Ecommerce launch checklist
Store-specific launch checks: real-payment checkout tests, tax and shipping zones, transactional email, catalog hygiene and the post-launch watch that protects revenue.
17 checks · copy it, print it, argue with it.
A store launch has all the website risks plus one more: it takes money from strangers. Every check below exists because a real store has burned real revenue skipping it. The sequence matters less than the discipline — nothing on this list is optional.
Phase 1 — Catalog and checkout (before anything else)
- Real order placed with a real card, end to endcart → address → shipping → pay → confirmation — refunded after
- Refund and cancellation testedmoney back, stock returned, customer notified — know how it behaves
- Tax rules tested with real scenarioshome state, other states/VAT regions, digital vs physical goods
- Shipping zones priced correctly at edge casesheavy item, multi-item order, the far postcode
- Discount codes tested with the rules you promised marketingstacking, minimums, expiry — the finance team will ask
- Catalog hygiene: no test products, no placeholder copyevery live product has image, description, price, stock
- Out-of-stock behavior decided and testedhidden, visible, or backorder — and what the buyer sees
Phase 2 — Money-adjacent plumbing
- Transactional emails arriving: order, receipt, shippingfrom a real domain, not spam-trap senders
- Abandoned cart flow live (or consciously deferred)one of the highest-ROI emails in retail; decide, don't drift
- Ecommerce analytics tracking revenue, not just visitspurchase events verified against a real order
- Payment gateway fees and payout schedule confirmedknow your margins before the first sale sets them
- Legal pages: refund policy, shipping policy, privacy, termsstore policies are a legal requirement in most markets
- Redirects for every old product/category URLstore migrations lose rankings at the 404s, same as any site
Phase 3 — Launch week watch
- First real orders inspected line by linetax, shipping, fees, margins — fix pricing errors before they repeat
- Failed-payment log reviewedgateway declines often hide checkout bugs, not just dud cards
- Stock sync monitored if inventory integrates elsewhereoverselling is discovered by customers, always
- Speed checked under first trafficcheckout pages first — that LCP is your conversion rate
A store that passes this list can take money without drama. One that has not, will improvise — with an audience. Run it, then sell.
Quarterly, and only when the numbers move
Get the rate report before you negotiate.
Updated rate bands across the major stacks and regions, plus what changed and why. No other email.