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Shopify store launch checklist

Shopify store launch checklist

A launch goes wrong in the details: a checkout path nobody tested, a redirect nobody added, a phone nobody tried. Run these checks before you publish.

ChecklistAbout 30 minutesReviewed October 2026

How to use it

Run it on your unpublished theme about a week before launch, then again on launch day. A few checks only apply if you’re moving a domain or changing URLs; tick those if they don’t apply to you.

Each check comes from Shopify’s own launch and theme documentation, the WCAG 2.2 accessibility standard, or Google’s guidance. The numbers next to each one link to the source.

Before launch weekA copy of the current live theme is downloaded and saved.It’s your backup if anything goes wrong. The download covers the theme only, not products, pages or images.[1]All the work happens on a duplicate or unpublished theme, never the live one.You can change and discard anything without shoppers seeing it.[2]Your team reviews the new theme through a merchant preview, which includes checkout.Merchant previews need an admin login, include checkout and last 30 days. Visitor previews need no login but expire after two days.[3]Every URL that changes has a redirect from its old address to its new one.Old links, bookmarks and search results keep working. Shopify only redirects addresses that no longer load a page.[4]If the domain is moving to Shopify, its DNS time to live is lowered to 300 seconds about a week before launch.Shopify’s launch checklist recommends it to speed up the switch to the new store.[5]

Pages and the theme editorEvery template you use is reviewed on the preview: home, collection, product, cart, search, pages, blog and the 404 page.The template nobody opened is the one that breaks on launch day.Every section and block in the theme editor works, and the person who’ll edit the store has tried them.After launch, your team runs the store from the editor, not from code.Long product names, missing images, sold-out products and empty collections all look right.Real catalogs are messier than demo content.Spelling, prices and links are checked on every page.A wrong price or a dead link is easy to miss in review and obvious to a shopper.

Cart and checkoutTest orders cover checkout, order processing, inventory, shipping and taxes.Shopify’s own launch checklist starts with this.[6][7]On a store that’s already selling, test with a real order you then refund, not with test mode.Shopify advises against test mode on a live store: it can block real orders, while express payments like Apple Pay may still go through. Some fees aren’t returned on refunds, so keep test orders few.[8][9][7]Discount codes, gift cards and every shipping rate apply as expected at checkout.Shopify’s test orders are meant to confirm checkout, shipping and tax settings, so include your discount codes and gift cards in them too.[7]Order confirmation and shipping emails arrive and look right.They’re the first thing a new customer sees after paying.Test mode is turned off on every payment provider before launch.While it’s on, real payments aren’t captured.[6][8]

Devices and accessibilityThe store is tried on a real iPhone and a real Android phone, plus desktop Chrome, Safari and Firefox.Simulators miss problems that only show on a real phone, like the space around the notch and how taps actually feel.Every page works at 320 pixels wide without scrolling sideways.Small phones and zoomed-in browsers otherwise cut off content.[11]Text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 with its background, or 3 to 1 for large text.It’s the WCAG 2.2 minimum, so text stays readable for people with low vision.[10]Buttons, form fields and icons stand out at 3 to 1 against what’s around them.Shoppers need to see where to tap and type.[10]Every link and control can be reached with the keyboard, with a visible focus ring that a sticky header never fully hides.Keyboard and switch users shop this way. WCAG 2.2 added the rule about focus being hidden.[10]Tap targets are at least 24 by 24 pixels, and primary controls like Add to cart are 44.Small targets cause mis-taps. WCAG 2.2 sets the minimum, and Shopify asks for 44 pixels on primary controls.[10][12]Every form field, including search and newsletter sign-up, has a label, ideally one that stays visible.WCAG 2.2 requires labels or instructions for input. Placeholder text alone disappears as soon as someone starts typing.[10]Contact and help links sit in the same relative order on every page that has them.Shoppers who need help shouldn’t have to hunt for it. WCAG 2.2 added this as a rule.[10]

SpeedPageSpeed Insights has been run on the home page, a collection and a product page.Before launch there’s no real visitor data yet, so a lab test is the best early check.[13]The pages aim for Google’s “good” thresholds: largest paint within 2.5 seconds, responses within 200 milliseconds, layout shift of 0.1 or less.These are Google’s thresholds for a good experience, measured at the 75th percentile of page loads.[14]Apps and scripts you no longer use are removed, and nothing relies on script tags.Leftover app code slows every page. Shopify stops running script tags on storefronts on March 1, 2027.[15]

Launch dayA paid plan is selected, the store address is in Business details, and a payment method is live.Shopify requires all three before you can launch the store.[6]If you’re connecting a domain, it points to Shopify, and you’ve allowed up to 48 hours for it to go live.DNS changes take time to spread, so don’t schedule the announcement for the same minute.[16]The primary domain is set, and every other domain redirects to it.Shoppers and search engines then land on one address.[17]Every page loads securely over HTTPS, with no images or scripts loaded insecurely.Shopify issues the certificate for free, which can take up to 48 hours, and any insecure asset marks the page as not secure.[18]The store is launched: private mode, with its password page, is turned off.Until it is, the store’s pages are inaccessible to shoppers.[6]The sitemap is submitted in Google Search Console.Shopify generates it at /sitemap.xml. Submitting it is a hint to Google, not a guarantee, so it’s worth doing on day one.[19][20]

The first two weeksPages that return “not found” are tracked and redirected as they turn up.Missed redirects show up in the first days of real traffic.[5][4]Shopify’s web performance report is checked once real visits come in.It’s built from real visitor data over the past 30 days and can lag by up to 36 hours.[21]The previous theme is kept in Draft themes, ready to republish.Publishing a new theme moves the old one to drafts with its changes intact, which makes it your fastest way back.[22]The sitemap is resubmitted in Search Console after launch, and again after any big change to collections or URLs.Shopify’s launch checklist says to resubmit after launch, so Google picks up the new structure.[5]

Sources

Shopify Help Center, Downloading themes (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Duplicating themes (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Adding, previewing, and buying themes (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Creating and managing URL redirects (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Shopify Plus plan launch checklist (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Preparing your Shopify store for launch (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Placing a test order (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Testing Shopify Payments (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Processing a test order (opens in a new tab)
W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 (opens in a new tab)
W3C, Understanding Success Criterion 1.4.10: Reflow (opens in a new tab)
Shopify, Accessibility best practices for Shopify themes (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Overview of web performance (opens in a new tab)
web.dev, Web Vitals (opens in a new tab)
Shopify, Script tag deprecation (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Connect your third-party domain to Shopify manually (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Managing your domain settings in Shopify (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Enabling secure connections to your Shopify store (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Finding and submitting your sitemap (opens in a new tab)
Google Search Central, Build and Submit a Sitemap (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Web performance reports (opens in a new tab)
Shopify Help Center, Publishing themes (opens in a new tab)

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