E-commerce Store Launch Checklist Template

What the E-commerce Store Launch Checklist Covers

1. 1
   Phase 1

   Phase 1: Launch Plan, Owners & Date

   5 tasks

   Answer the four scope questions in the first task before anything else: where you sell, who you sell to, what you sell and whether you offer subscriptions. They add the matching tasks and legal notes. Every due date counts back from the planned go-live date.

   • Record the store, the go-live date and who is involved — the store name and web address, the planned go-live date every due date counts from, the launch lead, the owner who makes the go/no-go call, the person who builds the store and the operations lead
   • Agree what launches and what waits — the products, countries, payment methods and features in the first release, and what is left for a later one, so the launch date does not slip for nice-to-haves
   • Confirm the platform, domain and admin accounts — the store platform and plan, the domain and who renews it, and admin accounts owned by the business with two-step sign-in, not only by an agency or a freelancer
   • Set the launch budget and first-month targets — targets for orders, conversion rate, average order value and returns in the first month, and the budget for stock, fees and launch advertising, so the 30-day review has something to measure against
   • Book the launch window and the freeze date — a weekday go-live with the store builder, the payment provider’s support and the warehouse available, and a date after which only fixes from this checklist go in
2. 2
   Phase 2

   Phase 2: Catalogue & Stock

   6 tasks

   The catalogue is what customers buy from. Check it against the stock you actually hold and the prices you mean to charge, not the spreadsheet you started with.

   • Load every product and variant — sizes, colours and bundles, each with its own SKU, weight and barcode where you use one, so stock and orders match what is on the shelf
   • Write product titles and descriptions — the main characteristics, materials, sizes and care, written for the customer, with no claim the product cannot back up
   • Add product images — every variant shown, consistent sizes and backgrounds, images that show the product as it is, and alt text for each one
   • Set prices, sale prices and currencies — every price checked against the price list, shown with or without tax as you intend, in each currency you sell in, and any sale prices with real start and end dates
   • Set stock levels and what happens at zero — opening stock counted and loaded, low-stock alerts set, and a decision for each product line on whether it hides, shows as sold out or takes backorders when stock runs out
   • Organise collections, navigation and search — categories and filters that return the right products, site search that finds products by name and SKU, and no empty collection in the menu
3. 3
   Phase 3

   Phase 3: Payments & Tax

   7 tasks

   Use the payment provider’s test mode first, then one live order before opening. Tax registration and rates depend on where you sell and to whom: check them with a tax adviser.

   • Set up the payment provider and payment methods — the cards, wallets and other payment methods you will accept, payouts to the business bank account, and the fees and payout timing agreed
   • Confirm how card data is handled — PCI DSS is the card-data security standard you and your payment provider must meet; record which parts the provider handles, where card details are entered, and complete the validation your provider or acquirer asks for
   • Run test transactions in test mode — a successful payment, a declined card and a payment that needs extra authentication, using the provider’s published test cards, with each order recorded correctly in the store
   • Test a refund and a partial refund — money returned to the same payment method, the order status and stock updated, and the refund showing in the provider’s dashboard
   • Set up tax settings with an adviser — tax registration and rates depend on where you sell and to whom; record the registrations you hold, how prices show tax and the rates the store applies, and have the setup checked by a tax adviser before launch
   • Set up subscription billing and cancellation — the billing period and price per period, the renewal and payment-failure emails, and a simple way for customers to cancel online
   • Set up fraud checks and chargeback handling — the provider’s fraud rules switched on, who reviews flagged orders before dispatch, and where the evidence for a payment dispute is kept
4. 4
   Phase 4

   Phase 4: Delivery & Fulfilment

   7 tasks

   The shipping tasks appear for physical goods and the digital delivery task for digital content. A delivery promise is a commitment: set it from what the warehouse can actually do.

   • Set up shipping zones and rates — the countries and regions you deliver to, the price for each zone and weight band, any free-delivery threshold, and places you do not deliver to
   • Choose carriers and services — standard and express services, tracking, the carrier’s compensation limits for loss and damage, and collection times from your premises
   • Set dispatch times and the delivery promise — the order cut-off time, how many working days to dispatch, and the delivery times shown on product pages, at checkout and in emails, all matching
   • Prepare packaging, labels and packing slips — packaging tested with the heaviest and most fragile products, labels printing from the order, and a packing slip with the returns address and instructions
   • Write the delay and out-of-stock procedure — who tells the customer when an order will be late or cannot be filled, how quickly, what choices they are offered and how refunds are made
   • Set up digital delivery — download links, licence keys or account access sent automatically after payment, how long links last, and a way for customers to get them again
   • Hand orders to the people who fulfil them — order notifications reaching the warehouse, fulfilment partner or whoever sends digital orders, pick lists, and who covers weekends and holidays
5. 5
   Phase 5

   Phase 5: Legal Pages & Pre-Contract Information

   7 tasks

   Which tasks and notes appear depends on where you sell and whether you sell to consumers. This checklist records what you published; it is not legal advice, so have the pages checked by an adviser.

   • Publish your business details and contact information — your legal name, geographic address, email address and phone number, company and tax registration numbers, on a page linked from every page of the store
   • Publish the terms and conditions of sale — how an order is placed and accepted, prices and payment, delivery, cancellation and returns, faults and complaints, in plain words customers can save or print
   • Publish the privacy notice — what you collect at checkout and why, who you share it with (the payment provider, carriers, email platform), how long you keep it and how customers use their rights
   • Give the pre-contract information before checkout — the information customers must have before they order, on product pages, the basket and the checkout, not only in the terms
   • Publish the cancellation, returns and refunds policy — how long customers have, how they cancel or start a return, who pays for returns, how and when refunds are made, and which products are excluded
   • Check the checkout page and order button — the total price, delivery charges and any subscription terms shown right before the order, a button that says the order means paying, and no pre-ticked paid extras
   • Set trade terms and confirm buyers are businesses — terms written for business customers, how the store checks a buyer is a business (an account, a company or tax number), and what happens if a consumer orders anyway
6. 6
   Phase 6

   Phase 6: Customer Service, Emails & Analytics

   6 tasks

   Customers judge a new store by its emails and how quickly someone answers. Cookie rules depend on where your customers are, and the UK rules changed on 5 February 2026.

   • Set up customer contact channels — the email address, phone or chat hours, the shared inbox, who answers and the reply time you promise on the contact page
   • Set up the returns and refunds process — how customers start a return or cancellation, where returned goods go, who checks them and who issues the refund, with the time each step takes
   • Check every order email — order confirmation, dispatch with tracking, delivery, cancellation and refund emails, sent from your own domain with your details and the right links
   • Set up analytics and conversion tracking — the analytics property, purchase events with order value, and advertising conversions, ready to be tested with a real order in Phase 7
   • Set up cookie consent — every cookie and tag the store sets listed by purpose, a banner that matches the rules where your customers are, and tags that wait for consent where it is needed
   • Write the customer service replies — saved replies for where is my order, returns, damaged or wrong items and failed payments, and when to pass a case to the owner
7. 7
   Phase 7

   Phase 7: Test Orders & Go/No-Go

   6 tasks

   Place real orders the way customers will, on a computer and on a phone. The owner’s go/no-go decision comes after the test orders, and nothing after it can be completed until it is recorded.

   • Place end-to-end test orders on desktop and phone — from product page to basket, checkout, payment, confirmation email and the order arriving with whoever fulfils it, on a computer and on a phone
   • Test a failed payment — a declined card and an abandoned payment: no order sent for fulfilment, stock released, and a clear message telling the customer what to do
   • Test a refund from start to finish — a cancellation or return request, the refund issued, the email received, and stock and reports updated
   • Test what happens when stock runs out — buy the last unit of a product and check it then shows as sold out or takes backorders as you decided, and that nobody can buy stock you do not have
   • Fix or accept every issue found — every gap from Phases 2 to 7 with an owner and either fixed and retested, or accepted by the owner for after launch
   • Owner’s go/no-go to open the store — the owner reviews the test orders and open issues and decides whether the store opens on the planned date
8. 8
   Phase 8

   Phase 8: Go-Live, First Orders & 30-Day Review

   5 tasks

   Watch the first orders closely, from payment to delivery. The review at about 30 days compares the launch with the targets set in Phase 1.

   • Open the store — remove the password page or maintenance mode, switch payments to live, place one real low-value order and refund it
   • Watch the first orders — each order in the first days checked from payment to dispatch or download, with any problem fixed before it repeats
   • Check payouts, tax and stock after the first week — the first payout matches the orders less fees and refunds, tax collected looks right, and stock counts match what is on the shelf
   • Review customer questions and returns — what customers asked, why they returned items, and which product pages, emails or policies need changing as a result
   • Hold the 30-day launch review — orders, conversion, returns and costs against the first-month targets, what went wrong, what to change in this checklist and who owns each action