Checklists are always necessary before a store launch on Shopify. But, do you have all your boxes checked before making your site live? Just as an extra measure check out the following checklist before launching to make sure you’re all ready to go.
Have your static pages ready to go…
Static pages are important for visitors because they need something to click through once the store is launched and they’re waiting to buy. These pages include: about us, contact us, shipping and payment information, and frequently asked questions.
Add your custom domain!
Let’s face it, no customer wants to buy from buysomethinghere.shopify.com. The extra cost to add your custom domain is worth it in the end, trust us. You can easily purchase and customize one through your Shopify admin page.
Do a complete spelling and content audit.
When completing this task, make sure to have an outside party (aka someone who hasn’t been staring at the copy day in and day out) go through and make sure there aren’t any glaring issues. And then triple check.
Install only the most essential apps!
I know the Shopify App Store is super exciting with the endless array of options, but when you’re first launching your store get set up with only the basics. And as you continue to grow your store, and business, you can then go nuts with extra features.
Add any other necessary sales channels.
Any sales channel linked through your Shopify account will automatically connect with your store so you will be able to easily track any orders, products and customers.
Double-check your payment system!
Make sure that customers can completely check out hassle-free before driving traffic to your store. Because what’s the point of having customers who can’t buy anything?
Optimize all images on your site for both mobile and desktop.
If the images load slowly or wig out whenever a customer changes from mobile to desktop (or vice versa), they are more likely to leave the store before buying anything. It’s kind of like when you visit a giant department store, get lost, and then leave because you’re too bored and confused to want to stay.
Install your analytics tools pre-launch.
On the day you launch, you want to know what is driving traffic and how much traffic there is, right? Our favorite is Google Analytics because it is easy to use and brands can easily add the tools they need within the platform as they need to.
Have your marketing plan ready for both before and after the launch.
This includes setting your social media and email marketing strategy in motion at least a week ahead of the launch date, setting up the necessary analytics tools to measure what is and isn’t working, and goals. Our favorite marketing tools for brands both large and small are Mailchimp and Hootsuite.
Set up your store’s billing information.
We recommend to do this at least a week before the launch to make sure everything kicks off with no issues.
All done?
Have everything checked off on the checklist? Then it’s time to get going and start selling!
