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A Shopify launch checklist, from the first product photo to the month after launch
The short answer
Launching a Shopify store runs in four stages: get your products, prices and policies ready, set up the store and test it, launch and take the handover, then tell Google and your customers where it is. This checklist has all 27 steps, from how we launch stores and Shopify’s own guidance, to print or download.
Key facts
As of October 2026
- A new Shopify store starts in private mode, which hides every page from visitors and search engines.
- Connecting a domain to Shopify usually takes effect within two hours, and at most two days.
- Every Shopify store makes a sitemap at /sitemap.xml, and Google can’t read it while the store is in private mode.
- What a store sets up for tax depends on where you sell: sales tax by state in the US, VAT in the UK, and GST/HST in Canada.
- With us, the domain, the Shopify account and every login are in your name on handover day.
What’s on the Shopify launch checklist?
Before the build
- 1.Photos of every product. Same light, same background. A phone is enough.
- 2.Descriptions. Size, material, what’s in the box. Write down the answers you give in DMs.
- 3.Prices and stock. One sheet, every product, every variant.
- 4.Delivery rates. What you charge, where you ship, how long it takes.
- 5.Returns policy. How it works, in plain words.
- 6.A logo, even a simple one.
- 7.Put the domain, the Shopify account and any paid theme in your own name from the start.
Setting up the store
- 8.Set up the theme around your products, colours and logo.
- 9.Load your products from what you’ve got ready, then check each one: prices, weights, stock and variants.
- 10.Set up shipping: the zones, the rates and the carriers you use.
- 11.Set up tax for the taxes you’re registered to collect: sales tax by state in the US, VAT in the UK, and GST/HST in Canada. Whether you need to register is for you and your accountant.
- 12.Add your policy pages, such as privacy, and returns and refunds, with the wording you or your lawyer give.
- 13.Name every app, with its monthly cost, before it’s installed, so you know the running cost before launch.
- 14.Set up payments, then place test orders.
- 15.Agree the launch day in writing.
Launch and handover
- 16.Take the store out of private mode. A new Shopify store starts in it, and it hides every page from visitors and search engines.
- 17.Connect your domain. Shopify says this usually takes effect within two hours, but can take up to two days.
- 18.Check the domain is registered in your name, on your card, with you as the account holder.
- 19.Check the Shopify account is in your name, on your card.
- 20.Keep the admin login, and every other login made for the store, in a document of your own.
- 21.Get the theme files, in a folder you can download.
- 22.Get a written list of every recurring cost: what it is, who it’s paid to, how much, and when.
- 23.Get a recorded walkthrough of the things you’ll most often want to change.
- 24.Note the name and email of the person to contact if something breaks in the next thirty days.
After launch
- 25.Submit the new sitemap in Google Search Console. Every Shopify store makes one at /sitemap.xml, and Google can’t read it while the store is in private mode.
- 26.Update the links you control: your social profiles, email signature and ads.
- 27.List anything that breaks in the first thirty days, and send it to that person.
What should I get on handover day?
If we’ve done the job properly, you could take the whole thing elsewhere the next morning and lose nothing. That’s the test we build to.
On handover day with us, you have:
- Your domain, registered in your name, on your card, with you as the account holder.
- Your hosting account, or your Shopify account, in your name, on your card.
- The admin login, and every other login we created, in a document you keep.
- The theme and source files, in a folder you can download.
- A written list of every recurring cost: what it is, who it is paid to, how much, and when.
- A recorded walkthrough of the three things you’ll most often want to change.
- The name and email of the person to contact if something breaks in the next thirty days.
What does it cost if you set the store up for me?
We set up Shopify stores for US$1,250, fixed, in US dollars, for businesses in the US, the UK and Canada: up to 50 products, typically live in 2 weeks. The steps from setting up the store to the handover are part of it; the six things to get ready are yours to send.
Where do these platform facts come from?
The Shopify steps are from Shopify’s Help Center, checked on 27 October 2026 and re-checked every quarter, and the rest are the steps in our own store builds and handovers. Shopify changes its tools, so check the linked page before you rely on a step. The checklist is ours: Shopify doesn’t make or endorse it.
What else do people ask?
How long does it take to launch a Shopify store?
With us, a store with up to 50 products is typically live in 2 weeks, counted from when you approve the design. On launch day, connecting the domain usually takes effect within two hours, and at most two days.
Why can’t anyone see my new Shopify store?
Because a new Shopify store starts in private mode, which hides every page from visitors and search engines. Taking it out of private mode is a launch-day step, and Google can’t read the store’s sitemap until you do.
Do I need to set up tax before I launch?
It depends on where you sell, how much and what you sell, and each country’s tax authority sets the rules: each state in the US, HMRC in the UK, and the CRA and the provinces in Canada. We set up Shopify’s tax settings with you, but we don’t give tax advice.
What if I’m moving an existing store to Shopify?
Use the Shopify migration checklist instead. A move adds steps a new store doesn’t need: exporting and importing your data, and mapping every old web address to its new one.
Is this checklist only for Shopify?
Most steps apply to any new online store, on WooCommerce too. The steps that only apply to Shopify name it.
Can I use this checklist for my own clients?
Yes, you have our permission: print it, download it as a spreadsheet, change it to suit the job and use it with your clients. A link back to this page is appreciated, not required.
Would you rather we set it up?
Book a 20-minute call: what you sell, how many products, and what you have now. We’ll tell you whether the package fits, what it costs, and when it could be live. If Shopify isn’t right for you, we’ll say so.
contact@centangleglobal.com · Phone and WhatsApp +1 (307) 269-6427 · A reply within one working day