Launching an online store is exciting, but going live too early can cost you sales, reviews and trust. A clear Shopify store launch checklist helps you catch the small problems before your customers do. Broken links, missing tax settings, slow product pages and confusing checkout steps are all easy to fix before launch and far more painful to fix after.
This guide is written for Australian startups and small to medium businesses getting ready to open a Shopify store, and for marketing agencies setting one up for a client. Work through each section, tick off the items, and you will go live with far more confidence.
1. Store Settings and Business Details
Start with the basics in your Shopify admin. These settings affect invoices, emails, checkout and your legal pages, so it pays to get them right first.
- Store name and contact details: add your business name, ABN (if you have one), business address, phone number and a monitored support email.
- Currency: set your store currency to Australian dollars (AUD) if most of your customers are local.
- Time zone and units: choose the correct Australian time zone and metric units so order times and shipping weights make sense.
- Staff accounts: give each team member their own login with only the permissions they need. Avoid sharing one admin login.
2. Tax and GST Setup
Tax is one of the most common things new store owners get wrong. If your business is registered for GST, your prices and invoices need to reflect that.
- Decide whether your product prices include GST. Most Australian shoppers expect prices to be shown GST-inclusive.
- Check the tax settings for Australia in your Shopify admin and confirm GST is applied the way you expect.
- Place a test order and check the tax line on the order confirmation and invoice.
- If you sell overseas, review how tax is handled for each country you ship to.
Tax rules can be complex, so it is worth confirming your setup with your accountant or bookkeeper before launch.
3. Products, Collections and Content
Your product pages do most of the selling. Make each one clear, accurate and easy to scan.
Product pages
- Write unique product descriptions. Avoid copying text from suppliers, as duplicate content can hurt your search rankings.
- Use high-quality, consistently sized images with descriptive alt text.
- Double-check prices, compare-at prices, variants (size, colour) and stock levels.
- Add product weights so shipping rates calculate correctly.
Collections and navigation
- Group products into logical collections that match how customers shop.
- Keep your main menu short and simple. Shoppers should find any product within a few clicks.
- Add a working search bar and check that common search terms return sensible results.
4. Shipping, Payments and Checkout
Checkout is where sales are won or lost. Test every step as if you were a first-time customer.
- Shipping zones and rates: set rates for metro, regional and remote areas if your costs differ, and decide whether to offer free shipping over a set order value.
- Delivery times: show realistic delivery estimates on product pages and in your shipping policy.
- Payment methods: enable the options your customers expect, such as cards, digital wallets and any buy now, pay later providers you choose to offer.
- Test orders: use Shopify’s test mode to place orders with each payment method, then refund or cancel them.
- Order emails: customise order confirmation, shipping and refund emails with your branding and correct contact details.
5. Legal Pages and Policies
Clear policies build trust and reduce disputes. At a minimum, your store should have:
- A refund and returns policy that is consistent with the Australian Consumer Law
- A shipping policy that explains costs, timeframes and areas you deliver to
- A privacy policy that explains how you collect and use customer data
- Terms of service
- A contact page with more than one way to reach you
Shopify can generate policy templates, but you should review and adjust them for your business. If you are unsure, get legal advice.
6. Design, Mobile and Accessibility
Many shoppers will browse your store on a phone, so check every key page on mobile before you check it on desktop.
- Test the home page, collection pages, product pages, cart and checkout on several screen sizes.
- Make sure buttons are large enough to tap and text is easy to read.
- Check colour contrast so text stands out clearly against backgrounds.
- Add alt text to images and use clear, descriptive link text.
- Remove leftover demo content, placeholder images and “lorem ipsum” text from your theme.
If your theme does not quite fit your brand, a custom design can make a big difference to how customers see your business. Our Shopify development services cover custom themes, theme changes and store setup.
7. Speed and Performance
A slow store frustrates shoppers and can hurt your search rankings. Before launch:
- Compress and resize large images before uploading them.
- Remove apps you installed while testing but no longer need, as many apps add extra scripts to your pages.
- Limit sliders, pop-ups and auto-playing videos on key pages.
- Run your home page and a product page through a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights and fix the main issues it flags.
8. SEO Basics for a New Shopify Store
Good SEO from day one helps your products show up in Google as your store grows.
- Write a unique page title and meta description for your home page, main collections and top products.
- Use clean, readable URLs that include the product or collection name.
- Set up redirects if you are moving from an old website, so existing links and rankings are not lost.
- Connect your store to Google Search Console and submit your sitemap.
- Add internal links between related products and collections.
For a deeper look at search for local businesses, see our local SEO checklist for Australian small businesses.
9. Analytics, Marketing and Final Checks
You cannot improve what you do not measure. Before you announce your launch:
- Set up Google Analytics and any advertising pixels you plan to use, and confirm they record test purchases.
- Connect your email marketing tool and set up a simple welcome email for new subscribers.
- Check that your cookie and tracking setup matches your privacy policy.
- Click every link in your header, footer and menus to find any broken pages.
- Remove the store password page and confirm your domain and SSL certificate are working.
- Ask a friend or colleague to buy something and share honest feedback.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to launch a Shopify store?
It depends on the number of products, how much custom design you need and how ready your content is. A simple store using an existing theme can be set up fairly quickly, while a custom-designed store with many products and integrations will take longer. Having product photos, descriptions and policies ready early speeds things up.
Do I need to charge GST on my Shopify store?
If your business is registered for GST, you generally need to include it in your prices. Shopify has tax settings for Australia, but you should confirm your specific obligations with your accountant.
Should I use a free theme or a custom Shopify theme?
A free or paid theme is a good starting point for many small stores. A custom theme makes sense when you need a unique brand look, special features or a layout that existing themes cannot handle well.
Can I move my existing online store to Shopify?
Yes. Products, customers and orders can often be migrated, but you need to plan URL redirects carefully so you keep your search rankings and avoid broken links.
Ready to Launch Your Shopify Store?
Using a Shopify store launch checklist means fewer surprises on launch day and a better first impression for your customers. If you would like expert help setting up, designing or reviewing your store before it goes live, the team at EMU Digital Agency can help. Get a quote today and let us help you launch a fast, reliable Shopify store.
