E-commerce Launch Checklist: 60 Items Before You Open

Most failed launches I see fail at the same things: broken tracking, missing policies, generic creative, no email flows. Avoidable in 2 weekends.

Here's the 60-item launch checklist.

Foundation (10)

1. Brand name registered (DTI/SEC).

2. BIR registered.

3. Domain bought.

4. Shopify Basic plan active.

5. Business bank account.

6. Logo finalized.

7. Brand color palette defined.

8. Brand fonts chosen.

9. About Us page written.

10. Contact info set up (phone, email, Messenger).

Theme + Pages (10)

11. Fast theme installed (Dawn, Sense, Craft, Impulse).

12. Theme customized (header, footer, fonts, colors).

13. Homepage built.

14. Collection pages set up.

15. Product pages designed.

16. About Us page live.

17. Contact page live.

18. FAQ page live.

19. 404 page customized.

20. Mobile design verified.

Products (8)

21. Photography for top 10 products complete.

22. Product descriptions (300+ words each).

23. SEO meta titles and descriptions.

24. Variant setups correct.

25. Inventory tracking enabled.

26. Categories/tags structured.

27. Featured products selected.

28. Bestseller / New tags applied.

Policies (5)

29. Shipping Policy published.

30. Return Policy published.

31. Privacy Policy published.

32. Terms of Service published.

33. Refund Policy clear.

Payments (5)

34. Shopify Payments OR PayMongo connected.

35. GCash and Maya enabled.

36. Card payments enabled.

37. Cash on Delivery configured (if applicable).

38. Test transaction completed.

Shipping (5)

39. Couriers selected and connected.

40. Shipping zones defined.

41. Shipping rates set (Metro Manila + Provincial).

42. Free shipping threshold set.

43. Sample airwaybill printed and tested.

Tracking (8)

44. Meta Pixel installed via Shopify Facebook channel.

45. CAPI enabled.

46. Domain verified in Meta Business Manager.

47. AEM 8 events configured.

48. Google Tag (GA4) installed via Google channel.

49. Google Merchant Center connected.

50. Klaviyo installed and synced.

51. Conversion tracking verified end-to-end.

Email + SMS (4)

52. Klaviyo welcome flow built.

53. Abandoned Cart flow built.

54. Browse Abandonment flow built.

55. Post-Purchase flow built.

Marketing assets (3)

56. Welcome popup live.

57. Free shipping bar live.

58. Sticky add-to-cart enabled.

QA + Launch (2)

59. Full purchase test (mobile + desktop, all payment methods).

60. Soft launch to friends/family for 5–10 real orders.

Workflow

Spread over 2–3 weekends:

Weekend 1: Foundation + Theme

Items 1–20.

Weekend 2: Products + Policies + Payments + Shipping

Items 21–43.

Weekend 3: Tracking + Email + Marketing + QA

Items 44–60.

Common mistakes

Skipping policies

Customers don't trust stores without clear policies. Even in PH where formal policies are sometimes loose, having them in writing builds professionalism.

Skipping CAPI

Missing 25–40% of attribution from day one.

Generic theme + products

Same look as 50 other stores in your category. Harder to stand out.

No soft launch

Going wide on Day 1 without test orders. Bugs surface only with real customers.

Launching with 50 SKUs

Spreads attention thin. Launch with 5–15 well-photographed, well-described products. Add more later.

What to do AFTER launch

The launch isn't done when the site is live. Within 30 days:

100+ real customers.

30+ reviews collected.

First retargeting campaign built.

First lookalikes built.

AOV and conversion benchmarks established.

The launch checklist gets you to the starting line. The real work is the next 90 days.

Want help with launch?

A done-with-you launch saves months. My Shopify Expert service handles the full build. Or learn the system in the free Shopify videos on YouTube.

Related reading:

How to Launch a Shopify Store in the Philippines

Shopify Apps Every Store Needs in 2026

Shopify Email Flows That Print Money