The Ultimate Shopify Store Launch Checklist for 2024 – Step-by-Step Guide

Launching a Shopify store is an exciting step toward building a successful online business, but ensuring everything is set up correctly can be overwhelming. From optimizing your product pages to setting up payment gateways, there are countless details to consider. In this Shopify Store Launch Checklist, we’ll walk you through every essential step to get your store ready for a seamless launch.

Whether you’re a seasoned eCommerce entrepreneur or launching your first store, following this checklist will help you avoid common pitfalls, optimize your store for search engines, and ensure a smooth start. With Shopify powering over 4.12 million websites globally, it’s more important than ever to launch with confidence and precision. Let’s dive in!

Step-by-Step Shopify Store Launch Checklist

In order to build and launch an Ecommerce website with the help of a trusted platform can be of great help. One such globally acclaimed Ecommerce supporting platform is Shopify.

Launching an Ecommerce store to sell products online with Shopify is extremely easy and affordable. One can imply a strategical approach and launch the ecommerce store online with Shopify within 30 minutes only, and that too in an organized manner.

Why Shopify is the best platform to launch an online shopping store

Shopify is a popular and the easiest Ecommerce platform. It is very popular amongst users and developers to set up and launch Ecommerce website.

Shopify has been successfully serving thousands and thousands of businesses across 175 countries. Retailers and business owners have benefitted in a number of ways from their Ecommerce stores on Shopify.

Total sales of $55 billion and above with more than 1 billion orders around the globe has made Shopify one of the most loved Ecommerce platform in the world.

Importance of a Shopify store launch checklist

What’s the use of a store which misses on a crucial aspect you thought to incorporate prior to the launch but missed it in the end?

Of course, it will be quite dreadful! A perfect store is the one which encompasses all the key factors right form product listings, visual media-photos and videos, blogs, secure payment options, easy navigation, shipping details, and a lot more.

When you have so much on your mind, it becomes quite necessary to list it down. And, here comes the Ecommerce launch checklist which should be kept handy before the store’s launch. Product launch checklist helps in organizing the work flow and never lets you miss on anything.

Related Post: What are the Best Way Optimize Shopify Store Product Page?

How to Start a Successful Shopify Store? Let’s get started! Shopify Store Launch Checklist

Selling products or services online has to be made easy for you. Building and launching a Shopify Ecommerce store is extremely hassle-free and quicker than expected. Here, we will talk about the necessities while launching an Ecommerce site with Shopify.

So, what are you waiting for? Read further and find the secrets behind launching successful Ecommerce store.

Steps to Shopify Store Launch Checklist:

Table of Contents:

1. Name your Store
2. Criteria to select a name for your Business
3. Next- Create Shopify account
4. Go to themes, select one, and customize your store
5. Keep standard pages handy
6. Add sales channels
7. Add a custom domain
8. Add products
9. Easy payment gateway settings for a great checkout experience
10. Shipping segment
11. Shopify Cost
12. Conclusion

1. Name your Store

Everything requires a name, and that’s undeniably true! So does your Ecommerce brand or store. Start with shortlisting some creative names and select one which is best suitable as based on your business. Create a unique name which hasn’t been used by anyone.

You can also do the same using Business Name Generator, which is a free tool at Shopify. Once you enter a keyword, it will display a list of related names from which you may choose the suitable one.

2. Criteria to select a name for your Business

Keep it short, crisp, and attractive: Keep it within the limit of 15-17 characters maximum. The shorter a name is, the better are possibilities of a person retaining it in memory.

Easily pronounced: Complicated brand names are of no good. Hence, avoid using hard-to-speak terminology.

Domain name: Better to select ‘.com’ domain as the primary choice. Other than that, .net, .org, or .biz, could also be the choice. However, we suggest if .com is not available then one must select a different name to use .com domain.

Seek advice: Choosing a name from multiple options rather makes the job easier. So, take help from your friends and family in devising the best name for your Ecommerce store.

3. Next- Create Shopify account  

Launching an online store with Shopify is not time-consuming at all.

Start the process by setting up your account with Shopify. Here, you can also take advantage of the free trial for first 14 days. To begin, visit Shopify website and click on the ‘Get Started’ button.

Go to the ‘Sign-up’ process and fill up the details such as your name, country, address, contact number, Ecommerce store’s name, your email address, and password.

Shopify will ask you about the details of products you wish to sell. Once you have completed the signing-up formalities, click on ‘I’m done’ after which Shopify will redirect you to the store admin panel.

4. Select Website Theme

After finishing creating the account, you’re ready to customize your Ecommerce store, upload products, set-up payment and shipping options etc.

But, first let’s begin with deciding the look of your Ecommerce store. To do that, you may browse through hundreds of free and premium themes in the ‘Themes store’ provided by Shopify.  Doing so, will help you create a front-end store which will allow the visitors to browse, navigate, and interact at the store more conveniently.

You will have the liberty to modify the themes as per requirement based on your business needs. You will find greater flexibilities with premium themes when it comes to bringing changes.

With paid themes, one may create a fantastic professional store with lots of scalability. You can also access CSS and HTML coding. For themes and other related aspects while creating the store, there are Shopify experts to assist further.

Even free themes offer you the power to change colours, fonts, logo and more. Free themes will keep your project in affordable range, helping you save money while creating your favorite website and launching Shopify store.

Find your perfect pick in theme store: Log into Shopify and visit the ‘Theme Store’ and select from more than 70 theme variations.

Check reviews: After choosing the theme of your choice, check for the sample image for details like mobile-friendliness and other features with demo button. Read reviews from other users about the particular theme.

Settings: Shopify themes can drastically change the appearance of your store which will make it stand out in the crowd.

Find various actions in the theme library tab where you can preview, rename, or publish a theme. Make changes as and when you like with the ‘Customize’ feature.

5. Keep standard pages handy

There is certain information which one must always ensure to share with the customers or visitors. Hence, it’s always a good idea to prepare few pages so that the visitors may have a better understanding of you, your company, and the products.

Let’s find out what are they:

Home page: A ‘Home page’ is the face of your website. It depicts what your business is. Make sure the layout and colour scheme is great, plus the navigation process is not complicated.

About: The ‘About’ page shares appropriate information about your company, how it started, your business goals, and the mission and vision of your business. The information shared on ‘About’ page brings authenticity to your store and helps in building long-lasting business relations with customers and partners.

Contact page. It is the page where a visitor or customer can find contact details to reach out to your team regarding queries, quotes, complaints, or concerns. It is one of the most crucial pages on an online business store. One must not neglect adding phone numbers, email, and retail address (if any) for customers to connect with you at the time of need.

6.  Add sales channels

Incorporating additional channels for sales is a highly sought out strategy for Ecommerce stores, which enhances profits. Sales channels are connected with your Shopify store and provide the tracking benefit in case of products, orders, or customers.

Look below for some of the popular sales channels which could be added to a Shopify store:

• eBay
• Google Shopping
• Amazon
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Messenger
• Pinterest

7.  Add a custom domain

A domain name is what gives your store the address and identity of its own in the vast world of online businesses. It gives your Ecommerce store proper recognition and lets the customers or visitors remember your store with its URL. After adding the domain name, the store will be ready to launch for public accessibility.

Shopify provides a default domain name “myshopify.com” which you can avoid by purchasing a custom domain name from Shopify.

To begin, you may search if the domain name you require for your store is available or not. If it is available and is not being used by any other business or organization then you may easily purchase a custom domain name from domain registrar via Shopify.

By going to the main dashboard and clicking the ‘Add Domain’ option, one may purchase a new domain, connect the site to existing domain, or transfer an already purchased domain.

8.  Add products

The fun part begins here! The most important aspect of your store, the line of products you intend to sell. List down the products and add them category wise on your Shopify Ecommerce store. All you need to do is, go to the Products tab and click ‘Add Product’.

Add as many as you want but avoid making your store look cluttered because that is something which instantly turns a visitor off!

You may help yourself by taking a cue from other popular Shopify stores but don’t make your store another copy! Stick to your originality even while you seek ideas from other stores to check how products are displayed.

Let’s check out some of the key components that shouldn’t go amiss while listing products on an online store:

Name of the product: Don’t forget to give your product a title. It’s the name of a product with which it can be browsed or filtered when a visitor conducts a search. Don’t keep it too long; better to use a short title and proper keywords.

Product details: This is where you need to add the description of your product, each and every necessary details that describe it physically. Include key features and benefits of using that product.

The description should be short and must summarize everything you want to share. It’s always a good idea to use bullet points; this makes it easy to read in shortest time possible.

Pictures or videos: The only way to know what one is buying is via the display pictures available on an Ecommerce store.

Nothing could be better if there are videos available as well. Always keep high-resolutions pictures and videos of the product to reflect the best possible details. This gives the customers an assurance that they will get exactly what they’re buying.

Prices: Few Ecommerce websites don’t quote prices of their products and prompt the customer to send message requests for the same. Most of the times, it takes away the customer’s interest and they tend to leave the site early. This may cost you potential customers in the long run.

Hence, it is highly suggested to mention clear prices along the products’ pictures and description.

9. Easy payment gateway settings for a great checkout experience

Can you imagine an Ecommerce store not generating sales? Appears dreadful, isn’t it? An online business store is of no use is it doesn’t offer payment and check-out flexibilities to the customers.

Activate a payment processor to accept payments from different gateways. Shopify offers you a variety of such options.

Most payment gateways have a fixed amount of charges for each transaction. It is advised to go for the ones that cost you lesser.

A store with limited payment options, unclear checkout and shipping details turn a lot of potential customers to your competitors in the field.

Hence, it is very important to ensure that people not only browse easily on your store, but, are also able to complete a purchase successfully. Try to solve the underlying issues which are causing cart abandonment, and increase your chances of heavy sales.

There are certain important points that one should never miss while creating check-out facility:

• A flexible shopping cart with customization facility allowing customers to add more products or remove any.
• There are options to apply vouchers, coupons, or discount codes.
• Make sure the shipping rates are clearly mentioned in the price break-up prior to placing order.
• Multiple payment options such debit/credit card, UPI, Cash on Delivery etc.
• Order tracking and updates via SMS on customer’s registered phone number.
• SMS or email notification for order confirmation
• Language and currency converter for hassle-free shopping experience in case of international customers

Shopify provides its users the benefit of order testing with the help of live payment gateway. This helps one decide if everything is functioning properly or not.

10. Shipping segment

It is crucial to make sure that the customers are able to complete an order successfully at your Shopify Ecommerce store. And, are not left with any confusion or leave their shopping midway. This requires everything perfect, including the shipping and dispatch segment of your online store.

Mention the shipping charges clearly before billing the order and keep the tracking option available for easy monitoring. Fix errors and eliminate any possible issue during checkout. If not taken care, you might lose huge sales and profits to your competitors sooner or later.

11. Shopify Cost

New users signing up with Shopify have the benefit of using it without any cost with their 14-day free trial. Here, they have the freedom to try each of the Shopify functionalities including themes, apps, store design, payment processing, and more. Proceed with paid packages available in three different categories i.e. $29, $79 or $299 per month as per requirement.

For beginners, we recommend Basic Shopify subscription at $29 per month with the benefit of constant 24/7 customer service via live chat, phone, and email if there are any problems that arise.

Related Post: Shopify 2.0 Vs. Shopify 1.0

Conclusion about Shopify Store Launch Checklist

Thanks to the digital world of internet that tedious shopping scenarios have turned into a thing of the past. Equally easier is to launch your own online store with the help of Shopify in absolutely no time!

Launching an online store with Shopify ensures that your products are loaded correctly and you will always have them marketed in the best possible manner. Having a store with everything information in place builds trust among the visitors.

Shopify is where you can put your trust as well. Shopify provides you perfect support when your mind is being bombarded with doubts about launching an Ecommerce online store.  It allows you immense flexibilities and keeps your site completely organized.

No clutter provides user-friendly shopping experience which attracts revenue generation in the long run. We hope you enjoyed your read and our article (The Shopify Store Launch Checklist) offered you the information you were looking for how to launch website on Shopify.

So, if you want to save significant time and energy while launching a successful Ecommerce store then Shopify should be the choice for you. Happy Launching!