The ecommerce website checklist, from catalog to checkout

The short answer

A complete ecommerce website checklist covers eight areas: catalog and product data, product pages, cart and checkout, payments, shipping and delivery promises, sales tax, store policies, and tracking and security. Before launch, every item should be set up and tested with real orders on desktop and mobile.

Use the list below as a working document. Assign an owner to each item, mark it done only after it is tested, and keep it for the next redesign. The stakes are real: the US Census Bureau estimates ecommerce was 17.1% of all US retail sales in the second quarter of 2026, so shoppers compare your checkout with the best they use every week. For search-specific tasks such as category pages, structured data and faceted navigation, run a separate SEO checklist once the basics here are in place.

1. Catalog and product data

• Every product has a unique SKU, a clear name, price, weight and dimensions. Weight and size drive shipping rates.
• Variants are set up properly (size, color, material), each with its own SKU, stock level and image.
• Categories reflect how customers shop, not how your warehouse is organized. Most stores need fewer, clearer categories than they start with.
• Inventory sync works with your warehouse, POS or ERP, so the site does not sell stock you do not have.
• Out-of-stock behavior is decided: hide, show as sold out, allow backorders, or offer a back-in-stock email.
• Product data is exportable, so you can feed Google Merchant Center and marketplaces later.

2. Product pages

• At least three good photos per product, including one in use or to scale, compressed for fast loading.
• Your own description: what it is, who it is for, key specs, and what is in the box. Not the manufacturer’s copy.
• Price, availability and delivery estimate visible without scrolling on a phone.
• Sizing guides, spec sheets or care instructions where buyers need them.
• Reviews, once you have them, with a process to ask customers after delivery.
• Shipping and returns summary on the page, linked to the full policy.

3. Cart and checkout

• Guest checkout available. Forced account creation loses orders.
• Total cost shown early: shipping, tax and any fees before the final step.
• Discount code field works, and rules for stacking codes are set.
• Address autocomplete and validation, to cut failed deliveries.
• Order confirmation email is clear, branded and includes order number, items, total, delivery estimate and how to contact you.
• Abandoned cart emails set up with your email platform.
• Checkout tested on iPhone and Android, with keyboard only, and at slow connection speeds.

4. Payments and fraud

• Cards plus the wallets your buyers use, such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal or Shop Pay.
• Payments taken through a hosted or embedded provider, so card numbers never touch your server. This keeps your PCI scope small.
• Fraud settings reviewed: address and security code checks, and rules for high-risk orders.
• Bot protection on checkout to stop card testing attacks.
• Payouts reaching the right bank account, with a test order refunded to prove refunds work.
• Someone assigned to watch for chargebacks and respond with evidence before the deadline your processor sets.

5. Shipping and delivery promises

The FTC’s Mail, Internet or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule applies to online orders. You must have a reasonable basis for any shipping time you state. If you state none, you must be able to ship within 30 days. If you cannot ship on time, you must notify the customer, offer the option to cancel, and refund promptly if they do. The FTC says refunds for most payment methods are due within seven working days of cancellation.

• Shipping zones, rates and free-shipping thresholds configured and tested on light and heavy orders.
• Delivery estimates on the site you can actually meet, including during holidays.
• Packaging, labels and carrier accounts ready; tracking numbers sent automatically.
• A plan for delays: a written template for delay notices that meets the rule.

Launching or rebuilding a store?

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6. Sales tax

• Registered in your home state before charging tax.
• Tax calculated by the customer’s delivery address, including local rates.
• Product tax categories set for anything taxed differently, such as clothing or food in some states.
• Tax-exempt wholesale customers handled with certificates on file.
• A monthly report of sales by state, to watch economic nexus thresholds elsewhere.
• Your accountant has reviewed the setup. This is general information, not tax advice.

7. Policies and legal pages

• Shipping policy with costs, carriers, delivery times and what happens with lost packages.
• Returns and refunds policy: window, condition, who pays return shipping and how refunds are issued.
• Privacy policy that matches the tracking, email and ad tools you actually use, plus a cookie banner where needed.
• Terms of sale and website terms.
• If you sell subscriptions or auto-renewing plans, clear renewal terms shown before purchase and a simple way to cancel.
• Contact details that are easy to find: email, phone and response times.
• Accessibility: keyboard navigation, alt text, color contrast and form labels. See our guide to website accessibility requirements.

Have counsel review policies for your industry and the states you sell in. Templates are a starting point, not a finished policy.

8. Tracking, security and operations

• Google Analytics 4 ecommerce tracking with a tested purchase event, and revenue checked against your store reports.
• Ad conversion tracking for any ad platforms you use.
• Google Search Console verified and a sitemap submitted.
• Product structured data added. Google’s merchant listing markup can carry shipping costs and return policy details, including the return window, which helps your listings show that information in search.
• Two-step login for every admin account, and each staff member with their own login.
• Backups or platform export routines tested.
• Uptime and malware monitoring in place.
• Integrations with accounting, inventory and email tested with real orders.

Launch day test script

1. Place five real orders: a single item, multiple items, a discounted order, a heavy order and an order to another state.
2. Check each confirmation email, the order in the admin, inventory deduction and the record in accounting.
3. Refund one order fully and one partially.
4. Load the home, category, product and checkout pages on a phone over cellular data and note anything slow.
5. If you are replacing an old store, test that old product and category URLs redirect to the new ones, as covered in our redesign guide.

Our web design team builds stores on Shopify, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento, Ecwid and OpenCart, and most sites launch in 6 to 10 weeks. Clients can edit their own store and keep it if they leave.

Related services

• Web design and e-commerce
• Hosting and support
• Website accessibility requirements