Furthermore, a study by the New England Journal of Medicine famously found that checklists help decrease complications and mistakes in medical care. Double check your tax and shipping settings before launching your store. You’ll want to conduct a domain name search first to see if your business name is available. Are you forgetting something? Reviewing backward—starting with the last paragraph and working your way to the top—will help you spot errors you may have missed. Before you launch your online store, make sure you have all of the logistics in place to accept payment and process orders effectively. Did we miss anything? You can remove your online store password, and add a chat widget to make it easy for online store visitors to ask questions. Most importantly, make sure to account for email settings when transitioning records over to the new store. In the meantime, start building your store with a free 14-day trial of Shopify. Not sure which tax settings to use? When it comes to your copy, consistency is one of the most important things to remember. Your best bet is to consult with an accountant familiar with taxes in your area. Dollar Shave Club uses a branded template for its shipping notification emails. At launch, the razor company set out to disrupt an industry. Shoppers often are trying to make sure a business will be around for the long term. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe. Based on our research, these are the pages we most recommend online stores include in their sitemap: Homepage. When testing your checkout process, you’ll want to make sure: With Shopify Payments you can place a test order on your site with a live payment gateway to make sure everything works. Before you start setting up your Shopify store, it's important to understand your goals. That’s not the only place where you should have information on how customers can get in touch. After you launch your online store, you need to promote it. Want to reap the benefits of multi-channel retailing for your online store? Many shoppers are interested in a business’ mission and purpose and if the business shares any of their values. As you’re coming to the end of building your site, the last thing you want is unnecessary spelling and grammar mistakes for your potential customers to pick up on. Instead of running around aimlessly as you start a business, entertaining every frantic thought, take a methodical approach to your launch. It’s a … Here are some examples of online sales channels you can add to your Shopify store: All sales channels connect with the core of your Shopify business, so you can easily keep track of orders, products, and customers across all platforms. If it is, and the name isn’t already a trademark in use by another business in your industry, you can purchase your custom domain name directly through Shopify. After working on close to 100 Shopify stores over the past few years, I’ve come up with a pretty good launch checklist that I use towards the end of each project. There are several online channels that you can add to your Shopify admin when selling online. This checklist is a summary of their findings, created to help business owners understand what essential aspects of their online store experience creates trust among customers, along with the trust-busting mistakes to avoid. This can help you to focus your attention and speed up your setup process. So, it makes sense to create a simple, effective checklist when you’re launching your Shopify store. Add a custom domain. I work with a mix of clients. An About page is a chance to show your store is real. Hire experts with proven Shopify-specific skills. Step 1: Validating Your Niche Find out if your niche is trending, stable, or declining with Google Trends. You might also want to think about which pricing plan meets your needs. Remove your online store password to give customers access to your store. Look professional and help customers connect with your business, Find a domain, explore stock images, and amplify your brand, Use Shopify’s powerful features to start selling, Sell at retail locations, pop-ups, and beyond, Transform an existing website or blog into an online store, Provide fast, smooth checkout experiences, Reach millions of shoppers and boost sales. It’s important all your images are optimized for the web to ensure fast load times. A 2017 survey by the Harvard Business Review found that just 7% of consumers shop online only. Are there any other items you’d add to this store launch checklist? Create a duplicate of your theme and name 'Test Theme' for any changes you want to preview before going live. Adopt to a particular editorial style guide, whether it’s MLA or APA. A Contact page offers shoppers reassurance a store is authentic. Assuming it's supported by your theme, add any language translations necessary. It took a while to really get a good feel for all the potential things that could go wrong during a launch and try to anticipate them ahead of time. This Shopify launch checklist is designed to provide a definitive list of areas that need to be checked or actioned at the point of launch, but it’s also important to remember that there’ll be line items that are specific to your store too (e.g. Set up Shopify Email and send your first email marketing campaign, Add chat to your online store and read and respond to messages in Shopify Ping. These steps will help guide you create, open, and promote your online store. Get this organized before you launch so that you avoid any potential hiccups moving forward. 13 Ultimate Shopify setup checklist in 2020 Add a dynamic sales channel. Sharing your brand’s purpose, principles, and why the business was started can win you new customers who support similar causes. Your Shopify store will have its own set of analytics reporting built-in, but you may also want to install a third-party tool. But successful online stores take a few earlier steps to help them achieve long-term success. Though there are tons of apps in the Shopify App Store, not all of them are essential for a brand new business. Picking a correct names and spaces for your brand is extremely essential in the time of developing business enterprise. You’ll notice that many websites use different variations, such as .gov and .org. Ugly Drinks has a searchable FAQ page that it built with the HelpCenter app. Google Analytics is one of the most well-known and popular analytics tools, but you can also look at SE Ranking, Piwik and Adobe Analytics. Check Amazon reviews for your product to ensure it's high-quality & well-liked. Adding a custom domain to your site gives you brand recognition and makes it … In fact, some won’t make sense for your online store at all. Consider including a contact form so they can send you a message without ever leaving your site. The Shopify Store Launch Checklist 1. Review domain and server settings. Each sales channel has eligibility requirements based on your region, your product types, and sometimes on your store's Shopify subscription plan. Make sure to review this Pre-launch checklist before launching your course on Shopify! This page was printed on Jan 09, 2021. In the 1930s, when Boeing crashed its B-17 during an early test run, the company instituted a flight checklist to ensure the safety of its pilots. A lot of it you may have already done. Before you drive any traffic to your store, you’ll want to ensure people can actually complete a purchase. 6. In Shopify’s research on what wins buyer and customer trust, we found that shoppers to a brand new store are looking for answers on whether the store is an upstanding business and if it treats its customers fairly. The principal thing that you need is an awesome and snappy brand name. For example, do you want to sell your products both online and in person? Contact page. Set up an email marketing app like Shopify Email, Seguno, or Klaviyo, and consider the following emails: Sometimes you’ll be so close to your work, you won’t notice small mistakes like spelling, grammar, or broken links. Slow-loading images can hurt your site’s user experience and performance in search engines, and slower load times have been shown to lower conversion rates. Payment logistics checklist. Shopify Launch Checklist Preparing to launch a new site is typically the most exciting part of a project but it can also be the most stressful. Pilots and astronauts use checklists for every flight. The Essential Checklist For Shopify Store Launch : First thing, Check your domain name and make sure you add the domain name to your store. Before you start. You can purchase a domain name from Shopify store admin, or you can add a custom domain name from third parties. “Good checklists are precise. With so many moving parts, it’s easy to miss a simple but critical step in a successful business launch. Gauge social interest by searching hashtags related to your niche. This data will give you valuable insight into your visitors and customers. The Essential Shopify Store Launch Checklist, pilots flew 18 of the bombers for a combined 1.8 million hours without incident, Thoroughly review your checkout experience and payment gateway settings, Shopify’s research on what wins buyer and customer trust, Learn about the image file types supported in Shopify, How to Save Sales and Solve Customer Problems with Live Chat, Shipping rates are surfaced during checkout, Discount codes can be applied in the cart, Familiar payment methods, such as PayPal and, There is an option for order status tracking, The contact page can be easily accessed in case order editing is needed, An email notification is sent to confirm a purchase, A language and currency switcher and a shipping policy clearly stating who pays duties and taxes are both available if offering international sales and shipping. It created a video to share its vision that quickly gained it brand recognition. For the current version, visit https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/intro-to-shopify/initial-setup/new-to-shopify-checklists/general-checklist. For those apprehensive about offering a new customer support channel, we have a great article to read that'll help you ace live chat as a small shop, How to Save Sales and Solve Customer Problems with Live Chat. Some are brand new to Shopify and are selling something for the first time, and others have existing stores that just want an updated theme. The consumer base is growing increasingly multi-channel—73% of consumers use multiple channels to conduct a single purchase with a brand, and spend 10% more than those who don’t use multiple channels. Almost there: please enter your email below to gain instant access. Locate your analysis tools. To ensure your theme is ready for launch, run through the following checklist: Create a backup of your theme. You’re finally launching your Shopify store after all your hard work. Your About page is where shoppers go to learn more about your company, your brand, and the people behind your products. This checklist outlines all the steps that you need to take to get started with Shopify. When you’re just getting ready to launch, you’ll want to install only the most essential apps, and deciding which ones are most important will depend on your business and your industry. It’s often the first place people land and, if not, the second place they go. Set up domains and redirects for all variations of your URL to the primary URL. Let us know in the comments below. Choosing a custom domain name for your site gives you brand recognition and makes it easier for people to remember your URL. Amplify Shopify is an online course that will teach you how to design & launch Shopify websites quickly without custom coding and start working with bigger budget clients.Don't miss a thing with this checklist! The Shopify Experts Marketplace helps connect you with experienced Shopify agencies and freelancers you can hire to audit your store and give additional guidance. Step 3: Shopify Pre-Launch Checklist After creating and publishing your course, there are a few areas that require set up to ensure your launch goes smoothly. On your Shopify store, there are several automated emails you’ll want to customize before launch. This is our checklist of most important things to get your store launch ready – and remember that the 14 days is a hard deadline so take it seriously. At launch, you might not have lots of information around which questions customers will ask the most. After working on close to 100 Shopify stores over the past few years, I’ve come up with a pretty good launch checklist that I use towards the end of each project. Do you want to sell your products through social media channels like Facebook? A 2017 survey by the Harvard Business Review found that just 7% of consumers shop... 2. At this point in the process, there’s a lot to keep track of and it can be easy to forget a crucial aspect of launching your business, so put your mind at ease with the Launch Checklist. MOBILE- FIRST INDEXING. Track your progress and schedule reminders to help you reach your business goals. It covers all the basics that anyone who’s about to launch a new Shopify store might need to know. Good checklists are, above all, practical.”. If done correctly, you should see a … The Dropshipping Business Launch Checklist Your check-by-check guide to building a great business from the ground up. Driftaway Coffee’s website is driftaway.coffee, for instance. Ease your mind and stay organized with this handy Shopify store launch checklist. Remember that contact page we recommended you set up? The Shopify Store Launch Checklist is a good place to start. Most people think that the journey of starting an online store first starts when they sign up for Shopify. Make your website look great with a theme. I work with a mix of clients. Now that we’ve taken a look at the essential launch items for your Shopify store, it’s time to flip the switch and start selling. Today, there are tons of TLDs to choose from. Before you launch your online store, place some test orders to see how the checkout process works. The way that your store looks and the kinds of products that you're going to sell are two of the most important parts of your online store. If you need some domain name suggestions, our free tool can help you find some alternatives. Looking for a second set of eyes to ensure your store is ready to launch? Universally, customers often have questions about shipping, return policy, and how to get in touch. This Shopify Site Launch checklist adds a few things I think are crucial and skips over some basics like image optimization and setting … You can also use a different top-level domain (TLD). You’ll want to include your business address, phone number, and even live chat on most pages of your website if you can. You’re finally launching your Shopify store after all the hard work you put into it. Nosh Detox has seen similar results, with orders coming through live chat worth 10 times more than the site average. Ultimate Shopify Dropshipping Checklist: The Brand. When ORO LOS ANGELES launched Shopping on Instagram, it lifted month-over-month revenue by 29.3%—an increase directly attributable to the platform. Install SSL certificate. Check out your site on different browsers and devices so you can understand if a bug is universal or device/browser-specific. If you want to get creative with spelling or make up your own words, that’s OK, as long as it’s on brand, but be sure to be consistent across your site. If your custom domain name isn’t available, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go back to the drawing board. ... Download the Shopify Compass app. Adam Rogers is a Content Marketer at Shopify. Find local experts to get advice about taxes and laws that are related to your business, If you already have an ecommerce website, then consider migrating it to Shopify, Choose which sales channels you want to use, If you’re interested in selling in person, then learn about Shopify’s point of sale hardware, Consider buying an existing Shopify business using Exchange Marketplace. It’s exciting but can quickly become overwhelming. After you've picked a plan and tested your online store, you're ready for people to see it. Learn more: Shopify offers free tools to help you sell and grow your retail business. 2 thoughts on “A Post-Launch Checklist for Your Shopify Store” Vicky says: November 4, 2017 at 12:57 pm. Also, you need to set up your domain to make sure that your customers can find your store online. For more details, refer to your plan's features. The idea stage isn’t simply about having an idea and executing on it, it’s about building a foundation. After you launch your online store, your business might benefit from adding some other online channels to your Shopify store. They are efficient, to the point, and easy to use even in the most difficult situations. Edit your email templates and create sequences that nurture your list and ultimately drive sales. Close ... (2020 gross Etsy sales of ~$13,000 and 320 total sales) do I even need to worry about collecting US taxes on Shopify when I launch? You’ll want to check that your tax settings and shipping rates … Checklist for Shopify stores. Are all of your products loaded correctly? Start a business selling in-demand products, Find a niche or business idea and get started, Practical steps for starting a business from scratch, Everything you need to know about selling t-shirts, Sell customized products without holding inventory, Learn about the dropshipping industry and how it works, Get inspired and launch your own business. A TLD comes at the end of a URL: .com, .edu, etc. Instead, they provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps—the ones that even the highly skilled professional using them could miss. Very good article, it help me a lot, thank you for sharing this check list. We won’t be naming any names, but there are certainly enough bad reviews for digital agencies all over the net. When you’re starting a new business, there are so many things to consider. Choose your legal business name and address, Set a default weight unit for your store listings, Explore the Shopify App store to see which apps could help you with your business. You aren’t sure you’ve completed everything necessary for a smooth launch day. If you’re coming to the end of your 14-day free trial, set up your store’s billing information to ensure there aren’t any hiccups when your store finally goes live. Looking for free online training with industry experts? It’s exciting but can quickly become overwhelming. Pay attention to email setup. However, you don't need to choose a plan until the end of your 14-day free trial. Here’s what else you can do to improve load speed and optimize your images for web: Want to rank higher in search results? Before you stock your Shopify store with products, you need to enter some information about yourself and your store. Deep breath. On the technical side, you want to look for broken links and 404s in particular, as well as any image-rendering and mobile responsiveness issues. Try Shopify free for 14 days, no credit card required. Even when the stakes are much lower, the pen to page approach is still a powerful way to cut through the fog and surface can’t-miss tasks. Verify Spelling & Grammar. Once you launch your site, you’ll want to make sure people know about it. the 320 sales on Etsy were US and international sales and the most sales to an individual state were 36 (far from the 200 sale requirement). Select a custom domain for brand recognition. Get started with my Shopify Launch Checklist.. Your homepage is arguably the most important page on your site. Document your marketing plan so once you go live, all you have to do is follow the steps you’ve already outlined. Your Shopify store launch checklist 1. specific aspects of data migration, configuration for any custom apps, any complexities around integrations, other front-end platforms if you’re launch a headless site … You can even use a combination of tools to analyze your business, but we recommend you get used to tracking these basic ecommerce metrics first. Thanks to that checklist, Boeing pilots flew 18 of the bombers for a combined 1.8 million hours without incident, proving the plane’s worthiness to the U.S. Army. Again, we can look to Dollar Shave Club as an example. We’ve compiled this list of important tasks to check off before or during the launch of your ecommerce store so you don’t forget any major tasks that will leave you scrambling at the last minute. Although analytics are not an essential part of launching an online store, … Take a methodical approach to your launch, ease your mind, and stay organized with this handy Shopify store launch checklist. 1. The next general essential thing in your Shopify store launch checklist is to add a custom domain. Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to add your products, to organize them into groups, and to set the necessary tax and shipping information. According to ICMI, businesses that chat with site visitors have a 48% increase in revenue per chat hour, a 40% increase in conversion rate, and a 10% increase in average order value. You might find it helpful to print this checklist or to download it as a PDF so that you can refer to it throughout the setup process. Legal Components. Learn more: A seamless checkout process, Shop Pay checkouts convert at a 1.91x times higher than regular checkouts. Shopify Email and send your first email marketing campaign. Shopify published a great tool for e-commerce entrepreneurs: The Essential Shopify Store Launch Checklist. Ultimate Pre-launch Checklist for Shopify Stores - Click to download. Before you start setting up your Shopify store, it's important to understand your … Depending on how many products you plan to offer, adding and organizing your product listings can be the most time-consuming step of setting up a Shopify store. Now, Amazon is responsible for 76.8% of the company’s orders. It’s a good idea to do a few dry runs so that you know your system works properly. Kotn provides all the necessary contact info on its page, along with guidance around which contact method is best, depending on the customer’s question. It’s important to have a few pages that visitors can browse to learn more about your company. Get access to our free, checklist on search engine optimization. Get free online marketing tips and resources delivered directly to your inbox. Save it, print it and keep it handy. Let’s explore how to do just that. Many thanks to @tuckerschreiber for that.. You’ll start receiving free tips and resources soon. List a phone number, email, and retail address (if there is one). Otherwise, you could unknowingly eat into your profits by not charging enough. Review: The Ultimate Launch Checklist below, and then head to the next step to learn how to do a test order so you can see how a customer will experience buying from you. Information around which questions customers will ask the most important page on your region, business! S explore how to choose a plan until the end of a URL:.com.edu. Has eligibility requirements based on our research, these are the pages we most recommend online stores take methodical. Some other online channels to your Shopify store launch checklist actually makes its best impression practical. ” and fulfilling... Follow through and makes it … before you take the big leap:... Avoid any potential hiccups moving forward handles the technical complexity of keeping your images are optimized for current... 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And speed up your setup process brand, and then add the available sales to... ” Vicky says: November 4, 2017 at 12:57 pm, if not, the documented... Is one of the logistics in place to accept payment and process effectively.