EasyApps Ecommerce1. Legal & Compliance
Legal pages are not optional. Payment processors require them, GDPR and CCPA mandate them, and customers check them before purchasing. Missing legal pages can get your payment gateway suspended within days of launch.
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Privacy policy published and linked in footer | Critical | Required by law in most jurisdictions and by all payment processors. Use Shopify's generator as a starting point, then customize. |
| ☐ | Terms of service published and linked in footer | Critical | Protects you from disputes. Cover order acceptance, liability limits, refund eligibility, and intellectual property. |
| ☐ | Refund/return policy clearly stated | Critical | A clear return policy increases conversion by 5-8%. State timeframes, conditions, and who pays return shipping. |
| ☐ | Cookie consent banner active (GDPR/CCPA) | Critical | If you sell to EU or California customers, a cookie consent banner is legally required. Test that it blocks scripts until consent. |
| ☐ | Business registration/tax ID set up correctly | Critical | Verify your business information in Shopify Settings > Legal. Incorrect details cause payment processing issues. |
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Shipping policy page published | Important | Separate from product-level shipping info. Cover processing times, carriers, international availability, delays. |
| ☐ | Contact information easily findable | Important | Physical address or PO box, email, and phone (or at minimum a contact form). Required by many jurisdictions. |
| ☐ | Accessibility statement present | Important | Use EA Accessibility to add WCAG compliance tools. Reduces legal risk and widens your audience. |
2. Domain & Branding
Your domain and brand elements create the first impression. Launching on a myshopify.com subdomain signals "not a real business" to potential customers.
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Custom domain connected and verified | Critical | Purchase through Shopify or connect external domain. Verify DNS propagation is complete before launch. |
| ☐ | SSL certificate active (HTTPS) | Critical | Shopify provides free SSL. Verify the lock icon appears on all pages. Without SSL, browsers show "Not Secure" warnings. |
| ☐ | All domain redirects working (www to non-www or vice versa) | Critical | Set your preferred domain in Shopify settings. The other version should 301 redirect to prevent duplicate content. |
| ☐ | Favicon uploaded and displaying | Critical | Upload in Online Store > Themes > Customize > Theme Settings. A missing favicon looks unprofessional in browser tabs. |
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Logo is crisp on all screen sizes | Important | Upload at 2x display size. Test on mobile and desktop. SVG format is ideal for logos. |
| ☐ | Brand email configured (hello@yourdomain.com) | Important | Customer notifications from a branded email build trust. Set up in Settings > Notifications. |
| ☐ | Social media profiles linked | Important | Add your active social profiles to footer. Only link profiles you actively maintain. |
3. Product Catalog
Every product page is a landing page. Before launch, each product needs complete images, descriptions, pricing, and variants — no placeholder content allowed.
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | All products have 4+ high-quality images | Critical | Front, alternate angle, detail, and lifestyle shot minimum. Products with 4+ images convert 28% better. |
| ☐ | All product descriptions are unique and benefit-focused (150+ words) | Critical | No manufacturer copy-paste. Lead with benefits, follow with specs in bullet points. Under 50 words hurts conversion. |
| ☐ | All prices are correct (including sale prices) | Critical | Double-check every price and compare-at price. A pricing error on launch day can cost thousands. |
| ☐ | All variants have correct prices, SKUs, and inventory counts | Critical | Check every variant of every product. Missing SKUs break inventory tracking. Wrong variant prices break trust. |
| ☐ | Inventory tracking enabled for all products | Critical | Enable "Track quantity" in product admin. Overselling physical products creates customer service nightmares. |
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Product collections organized logically | Important | Create collections that match how customers shop: by category, price range, occasion, or best-sellers. |
| ☐ | Product weights entered (for shipping calculations) | Important | Accurate weights prevent shipping under/overcharging. Include packaging weight. |
| ☐ | No placeholder or "lorem ipsum" text on any page | Important | Search your entire store for placeholder text. Check every page, collection description, and navigation link. |
| ☐ | All product images have alt text | Important | Descriptive alt text helps SEO (Google Images) and accessibility. Include product name and key attribute. |
4. Payments & Checkout
A broken checkout means zero revenue regardless of how good everything else is. This is the most critical pre-launch testing area.
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Payment gateway configured and tested with real transaction | Critical | Place a real order with a real card, then refund. Shopify Payments, PayPal, and any alternative methods must work. |
| ☐ | Shopify Payments or primary gateway fully verified | Critical | Complete all verification steps. Unverified gateways may hold funds or disable after a few transactions. |
| ☐ | Order confirmation email sends correctly | Critical | Test that confirmation emails arrive with correct order details, branding, and reply-to address. |
| ☐ | Checkout branding matches store (logo, colors) | Critical | Customize in Settings > Checkout. A generic checkout page breaks trust at the most critical moment. |
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Express checkout methods enabled (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay) | Important | Express checkout reduces friction. Shop Pay has 1.72x higher conversion than regular checkout. |
| ☐ | Guest checkout enabled | Important | Forcing account creation causes 34% of abandonment. Allow guest checkout, offer optional account creation post-purchase. |
5. Shipping & Tax
Unexpected shipping costs and tax errors are the top reasons customers abandon checkout. Get these right before launch — fixing them after costs you real orders.
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Shipping rates configured for all target regions | Critical | Set up shipping zones and rates for every country you sell to. Test with addresses from each zone. |
| ☐ | Free shipping threshold set (if applicable) | Critical | Free shipping thresholds increase AOV by 15-30%. Set at 20-30% above your current average order value. Install EA Free Shipping Bar to display progress. |
| ☐ | Tax settings configured correctly | Critical | Enable automatic tax calculation. Verify rates for your nexus states/countries. Incorrect tax causes accounting nightmares. |
| ☐ | Shipping rates tested at checkout with sample orders | Critical | Place test orders to different zones. Verify the correct rate appears. Undercharging eats margins; overcharging loses sales. |
6. SEO & Indexing
SEO work done before launch compounds over time. Every day you delay SEO setup is a day you are not building domain authority for your target keywords.
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Unique meta titles for all pages (under 60 characters) | Critical | Every page, product, and collection needs a unique title tag. Include primary keyword and brand name. |
| ☐ | Unique meta descriptions for all pages (under 160 characters) | Critical | Write compelling descriptions that include a CTA. These show in search results and influence click-through rate. |
| ☐ | Google Search Console verified | Critical | Verify your domain in Google Search Console. Submit your sitemap at /sitemap.xml to accelerate indexing. |
| ☐ | XML sitemap submitted | Critical | Shopify auto-generates /sitemap.xml. Submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. |
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Clean URL handles on all products and collections | Important | Use descriptive slugs: /products/blue-merino-beanie not /products/product-12345. |
| ☐ | robots.txt allows indexing of key pages | Important | Verify robots.txt does not block products, collections, or important pages from crawling. |
| ☐ | 301 redirects set for any changed URLs | Important | If migrating from another platform, set up 301 redirects for all old URLs to prevent 404 errors and preserve SEO. |
7. Email & Marketing
Email is the highest-ROI marketing channel for ecommerce ($36 return per $1 spent). Setting up email capture and automation before launch maximizes every visitor from day one.
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Email capture popup installed and tested | Critical | Install EA Email Popup & Spin Wheel for gamified email capture. Spin wheels convert 2-3x better than static popups. |
| ☐ | Welcome email automation active | Critical | New subscribers should receive a welcome email within minutes. Include their discount code and 3-5 top products. |
| ☐ | Abandoned cart email sequence configured | Critical | Set up 3-email abandoned cart sequence: 1 hour, 24 hours, 72 hours. Recovers 5-15% of abandoned carts. |
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Transactional email templates branded | Important | Customize order confirmation, shipping notification, and refund emails in Settings > Notifications. |
| ☐ | Email sender domain authenticated (SPF, DKIM) | Important | Authenticate your sending domain to avoid spam folders. See our email deliverability checklist. |
8. Speed & Performance
Page speed is a conversion multiplier. A 1-second delay reduces conversion by 7%. Every optimization you make before launch benefits every single visitor from day one.
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | PageSpeed Insights mobile score 50+ (homepage) | Critical | Test at pagespeed.web.dev. Below 50 means serious performance issues. Install EA Page Speed Booster. |
| ☐ | All images compressed (under 200KB, WebP format) | Critical | Uncompressed images are the #1 cause of slow stores. Compress before uploading. Shopify converts to WebP automatically. |
| ☐ | Remove unused apps and their leftover code | Critical | Uninstalled apps often leave code snippets in your theme. Audit theme code and remove orphaned scripts. |
9. Analytics & Tracking
Without analytics, you cannot improve what you cannot measure. Set up tracking before launch so you have data from your very first visitor.
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Google Analytics 4 installed and verified | Critical | Install GA4 via Shopify's native integration or Google Tag Manager. Verify real-time data appears when you browse your store. |
| ☐ | Ecommerce tracking enabled in GA4 | Critical | Enable enhanced ecommerce to track add-to-cart, checkout steps, and purchase events. Without this, GA4 is just a traffic counter. |
| ☐ | Facebook/Meta Pixel installed (if running ads) | Critical | Install before running any ads. The pixel needs data to optimize. Even if you are not running ads yet, install it to collect data. |
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Conversion events configured (purchase, add-to-cart, lead) | Important | Define key conversion events in GA4 and ad platforms. Mark "purchase" and "add_to_cart" as conversion events. |
| ☐ | UTM tracking plan documented | Important | Define UTM naming conventions before launch. Consistent UTMs make marketing attribution possible. |
10. Final Testing
The final testing phase is where you catch everything the section-by-section review missed. Complete these as the last step before removing your store password.
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Complete test order placed and fulfilled | Critical | Place a real order from browse to purchase to fulfillment. Verify every email notification triggers correctly. |
| ☐ | All navigation links work (no 404s) | Critical | Click every link in header, footer, and navigation menus. Check on both mobile and desktop. |
| ☐ | Mobile experience tested on real device | Critical | Test on a real phone, not just browser DevTools. Check navigation, product pages, cart, and checkout on iOS and Android. |
| ☐ | Contact form works and notifications arrive | Critical | Submit your contact form and verify you receive the notification. Customers who cannot reach you will not trust you. |
| ☐ | 404 page is branded and helpful | Critical | Customize your 404 page with navigation links and search. A default 404 makes customers leave immediately. |
| Checklist Item | Priority | Details / Action | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Browser testing (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge) | Important | Test in all major browsers. Safari on iOS is especially important — it is 30%+ of mobile ecommerce traffic. |
| ☐ | Announcement bar configured for launch promotion | Important | Use EA Announcement Bar for launch promotions, welcome messages, or free shipping thresholds. |
| ☐ | Have someone else (non-team) test the store | Important | Fresh eyes catch what you miss. Ask 2-3 people unfamiliar with your store to browse and attempt to purchase. |
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to launch a Shopify store?
A basic Shopify store can launch in 1-2 weeks if products, photos, and copy are ready. A fully optimized store with custom theme, SEO, email flows, and conversion optimization typically takes 4-8 weeks. Rushing and skipping pre-launch checks leads to lost sales and poor first impressions that are hard to recover from.
What is the most common mistake when launching a Shopify store?
Launching without testing the complete checkout flow with a real payment. Many stores go live with broken payment gateways, incorrect shipping rates, or tax calculation errors. Always place a test order using a real card (then refund) before removing your store password.
Should I remove the password page before my store is fully ready?
No. Keep your store password-protected until every critical item on this checklist is verified. Removing the password too early means Google may index incomplete pages, customers find broken experiences, and your first impression is wasted. Only remove the password when you are genuinely ready for live traffic.
Do I need a custom domain before launching?
Yes. Launching on the default myshopify.com subdomain hurts credibility and SEO. A custom domain costs $10-15/year and is essential for brand trust. Purchase through Shopify or connect an external domain. Verify SSL is active before going live.
What apps should I install before launching my Shopify store?
Start lean. Essential categories: email capture (EA Email Popup & Spin Wheel), shipping communication (EA Free Shipping Bar), analytics (GA4), and page speed optimization (EA Page Speed Booster). Add more apps after launch based on data, not assumptions. Every unnecessary app slows your store.
Essential Apps for Launch Day
EA Email Popup & Spin Wheel
Capture emails from day one with gamified popups. 2-3x higher opt-in than static forms.
EA Free Shipping Bar
Show free shipping progress to increase AOV by 15-30% from your first order.
EA Page Speed Booster
Optimize store speed automatically. Every 1-second delay costs 7% conversion.
EA Announcement Bar
Welcome visitors with launch promotions, shipping info, and key messages.
EA Accessibility
Add WCAG compliance tools. Reduce legal risk and welcome all customers from day one.