The days before a store opens are busy. Products are half described, a policy page still says "coming soon", and nobody has placed a test order yet. Most launch problems are small and easy to fix, but only if you find them before your first buyers do.
Use this checklist as a final pass. It is grouped by area, so you can split it between team members and tick items off as you go.
1. Catalog and product pages
Your product pages do most of the selling, so start here.
- Every product has a clear name that a buyer would search for.
- Descriptions answer the obvious questions: size, material, what is included, how to use it.
- Photos are sharp, consistent in style and show the product from more than one angle.
- Variants such as size and colour are set up as options, not as separate copies of the same product.
- Each variant has its own SKU, so stock and orders stay clear.
- Products sit in sensible categories, and no category is empty.
- Draft products you are not ready to sell are unpublished.
Tip: open your catalog as a buyer would, on a phone. If you cannot find a product in two taps, a buyer will not either.
2. Prices and discounts
- Every SKU has a price in each currency you sell in.
- Compare-at ("was") prices are only used where the item is really reduced.
- Promo codes for launch, if any, have the right start and end time.
- Automatic discounts are switched on only if you have decided to use them.
- You have checked one discounted order end to end, so the final price is what you expect.
3. Stock
Selling something you do not have is one of the fastest ways to lose a new customer.
- Opening stock is entered for every SKU, in the right warehouse.
- You know which warehouse online orders are taken from.
- A test order reduces stock as expected.
- Out-of-stock items are hidden or clearly marked.
4. Checkout and payment
- A guest can add to cart and check out without errors.
- A registered buyer can sign in, and saved addresses are prefilled.
- Payment methods you offer are working and named in plain words.
- Order confirmation is clear about what happens next.
- If you accept online payments, you know your payment provider's fees and have included them in your prices.
5. Delivery
- Every delivery method you offer is set up with its price and area.
- Delivery times are realistic, not optimistic.
- Pickup from your shop, if offered, has an address and hours.
- You know how you will share tracking with buyers.
- Packaging and labels are ready for the first orders.
6. Store information and policy pages
Buyers who do not know you yet look for signs that you are real.
- About page: who you are and what you sell.
- Contacts: an email or phone number that someone actually answers.
- Delivery and payment pages that match your real settings.
- Returns policy: how long, what condition, who pays shipping.
- Privacy and cookies pages that describe the data you collect.
- Terms of sale or public offer, where required in your country.
7. Opening hours and store status
- If you do not process orders around the clock, opening hours are set in your local timezone.
- You know how to pause orders for a holiday or stock count.
- Before launch, the store is behind a password or in maintenance mode, so only your team sees it.
- On launch day, you know exactly which switch makes it live.
8. Analytics and tracking
- Your web analytics (for example Google Analytics 4) is connected.
- Any advertising pixel you plan to use is in place before you run ads.
- You have written down the few numbers you will check each week: orders, revenue, average order value, returning customers.
9. Team and access
- Each person has their own login, not a shared password.
- Roles match the work: someone editing products does not need access to staff settings.
- Everyone knows who handles new orders, returns and customer questions.
10. The test order
This is the most important item on the list. Place at least one real order from start to finish:
- Find a product from the home page.
- Pick a variant and add it to the cart.
- Apply a promo code, if you have one.
- Check out as a guest, then again as a registered buyer.
- Find the order in your back office and move it through each status: paid, packed, shipped, received.
- Request a return and accept it.
- Check that stock went down after the order and back up after the return.
If every step works, you are ready.
How RedCart covers this list
Most of this checklist maps to settings in one place in RedCart. The Store module gives you products with SKU variants built from shared size and colour options, categories, typed characteristics, photos and video, prices per currency with compare-at prices, promo codes with time windows, and personal discounts. Stock is kept per warehouse and is written off in the same transaction as the order, so a test order shows the effect straight away.
Store pages for about, contacts, delivery, payment, returns, privacy, cookies and offer are created with your store, and you edit them in the cabinet. Opening hours, "pause orders until" and the store status (live, password gate or maintenance) are built in. Analytics pixels for GA4, Yandex Metrica or Meta are added by entering the ID. Orders move through clear statuses with a full history, returns restock into the warehouse you choose, and staff accounts come with roles.
Summary
A calm launch is mostly preparation. Work through catalog, prices, stock, checkout, delivery, policies, hours, analytics and team access, then place a real test order and follow it all the way to a return.
If you are getting ready to launch, create a RedCart account and go through this checklist with us.