The 12-Point Ecommerce Website Checklist Before You Launch

1. SSL and visible trust badges near the checkout button. 2. Multiple payment options, including the methods your specific audience actually prefers. 3. Guest checkout enabled — forcing account creation is still one of the biggest silent conversion killers. 4. Clear shipping costs shown before the final checkout step, not as a surprise at payment.

5. High-quality product photography from multiple angles, with zoom enabled. 6. Specific, benefit-led product descriptions rather than manufacturer copy-paste. 7. Real customer reviews visible on the product page, not buried in a separate tab. 8. Clear stock and delivery-time information so buyers know what to expect.

9. Sub-3-second load time on mobile — the majority of ecommerce traffic is now mobile, and every extra second of load time measurably reduces conversion. 10. A mobile checkout flow tested end-to-end on a real device, not just a responsive preview.

11. Abandoned cart recovery emails set up and tested before launch — this alone typically recovers meaningful revenue in the first month. 12. Post-purchase email flow that sets shipping expectations and opens the door to a second purchase.

We run every ecommerce build we deliver against this exact checklist before handoff. Most of these items are inexpensive to fix before launch and expensive to fix after — once a store is live and driving paid traffic, every gap in this list is quietly costing conversions you're already paying to generate.