Shopify store launch checklist: what to check before going live

Before you launch a Shopify store, check twelve things: your plan and password, your products, your policies, your payments, your shipping, your SEO basics and one real test order. Most launch problems come from a step that was assumed, not one that was hard.

Store access

1. Move to a paid plan. Shopify requires a paid subscription before you can remove the password and publish the online store.
2. Remove the password. While it is on, shoppers and search engines only see the password page.
3. Connect your domain. Set your own domain as the primary one, so your store does not stay on its myshopify.com address.

Products and pages

4. Check every product. Open each one and confirm its price, variants, stock and photos. Make sure it is active and published to the online store.
5. Read your product pages on a phone. Google indexes the mobile version of your pages first, and most of your visitors will see that version too. Our guide to writing a Shopify product page covers what each page needs.
6. Publish the essential pages. About, Shipping, Contact, plus your refund, privacy and terms policies. Link them in the footer menu.
7. Click every link in your menus. Remove demo links and anything that leads to an empty collection.

Payments and shipping

8. Activate your payment provider and confirm that your payout details are complete.
9. Set shipping zones and rates for every country you sell to, and make sure the prices match what your Shipping page says.
10. Place a real test order, from the product page to the confirmation email. Refund it afterwards. It is the only check that proves the whole path works.

Search and tracking

11. Write a unique title and meta description for your homepage and your main collections. Shopify already handles the sitemap, robots.txt and canonical tags, as described in its SEO overview. Read our Shopify SEO guide for what is left to you.
12. Add your store to Google Search Console and submit your sitemap. It is free and shows you how Google sees your pages from day one.

Publishing without risk

If you already have a live store, do not rebuild it in place. Work in an unpublished theme, preview it, then publish it once you are happy. This is how Forgefont delivers every store: your current theme stays online until you decide to switch.