Online Store Launch Checklist: How to Launch Your Shop Step by Step

Why a phased checklist beats one long to-do list

Most launch checklists are a single list of tasks. The problem is that many tasks depend on others: you can't set shipping rates before you know what a packed parcel weighs, and you can't write a strong listing before you have photos. Grouping the work into phases stops you from doing things twice.

Give each phase a few evenings or a weekend. With a small range of products, a few focused weeks is a realistic target.

Phase 1: Foundations

Goal: decide what you sell, to whom, and where.

• Write one sentence that says what you sell and who it's for. If you can't, your listings won't be clear either.
• Start with 5 to 15 products. A small, coherent range launches faster and is easier to photograph consistently.
• Study five competing shops. Note prices, photo style, shipping costs and delivery times. You're looking for gaps, not things to copy.
• Choose your platform. Etsy, Shopify and WooCommerce suit different situations; our Etsy vs Shopify vs WooCommerce comparison walks you through the decision.
• Pick a name that is short, easy to spell and not tied to a single product. Check the domain and social handles before you commit.
• Decide your shipping zones and delivery promise. Start with the places you can serve reliably; it's easier to expand than to apologize for late parcels.

Phase 2: Platform setup

Goal: open the shop and connect the essentials. The first steps depend on your platform:

• Etsy: create your account, then fill in the shop name, banner, icon and About section. Buyers read the About section to decide whether to trust a small seller.
• Shopify: sign up, choose a plan and install a theme. Start with a free theme and change it once sales justify the effort.
• WooCommerce: set up hosting, install WordPress, then the WooCommerce plugin and a theme. Expect more setup in exchange for more control.

Then, on every platform:

1. Connect payments and run a test payment.
2. Set shipping profiles and rates. Weigh a fully packed product first; boxes and padding add more than people expect.
3. Configure taxes for your country or region in the platform's tax settings. If you're unsure, ask an accountant before launch, not after.
4. Write your policies: returns, shipping, privacy and terms. Built-in generators are a fine start, but read and adapt them.
5. Connect your domain (Shopify and WooCommerce) and create a business email address.

Phase 3: Products, pricing and photos

Goal: know your numbers and get your images ready.

Check your margins after fees

This is the step beginners skip most often. Your margin isn't price minus materials. It's price minus materials, packaging, platform fees and payment fees. Here is a worked example for an Etsy listing with shipping built into the price (illustrative numbers):

Line	Amount
Sale price	$32.00
Materials and packaging	−$11.50
Etsy transaction fee (6.5% of the order total)	−$2.08
Etsy listing fee	−$0.20
Payment processing (set rate + percentage, varies by country)	Check your rate

Before payment processing, that leaves $18.22, about 57% of the price. Do the same sum with your own platform's rates. On Shopify or WooCommerce, also spread your monthly plan or hosting cost across the orders you expect.

If you'd rather not maintain a spreadsheet, the Shop Launch Roadmap Notion template has a Products database that works out the margin percentage as soon as you enter price and cost.

Shoot your own product photos

You don't need a studio. A window, a sheet of white paper and a phone are enough for clean, consistent images. Plan six shots per product (hero, detail, scale, lifestyle, flat lay or variants, packaging), shoot every product in the same spot at the same time of day, and edit lightly. The full method is in our guide to DIY product photography with your phone.

Name exported files clearly, for example mug-blue-hero-01.jpg. It saves time at upload and when you look for them later.

Phase 4: Product listings

• Titles: lead with what the item is, then material, use and style, in the words buyers actually type.
• Descriptions: benefit first, then dimensions, materials and care. Answer the questions a customer would ask you in person.
• Tags and categories: on Etsy, use every tag slot you're given; on Shopify, set product type, tags and collections.
• Photos: upload the hero shot first. It becomes the thumbnail in search results and collection pages.
• Variants, stock and SKUs: set them now, not when the first order for an out-of-stock color arrives.

Phase 5: Pre-launch testing

Goal: test every path a customer can take, then warm up your audience.

1. Place a real test order and refund it. It checks payments, confirmation emails, shipping rates and taxes in one go.
2. Browse the whole shop on your phone, page by page. Many visitors will see it on a phone first.
3. Proofread every listing out loud. Reading aloud catches errors your eyes skip over.
4. Set up email capture or a waitlist if you run your own site.
5. Write your launch posts and launch email now, so launch day is just pressing Publish.
6. Tell 20 people personally. Friends, colleagues and communities you already belong to are your first audience.
7. Prepare a packing station with boxes, filler, tape and labels.

Phase 6: Launch week, day by day

A launch is a week, not a moment. Spread your announcements so each one gets attention:

• Day 1: open the shop and post the announcement.
• Day 2: send your launch email or message your list.
• Day 3: share a behind-the-scenes photo or short video.
• Day 4: post in one relevant community, following its rules on self-promotion.
• Day 5: show a product in use.
• Days 6–7: review your stats and fix the weakest listing. Lots of views but no sales usually points to photos or price first.

Phase 7: First sales

• Ship every order within the time you promised.
• Log each sale with where the buyer came from. It tells you where to post next.
• Ask for a review a few days after delivery, once the buyer has used the product.
• Write down the three questions buyers ask most, then answer them in your listings.
• Plan your next five products based on what actually sold.

Common launch mistakes

• Launching with too many products. Ten strong listings beat fifty rushed ones.
• Guessing shipping costs. Weigh and measure real packed parcels.
• Pricing before counting fees. Fees apply to every order, so small gaps add up.
• Waiting for perfect. Your first ten orders will teach you more than another week of tweaking the theme.

Keep the whole checklist in one place

You can copy this checklist into any notes app. If you'd like it ready to use, the Shop Launch Roadmap template for Notion ($19) turns it into 47 tickable steps across these seven phases, filterable by Shopify, WooCommerce or Etsy, with a photo shot list and a first-sales tracker. It works on Notion's free plan.

Facts checked on 2 November 2026. Platform fees, plans and image rules change, so confirm current figures on each platform's official pages before you decide.