Are you about to open, or have you just opened, your own online store? Setting up and launching your own store can feel challenging and confusing, and you may not know everything you should be doing. So you end up doing a bit of this and that, in no particular order. This post is meant to work as an online merchant's checklist, so your store has the basics in place right at launch.
Below you will find 10 points that make sure your online store is fully ready to launch. This list covers the basics that should ideally be in place right when your store launches. If you do not have an online store yet but are thinking about starting one, I recommend reading the how to start an online store post first.
💡 See also: For those who want to do things right from the start and make sure every page of their store works 👉 take a look at the 200-point Online Merchant's Checklist and conversion optimization tips!
#1 Register and connect a domain
By choosing and registering your own domain name for your online store, you give a more professional impression from the very start and make your store brand more memorable. You can check the availability of .fi domains on Hostingpalvelu.fi or similar providers, for example. .fi domains cost about 15 euros a year.
Many ecommerce platforms, like Shopify, offer a free "yourname".myshopify.com domain. That is not very professional or memorable, so I recommend investing a small amount in your own domain right from the start.
#2 Check that your online store has the content pages it needs
Check that your store has all the content pages it needs, and that they have the right content written. Such content pages include:
- Payment methods
- Shipping methods and delivery times
- Exchanges and returns
- Contact
- Frequently asked questions
Other important content pages include the following (depending of course on what you sell):
- Warranty terms
- Measurements and size charts
- Product care instructions
- Your store locations
The natural place for all content pages is your store's footer, i.e. the bottom of the site. Some content pages can also be found in the main navigation, for example under an "info" menu, and on product pages (shipping and return details in particular are good to have right on the product page).
#3 Make sure of your store's payment methods
Make sure your online store has all the payment methods it needs. In Finland, people are used to paying especially through online banks, but card payments and an invoice option are also good to have. If your store sells somewhat more expensive products (e.g. €100 and up), invoice and installment payments will surely be welcome.
Also check with test purchases that all the payment methods you installed work and payments go through successfully.
Read also: If you are interested in the payment methods I recommend for a Shopify store, take a look at my post on the topic.
#4 Get your store's terms in order and make them visible
One very important thing in your online store is comprehensive, well-written terms. These include the Terms of delivery, the Privacy policy and the Exchange and return policy. These are good to add to your store's footer menu and also to your store's checkout.
#5 Your online store looks high quality
Your pages need to look high quality so visitors are left with a positive impression of your business and your store. A visually high-quality site means, for example:
- The color scheme is consistent throughout and the site uses 2-3 "main colors" (i.e. your site has a clear color palette that you stick to). By this I mean your site does not look messy; all the elements are consistent with each other and bring out your brand.
- Fonts are consistent throughout and easy to read, on mobile devices too.
- Product images are clear and appealing, and they tell visitors immediately what kind of product it is.
#6 Your store's most important pages are search engine optimized
It is important that your store's most important pages are search engine optimized right from the start. Create enough content to describe your products (product descriptions) and product categories, and include your most important keywords in these texts.
Search engine optimization for an online store includes, for example, the following steps:
- Keyword research: Find and collect a list of keywords people use to search for your products in search engines (such as Google).
- Adding keywords: Write content on your site's relevant pages using the keywords you collected. Use keywords in product names, page titles, content text and image alt texts, for example.
- Optimize your site's images: make sure the product images on your site load fast enough and have alt texts.
- Create a sitemap and add it to Google Search Console: Many website platforms create a sitemap automatically. On Shopify, for example, the sitemap is at /sitemap.xml. Create a Google Search Console account, connect your store to it and add your sitemap there.
💡 Tip! In the guide I wrote you will find step-by-step instructions for doing keyword research.
#7 Your products are priced right
Before launching your store, you have surely mapped out your biggest competitors selling similar products. Make sure your product prices are at market level and competitive. I do not mean your store has to be the cheapest, but it is not worth being the most expensive either. If your products are better than your competitors' (of course they are 💪), this needs to come across clearly in the product description. A higher price is justified if the product's quality, features, performance or similar are better than other products on the market. But for a very large share of shoppers, price is still one of the biggest factors in the buying decision, so price your products right.
#8 Connect an analytics tool to your online store
Some ecommerce platforms include their own analytics, but you can also use third-party analytics tools. The best known is Google Analytics 4, which you can easily add to Shopify with the Google & YouTube app. Shopify also has its own analytics with over 200 ready-made reports. Understanding analytics is very important when you want to understand your store's visitors and make your store work even better.
#9 Add the most important email notifications
Make sure your store has the most common email notifications switched on and working correctly. 📩 Important email notifications include:
- Order notifications, such as: order confirmation, order shipped, order cancelled.
- Newsletter subscription notifications, such as: a welcome email where you introduce your brand and welcome new subscribers.
- Abandoned cart automation: a customer adds products to the cart, goes to checkout and enters their details, but does not place the order. One of the most important ecommerce automations is the abandoned cart reminder, where the customer gets a reminder a few hours later in this situation. Shopify has the abandoned checkout reminder built in, and you can build more automations with Shopify Email.
- Product review request: once a customer has placed an order, ask them to review the product.
#10 Create a marketing plan for your online store
When you launch your store, it is good to have a marketing plan ready that helps your store grow. Launching an online store and waiting for customers will most likely not get you very far. A marketing plan should at least set out which marketing actions you take, which channels you use, how often the actions happen and what your budget is. It is also very important to track results, so you know where to invest your marketing effort going forward and what you can do less of.
💡 See also: If you want to track your marketing professionally, take a look at the Online Merchant's Marketing Calendar product
BONUS: The 200-point conversion optimization list
Do you want to invest properly in how well your online store works and get every page of your store performing as well as possible from the start? I have created a very comprehensive list of up to 200 points with best practices for all the most important pages! In practice, the list lets you build your store's elements and features so they work as well as possible right away (without investing money and time in A/B testing, which is also useful, but only once your store sells tens of thousands and has tens of thousands of visitors).
The 200-point conversion optimization checklist covers all the most important pages of your store, with even the small improvements listed. The list goes through all your store's most important pages:
✅ Home page
✅ Category page
✅ Product page
✅ Cart
✅ Checkout
✅ Thank you page
With the points of the Online Merchant's Conversion Optimization Checklist you improve your store's conversion rate (i.e. increase the number of orders) and raise your average order value. It suits both new merchants and those who already have an online store but want to make it work better.
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