Before launching your online store, make sure you have completed all the necessary steps to ensure a successful and smooth start. This includes optimizing your product pages for search engines, creating a marketing plan, and setting up essential pages like an FAQ and contact information on your website.

To help you stay organized and prepared, here is a comprehensive ecommerce checklist that covers everything you need to do before your store goes live:

1. Choose an ecommerce platform
2. Create a custom domain name
3. Organize your back office
4. Get any required business licenses
5. Secure funding
6. Confirm your billing information
7. Choose your tax and shipping rates and settings
8. Decide on your fulfillment process
9. Develop your website’s essential pages
10. Conduct a content audit
11. Brush up on ecommerce SEO
12. Optimize all images on your website
13. Audit your automated emails
14. Test your checkout experience
15. Add your customer contact options
16. Establish sales channels
17. Install helpful apps and integrations
18. Set up analytics and tracking
19. Build a prelaunch marketing plan

Each item on this checklist is essential for a successful ecommerce store launch. By completing these tasks, you can ensure that your online store is ready to provide a great customer experience and drive sales.

Obtain Funding

Securing funding is essential for your ecommerce business. You will need money for inventory, marketing, and setting up your business. Having enough funding will enable you to grow faster and take advantage of opportunities such as bulk inventory discounts.

Shopify Capital offers a simplified funding option compared to traditional methods. It assesses your store’s performance rather than your personal credit score, with no impact on your credit history. If approved, you can receive funding in as little as two business days, with offers up to $2 million.

The repayment process is straightforward, as you will pay back a percentage of your daily sales automatically. This means your payments will adjust based on your sales volume, making it easier to manage during slower periods.

Additionally, they leverage the power of brand storytelling to attract visitors to their website. Perform A/B image tests to determine which types of images are most effective in various scenarios, such as contextual lifestyle images versus products on a white background. Utilize tools like Shopify’s Simple Image Resizer to optimize image size before uploading.

Tip: Use a free tool like Shopify’s Simple Image Resizer to reduce the size of your images before upload.

Developing a Strategy for Pre-launch Marketing

Launching a website without any prior promotion is a recipe for failure. To ensure a successful launch, it is essential to have a pre-launch marketing plan in place. This strategy involves various actions aimed at building an audience and generating excitement before the official launch. While marketing is an ongoing effort for any ecommerce business, the pre-launch phase is particularly crucial.

Some key ideas to include in your pre-launch marketing plan are:

• Creating a pre-launch landing page to collect email sign-ups
• Sharing engaging social media content before and after the launch to keep customers informed and excited
• Securing PR opportunities to generate buzz around your brand
• Organizing a pre-launch event, either virtual or in-person
• Offering pre-orders to build anticipation and encourage early purchases
• Providing early subscribers with exclusive access to promotional offers

The Importance of an Ecommerce Launch Checklist

Leading up to the launch day, there are numerous tasks and considerations to manage. The success of your ecommerce venture hinges on delivering a seamless experience for customers and having efficient systems in place to run your business. An ecommerce launch checklist can be a valuable tool in this regard.

Benefits of an Ecommerce Launch Checklist:

1. Provides peace of mind for you and your team by ensuring no critical steps are overlooked.

2. Ensures a smooth launch day by reducing ambiguity and streamlining tasks.

3. Sets the tone for a positive customer experience, leading to customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Ensuring Your Ecommerce Store is Ready for Launch

Once you have completed all the tasks on your ecommerce checklist, it’s time to introduce your website and brand to the market. Implement your marketing plan to increase brand visibility and attract customers.

Remember, your strategy can evolve based on feedback and data. You can make adjustments to shipping, web design, SEO, and marketing efforts to optimize performance. By focusing on enhancing customer experience, you can drive sales and cultivate a loyal customer base.

Illustration by Eugenia Mello. Additional research by Adam Rogers.

Ecommerce Checklist FAQs

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