Launch Day Is Too Late for Surprises
Launch day problems are stressful and expensive. Most can be prevented with thorough preparation. This checklist covers what to verify before, during, and after launching your Shopify store.
One Week Before Launch
Final preparation activities.
Final data sync
- Products, variants, and inventory current
- Customer data up to date
- Order history imported if applicable
- All redirects in place and tested
Testing complete
- All checkout scenarios tested
- Payment processing verified with real transactions
- Shipping calculations confirmed for all destinations
- Tax settings validated
- Email notifications tested
Team preparation
- Support team trained on new admin
- Customer service scripts updated
- Everyone knows launch timeline and responsibilities
DNS preparation
- Reduce DNS TTL to speed propagation
- Verify DNS access and credentials
- Document current DNS settings for rollback
Day Before Launch
Final verification.
Content review
- Check for placeholder content or test data
- Verify all images load correctly
- Confirm legal pages are complete
Integration verification
- All integrations connected and syncing
- Test data flowing correctly between systems
- Monitoring alerts configured
Rollback plan confirmed
- Old site available and accessible
- DNS rollback procedure documented
- Team knows when to trigger rollback
Launch Day
Execute the cutover.
Pre-launch (morning)
- Final data sync from old platform
- Disable password protection on Shopify
- Verify site loads correctly
- Confirm SSL certificate active
DNS cutover
- Update DNS to point to Shopify
- Monitor propagation
- Test from multiple locations/devices
- Check for mixed content warnings
Immediate verification
- Complete a test purchase
- Verify order reaches integrations
- Check that redirects work from old URLs
- Confirm tracking and analytics active
First Hours After Launch
Active monitoring period.
Monitor for issues
- Watch for 404 errors in analytics
- Monitor checkout completion rate
- Check integration sync status
- Review incoming support tickets
Respond quickly
- Address checkout issues immediately
- Fix broken pages as discovered
- Communicate with team on any issues
Stakeholder communication
- Confirm launch success to leadership
- Notify marketing team site is live
- Update external partners as needed
First 24-48 Hours
Stabilization period.
Ongoing monitoring
- Review sales and conversion data
- Check Search Console for crawl issues
- Monitor integration error logs
- Watch for customer complaints
Issue resolution
- Document and prioritize issues found
- Fix critical issues immediately
- Schedule non-critical fixes
Performance check
- Verify page speed acceptable
- Check Core Web Vitals
- Address any performance regressions
First Week
Transition to normal operations.
SEO monitoring
- Check organic traffic levels
- Monitor ranking for key terms
- Address any indexing issues
Process refinement
- Adjust workflows based on new platform
- Retrain team on any problem areas
- Document lessons learned
Old platform decommission
- Keep old platform available for reference
- Plan timeline for full shutdown
- Export any remaining data needed
For launch planning, see Shopify migration.
Working with LiftKit Digital
LiftKit Digital manages launch day execution for migrations. We handle the technical cutover while you focus on your business.
To discuss your launch, get in touch.