Launching a Shopify store? Here is what to check before go-live.
Shopify handles the hard infrastructure. Your checklist is everything layered on top of it.
Shopify's platform handles payment security, PCI compliance, and core infrastructure reliability, which removes an entire category of concern that a custom e-commerce build would carry. What is left on your checklist is everything you configured on top: theme customizations, installed apps, and the checkout and fulfillment flow end to end.
App sprawl is the Shopify-specific risk most similar to WordPress plugin sprawl: every installed app can slow down your storefront's load time and add its own failure mode to your checkout flow.
What gets missed on Shopify apps.
Each app adds JavaScript to your storefront. A slow product page from app bloat directly costs conversion, audit installed apps against actual usage.
Discount code stacking, out-of-stock during checkout, and abandoned cart recovery all need an explicit test pass, not just "the happy path worked once."
Custom theme code tested only on desktop is a common source of a broken mobile checkout, where the majority of Shopify traffic actually converts.
Common questions.
Does Shopify handle PCI compliance for me?
Yes, Shopify's checkout is PCI DSS compliant by default as long as you use Shopify Checkout rather than a fully custom payment integration, which removes a major compliance burden a custom-built store would carry.
What is the most common launch mistake on Shopify?
Installing too many apps without auditing their real impact on page load speed, since storefront speed directly affects mobile conversion, and mobile is where most Shopify traffic converts.
Building on something else?
Head to head with the alternatives.
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Filtered to your stack, with why, what, and how for every item.
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