding is applied.

Legal Pages and Policies

Write your returns and refund policy. Be specific. Vague policies erode trust. State your window, conditions, and process clearly.

Add a shipping policy page. Include processing time, carrier options, and estimated delivery windows. International shipping details if applicable.

Generate a privacy policy and terms of service. Shopify’s built-in policy generator gives you a solid starting point. Add links to all policy pages in your footer.

SEO and Analytics

Set meta titles and descriptions for your key pages. Homepage, main collection pages, and top products should each have a unique, descriptive meta title and description.

Install GA4 and submit your sitemap. Set up Google Analytics 4 before launch so you have data from day one. Submit your sitemap (yourstore.com/sitemap.xml) to Google Search Console.

Final Checks

Test on mobile. Walk through the entire purchase flow on a real phone. Most ecommerce traffic is mobile — don’t launch a store you’ve only tested on desktop.

Check all navigation links. Broken links are easy to create and easy to miss. Click through every nav item and footer link.

Run a speed check. Put your store URL into PageSpeed Insights. If you’re scoring below 50 on mobile, address the biggest issues before going live — usually oversized images or too many apps.

Remove password protection. Shopify stores launch behind a password by default. Don’t forget to turn it off. It happens more than you’d think.