Starting an online store on Shopify and unsure if you are ready for the final launch? This Shopify launch checklist may help you!
Launching an online store on Shopify is not as easy as it may seem. The eCommerce store owners must consider many things and manage everything from marketing to order processing for a successful online business. The ease of usability of Shopify may make it look easier to launch an online store, but there are plenty of things to take care of for a successful store launch. Missing a simple yet important thing during the launch can cost time, money, and effort.
If you are a business owner planning to launch a Shopify store, this blog post is for you. In this blog post, I will provide you with a complete Shopify launch checklist so you cannot miss any important steps during the launch.
If you messed up with your store and want to make a fresh start, you can delete your Shopify account and follow this checklist to make things perfect again!
Shopify Launch Checklist
Before launching your online store, you ensure everything works well and properly. That’s where a Shopify store launch checklist becomes helpful! You can put your Shopify store under construction and follow this checklist before launching it.
Without further ado, let’s dive in!
Choose the Most Appropriate Sales Channel
Shopify is one of the best eCommerce platforms to build your online store and sell products online through your own eCommerce store. But, simultaneously, you can multiply your sales and scale you from several other sources. During the initial phase of your Shopify store, it is difficult to drive traffic to your site. One of the best ways to market your store is to identify the platform where your potential customers live.
Depending on the target audience, adding other sales channels to your Shopify store is advisable. Integrating such sales channels into your Shopify dashboard makes it easy to track orders, products, and customers in one place. Some of the top sales channels are:
- Amazon
- eBay
- Google Shopping
If you are migrating from another platform, you can import products to Shopify using CSV.
Add a Custom Domain
One of the foremost things while starting an online store is adding a custom domain for your website. It helps you establish brand awareness and recognition. A short brand name makes it easy for people to remember. Conducting a domain search can help you know whether the business name you require is available. If it is trademarked and already taken by another business in your industry, you can opt for other relevant names that best fit your business. Remember, you can always change Shopify store name as per your requirements.
It is even possible to buy a custom domain name directly through Shopify if it is trademark-free and suitable for your business. A domain name represents your brand identity and can easily establish trust among your potential customers. Select an appealing and unique name for your Shopify store that makes it easy to stand apart from competitors.
Optimize the Checkout Process
According to Statista, around 70% of shoppers abandon their carts due to the complex checkout process. Ensuring that the checkout process is flawless and easy to navigate is essential to minimize the chance of cart abandonment. Offering free shipping on Shopify is a great way to promote conversions! Make the checkout process as simple and smooth as possible. You can check the following things to ensure a flawless checkout experience for your customers:
- Shipping rates are mentioned clearly during the checkout
- Option to edit the carts and track the orders
- Clear mention of shipping policies and other legal terms
- Option to switch languages and currencies
Add Payment Methods
Successful payments mark the visitor’s buying journey in eCommerce and convert him into a customer. Different people prefer using different payment methods, so your Shopify store should be equipped with multiple payment methods to cater to all of them.
It is essential to add convenient payment methods to your Shopify store before the store launch to ensure customers can easily purchase products and services. Shopify supports adding different payment gateways to the store by default. Ensure that the payment services are integrated properly and working fine without errors. Learn here how to test Shopify payments.
Create Standard Web Pages
The next step of your Shopify launch checklist is creating standard web pages. If you plan to publish your new store, it’s the perfect time to showcase your brand and establish its online presence. It improves trust, establishes brand credibility, and provides customers with better information about the store. Your Shopify store should include the following pages:
- Homepage: It is one of the most important parts of your website. You should ensure that the navigation is clear and easy to use. A good home page mainly comprises an eye-catching headline, CTA at the bottom and top of the page, testimonials, and case studies.
- About Page: About Page is one of the effective sales tools if implemented correctly. It is a page where visitors can get an idea about the company’s background, brand, and people behind the scenes. Providing the vision and mission of the company aids in attracting new customers with similar causes.
- Contact Page: Ensure proper contact information so customers can contact you without leaving the website. You can add a phone number, email address, and office address. Make sure that you even add social media accounts. In case of multiple contact numbers, incorporate the most used one, which people can use in case of queries.
- Store Policies Page: People want a complete idea about the shipping and return policy before shopping from your store. Defining the policies makes it easy for the customers to navigate the store and get the answers to general queries without contacting you.
Also, do not forget to add a favicon to your Shopify store to make it look more professional.
Check Email Notification Settings
Email is one of the most commonly used tools to supercharge eCommerce sales. Presently, several automated tools can be used to simplify your tasks. It helps to communicate easily with your potential customers and interact with them. The emails are sent for abandoned shopping carts, welcome emails, thank you emails, notification emails, and many more. You can attract customers to your store and easily catch their attention using emails.
In your Shopify store, choose the templates as per your custom requirements. Certain free email notification templates are available on the store, or else you can download other apps or templates that are best suited for your business requirements.
Carry Out a Content Audit
Consistency is the key to creating an excellent piece of content. Pick up your writing style and stick to it. Be creative enough to write in your own words, if appropriate. At times, it may happen that you won’t notice minor mistakes like spelling mistakes, grammar, or broken lines. Rechecking it may help you identify the errors you might have missed.
Make sure that it even works well from technical aspects. While conducting the content audit, you can check your website on various devices to ensure it works well with them. In case of any issues, you can hire a Shopify developer who can audit your Shopify online store and offer expert guidance when required.
Optimize Images on The Website
Image optimization is one of the crucial steps before launching an online store on Shopify. Slow-loading images can greatly impact the user experience and search engine rankings. To optimize images, you need to make sure that:
- You name the files with descriptions.
- Inculcate the keywords you want to rank for to optimize your Shopify store for SEO.
- Optimize alt tags for images. It is used for web accessibility and SEO rankings.
- The file size is optimized. The larger the file size, the more it takes to load.
- Select the most appropriate file type. It can be .jpg or .png.
- Optimize your thumbnails.
Install Analytics Tool
Analytics tools are much-needed when planning to launch your online store. They help you understand customer behaviour and can keep a track record of the same. Shopify offers built-in reporting tools to measure the performance of your online store, marketing performance, and much more on a single dashboard. The Shopify Analytics tool can be a good choice for a beginner. But you can have better insights by installing Google Analytics 4, which offers detailed information. It is one of the most popular analytics tools used widely by many. It provides key metrics like web traffic, conversion rate, total sales, etc.
Create a Pre-Launch Marketing Plan
When launching an online Shopify store, people must know about it. The only way to do it is by having a solid marketing plan. Strategize your pre-launch marketing plan accordingly and carry out all required steps. Inform a large number of people about the launching of your online and the products that you will offer. A pre-launch marketing plan mainly includes social media marketing, content marketing, and online advertising.
You can also follow our Shopify SEO checklist to prepare your online store for search engine optimization
