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Shopify Fashion Store Launch Checklist

The checklist most fashion brands wish they had before they launched. Covers every layer from catalog setup and photography to SEO, payments, and the on-site conversion layer. Work through it in order — the sequence matters.

51 items · Free to use · Updated September 2026

0 of 51 complete
Brand and Positioning
Niche defined: specific shopper, specific occasion, specific problem the catalog solves
Brand name registered or cleared for use
Domain purchased and connected to Shopify
Favicon uploaded and rendering correctly on mobile
Social handles secured across Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest
Shopify Setup
Plan selected (Basic for new stores under £1M annual revenue)
Custom domain connected — no myshopify.com URLs in outbound links
Theme selected for mobile performance, not aesthetics (test on real phone)
Guest checkout enabled
Apple Pay and Google Pay enabled
Shopify Payments or third-party gateway live and tested with a real transaction
Legal pages live: Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Refund Policy
404 page customized (not default Shopify 404)
Catalog
All products uploaded with complete titles, descriptions, and imagery
Product descriptions include: fabric/material, occasion suitability, fit character, care instructions, and what it pairs with
Size guide accessible on every PDP without leaving the page
Occasion tags added to product metadata
Style attribute tags added (minimalist, structured, relaxed, etc.)
All images in WebP format, under 500KB, with alt text
All images have explicit width and height attributes set (prevents CLS)
Flat lay + lifestyle + detail shots on every key product
Variants (colors, sizes) set up cleanly — no duplicate product listings
Sold-out variants shown but clearly marked, not hidden
Collection Architecture
Collections organized by both category and occasion
Occasion collection pages have H1, meta description, and body copy
Category collection pages have H1 and meta description
Collection sort order set intentionally (not default "best selling" until you have sufficient order history)
SEO Foundation
All page titles set (not Shopify defaults)
All meta descriptions written and under 155 characters
Canonical tags configured
Sitemap submitted to Google Search Console
Google Search Console property verified
Google Analytics 4 installed and receiving data
Schema markup added: Organization on homepage, Product on all PDPs
Robots.txt checked — Googlebot is not blocked
Email and Capture
Email capture mechanism live before launch (popup, embedded form, or banner)
Welcome email sequence built (minimum 3 emails)
Abandoned checkout email live in Shopify or Klaviyo
Klaviyo or email platform connected to Shopify with live sync confirmed
Payments and Shipping
Shipping rates configured and tested
Free shipping threshold set and displayed on cart page
Shipping cost visible before checkout step (not first revealed at payment)
Test order placed and fulfilled successfully
Conversion Layer
Return policy visible on every PDP, in the cart, and at checkout
Social proof mechanism in place (reviews app installed, request flow set up)
Complete-the-look or related products section on PDPs
AI styling layer considered for launch (4 lines of code, adds under 5KB)
Launch Day
Password page removed only after every item above is complete
Launch email sent to pre-built list within first hour
All social channels announced
Analytics baseline recorded (sessions, CVR, bounce rate, AOV) on day 1

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