Launching a BigCommerce website is an exciting milestone for your business, but it can also feel overwhelming. With various tasks to tackle - from ensuring your products are displayed perfectly to making sure your payment gateways work seamlessly - it’s easy to overlook important details. That’s where a reliable checklist comes in.

In this blog, we’ve put together the only BigCommerce website launch checklist you’ll ever need. Whether you're launching your first online store or revamping an existing one, this guide will walk you through the process step by step. From prepping your design to testing functionality, we’ve covered every aspect to ensure your website goes live without a hitch.

With this e-commerce website checklist, you’ll have a fully functional, polished, and ready-to-sell site that’s built to impress your customers and drive sales. Let’s get started!

1. Optimise Product Listings

Optimising your product listings is essential for attracting and engaging customers. Start by ensuring your product titles are clear and descriptive, and include relevant keywords. Then, write detailed yet concise product descriptions that highlight features, benefits, and uses.

High-quality images are also a must, so use multiple angles and include zoom options to give shoppers a closer look at your offerings. Additionally, don’t forget to add accurate pricing, inventory details, and any variations like size or colour.

For better visibility, include search-friendly meta descriptions and tags. Finally, test your listings to ensure everything is displayed correctly on desktop and mobile. With well-optimised listings, you’ll make a strong impression on potential customers.

2. Test Website Functionality Across Devices and Browsers

Another important part of your BigCommerce website launch checklist should be to test the site’s functionality across various devices and browsers. You need to ensure your website works seamlessly on desktops, tablets, and smartphones, offering a consistent user experience.

Make sure to test navigation menus, buttons, and links to confirm they function properly. Check contact forms and checkout forms to ensure they’re working and capturing data accurately. Additionally, review your site on multiple browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox to catch compatibility issues.

Finally, try simulating a purchase to verify that the checkout process and payment gateways work well. Thorough testing prevents glitches, ensuring your customers can shop easily, no matter how they browse.

If you’d like to provide clear and detailed feedback to your developers regarding any bugs you notice, QualityHive is the ideal QA tool for you. Get your free trial today.

3. Set Up Payment and Shipping Options

Setting up payment options and shipping is a key step to ensure your e-commerce website is ready for customers.

Start by configuring for multiple payment methods like credit cards and digital wallets to give shoppers flexibility. Don’t forget to double-check that your payment gateways are secure and functioning correctly before launch.

Next, set up your shipping options to meet customer needs, whether that’s free shipping, flat rates, or real-time carrier rates. Make sure shipping costs and delivery times are clearly displayed during checkout.

Finally, test these features to ensure the process is easy and hassle-free. If there are any errors, your customers may abandon their carts and shop elsewhere, so it has to be flawless.

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4. Ensure Smooth Site Navigation and User Experience

A smooth site navigation and user experience are essential for keeping customers engaged. You should organise your website’s menu so it’s easy to find key pages like products, categories, and contact information.

Make sure to use clear labels and a simple layout to guide visitors effortlessly. Add a search bar to help shoppers find what they need quickly. You should also test your site’s loading speed, as slow pages can frustrate users.

Additionally, ensure your design is clean and mobile-friendly, so it offers a seamless experience across all devices. Then, check for broken links or confusing elements. As long as your site is user-friendly, it’ll encourage customers to explore and make purchases.

5. Quality Assurance Checks Before and After Going Live

No BigCommerce website launch checklist can be completed without quality assurance (QA) checks. This is essential to ensure your website works flawlessly before and after launch.

Review pages for spelling, grammar, and formatting errors as well as misaligned pages. Test all features, like forms, buttons, and links, to confirm they work properly. Double-check all images, product listings, and payment gateways for accuracy.

After going live, monitor your site’s performance, including loading speed and responsiveness on different devices. Keep an eye out for any issues customers might report, such as errors during checkout.

With a thorough pre-launch QA test and regular post-launch QA checks, you can ensure your website runs smoothly, delivering a positive experience and building trust with your customers.

To Pinpoint Bugs When Testing Your Website, Use With Quality Hive

With this BigCommerce website launch checklist, you can rest assured that your site will launch successfully. Want to highlight your site’s bugs and get them fixed quickly and conveniently?

Quality Hive is a solution that helps simplify feedback, quality assurance (QA), and web development processes for designers, developers, and agencies.

With our tool, you can track bugs, submit and receive feedback, and collaborate easily with instant screenshots, video recordings, and a Kanban board for task management.

Our platform captures detailed browser and device information, allowing your team to quickly address issues, reduce errors, and be more productive without using spreadsheets. It’s a simplified way to manage website feedback and action various tasks to keep your project on track.

To save hours of development time for each project, contact us or book a free trial today.