The 7-Day Shopify Launch Checklist

GOAL: ACCOUNT CREATED · NICHE LOCKED IN

• Write one sentence: "I sell [product] to [specific customer]." If it takes more than a sentence, narrow it.
• List your first 5–10 products and a rough price for each.
• Check that your sale price covers product cost + card fees (~3%) + shipping with margin left.
• Search your proposed store name — make sure no established business already uses it.
• Start the Shopify free trial (3 days, no credit card) and create your account.
• Pick your .myshopify name — your real domain comes Day 6.
• Don't buy inventory, themes, or apps today. Day 1 is decisions, not spending.

GOAL: STORE LOOKS LIKE A REAL BRAND

• Choose ONE free theme (Dawn works for most stores). Set a 30-minute timer for browsing — then commit.
• Set two brand colors and one font across the theme.
• Add a simple text or basic logo — fancy logos can wait until you have sales.
• Write your homepage headline: what you sell + who it's for, in plain words.
• Add a hero image that shows your actual product, not a generic stock photo.
• Delete placeholder sections you won't use.
• Nobody has ever bought a product because of the theme. Done beats beautiful.

GOAL: 5–10 PRODUCTS LIVE WITH PHOTOS & PRICES

• Photograph products in natural light against a plain background — a phone is fine.
• Add each product: title, 2–4 photos, price, inventory count, weight (for shipping).
• Write descriptions that answer: what is it, who is it for, why this one? (Shopify Magic can draft; edit so it sounds like you.)
• Set compare-at prices only if the discount is real.
• Organize products into 2–4 collections maximum.
• Preview every product page on your phone.
• Ten well-photographed products outsell fifty rushed ones.

GOAL: STORE CAN LEGALLY TAKE PAYMENT

• Choose a plan (Basic is right for nearly all new stores) — currently $1 for your first month.
• Activate Shopify Payments: you'll need ID, banking details, and your business info.
• Enable accelerated checkouts (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay).
• Confirm tax collection settings for the regions you sell to.
• Set up SIMPLE shipping: one flat rate, or free shipping over a set amount.
• Order a test of your packaging if you haven't shipped your product before.
• Complicated shipping tables kill more launches than bad products do. Start flat, refine later.

GOAL: A STRANGER WOULD TRUST THIS STORE

• Generate policy templates in Shopify settings: Refund, Privacy, Terms, Shipping.
• Edit each template — especially refund windows and shipping timelines — so they reflect what you'll actually do.
• Write an About page with a real name and a real reason you started.
• Create a Contact page with a working email (and phone if you have one).
• Add an FAQ answering: shipping time, returns, sizing/specs, where you ship.
• Link policies in the footer menu.
• Shoppers click these pages right before paying. Missing policies = abandoned carts.

GOAL: FLAWLESS ORDER, REAL DOMAIN, SSL LIVE

• Place a full test order on your phone using Shopify's test mode (or a real order you refund).
• Check the confirmation email a customer receives — edit the default if it's bland.
• Click every menu link and button. Fix anything broken or confusing.
• Buy/connect your custom domain and confirm the SSL padlock appears.
• Set your store's title and meta description for search results.
• Ask one honest friend to try to break the store and tell you what confused them.
• Watch your friend shop without helping them. Where they hesitate is what you fix.

GOAL: PASSWORD OFF · REAL PEOPLE TOLD

• Remove the password page. You are open.
• Message 10–20 people personally — not a broadcast. "I just opened my store, would love your honest feedback" works.
• Post in the one place your customer already spends time (a group, a subreddit, a local page) — follow its rules.
• Add your store link to your personal social bios and email signature.
• Set up the Shopify mobile app so order notifications reach you instantly.
• Write down: this week's traffic, this week's orders. Next week, beat it.
• First orders come from people you told, not from algorithms. Keep telling people.