The weeks leading up to a store launch are full of decisions, but the final days before go-live are about something different: verification. Building the new store is one job. Proving it actually works is another, and it's the one that gets rushed most often.
This Shopify migration checklist covers what to verify before you switch your domain over, organized by area so you can work through it systematically. If you're moving to Shopify from another platform, treat every item below as a pass or fail test, not a nice-to-have.
Why a Pre-Launch Checklist Matters
Most migration problems don't announce themselves. A missing redirect doesn't throw an error on your screen. A product with a stripped-out variant doesn't look broken at a glance. A payment method that fails for one card type won't show up until a real customer tries it.
These issues surface after launch, when they cost real revenue and real rankings. A structured Shopify migration checklist moves that discovery to before launch, when fixing a problem costs minutes instead of lost sales.
1. Product and Catalog Verification
Your catalog is the foundation of the store. Check it thoroughly, not just on a sample of products.
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Product count matches. Compare the total number of products, variants, and collections against your old store.
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Titles and descriptions are intact, with formatting preserved and no broken HTML or stray characters.
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Variants and options transferred correctly. Check sizes, colors, and any custom options on several different product types.
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Pricing and compare-at prices are accurate, including any sale pricing.
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Inventory counts are correct and, if you use multiple locations, assigned to the right ones.
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Images are present, ordered correctly, and have alt text.
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SKUs and barcodes carried over, especially if they feed an inventory or fulfillment system.
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Metafields and custom attributes migrated if they power filtering, specifications, or product page sections.
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Collections contain the right products, and any automated collection rules behave as expected.
Spot-check at least a handful of products from each category rather than only your bestsellers. Edge cases tend to hide in the unusual products.
2. SEO and Redirect Verification
This section protects your organic traffic, so give it the most time.
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Every old URL has a 301 redirect to the correct new page, based on a full list pulled from Google Search Console and your analytics, not just your main pages.
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Redirects point to the most relevant destination, not just the homepage.
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Redirect chains are avoided. One hop from old URL to new URL is the goal.
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Page titles and meta descriptions carried over for products, collections, pages, and blog posts.
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Canonical tags are correct and not pointing to a staging or old domain.
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The robots.txt file allows crawling and is not blocking anything it shouldn't.
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No staging password or noindex tag is left on when the site goes live. This one mistake can quietly remove a store from search results.
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XML sitemap is ready to submit to Google Search Console as soon as you launch.
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Structured data is working for products, including price, availability, and review markup where applicable.
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Blog content and its URLs are preserved, since older posts often carry the most backlinks.
3. Checkout and Payments Verification
Checkout is where problems cost the most per minute. Test it like a customer would, and then test it like a customer who's trying to break it.
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Complete real test orders on desktop and mobile, as a guest and as a logged-in customer.
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Every payment method works, including cards, digital wallets, and any buy-now-pay-later options.
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Shipping rates calculate correctly for each zone, weight tier, and delivery option you offer.
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Taxes calculate correctly for every region you sell into.
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Discount codes work, including percentage, fixed amount, free shipping, and any stacking rules.
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Gift cards can be purchased and redeemed.
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Abandoned checkout emails fire and link back to the right cart.
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Order confirmation and shipping emails send correctly, look right, and show accurate information.
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Refunds and cancellations process without errors.
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Checkout customizations behave as expected on Shopify Plus, including any scripts, functions, or extensions.
4. Customer Data and Accounts Verification
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Customer records migrated, with names, emails, addresses, and order history where applicable.
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Account login and password reset flows work. Customers moving from another platform often need to reset passwords, so make sure that process is smooth and clearly communicated.
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Marketing consent and email subscription status carried over correctly, so you stay compliant and don't email people who opted out.
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Customer tags and segments recreated if you rely on them for marketing or pricing.
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Order history is accessible to customers in their accounts if that was part of your old experience.
5. Integrations and Apps Verification
Your store rarely works alone. Confirm every connected system is talking to the new one.
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ERP, inventory, or fulfillment systems are syncing orders and stock levels correctly.
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Email and SMS platforms are connected and receiving customer and order data.
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Reviews platform is showing migrated reviews and collecting new ones.
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Subscription app is handling signups, renewals, and cancellations properly.
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Analytics and tracking are firing correctly, including Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, and any other tags. Check that purchase events record accurate values.
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Customer support tools are connected and receiving data as expected.
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Unused or duplicate apps are removed, since leftover scripts can slow the store down.
6. Design, Content, and Experience Verification
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Every page template renders correctly, including home, collection, product, cart, search, and account pages.
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The store works across browsers and devices, with particular attention to real phones, not just browser emulators.
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Navigation and menus lead to the right places, with no dead links.
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Forms work, including contact, newsletter, and wholesale inquiry forms, and submissions actually reach the right inbox.
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Legal pages are present and current, including privacy policy, terms, shipping, and returns.
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Cookie consent and privacy settings meet the requirements of the regions you sell into.
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Site speed is acceptable, tested on mobile, with large images and heavy scripts addressed.
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Accessibility basics are covered, such as alt text, readable contrast, and keyboard navigation.
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Search and filtering return sensible results.
7. Domain and Technical Readiness
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DNS changes are planned, with the timing and steps documented and someone assigned to each one.
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SSL certificate is active on the primary domain.
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Redirects from non-preferred versions of the domain (www or non-www, http or https) work correctly.
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Email deliverability is protected. If your domain sends email, confirm SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are in place so transactional and marketing emails don't land in spam after the switch.
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The old store stays accessible for a period after launch in case you need to reference data.
8. Launch Day Plan and Rollback
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Choose a low-traffic window and avoid launching during a major sale or campaign.
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Assign clear owners for monitoring checkout, traffic, and customer support during the first 72 hours.
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Decide your rollback plan in advance. Know what triggers it and how you'd execute it.
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Notify your team and customer support about what's changing so they're ready for questions.
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Prepare a short message for customers if account logins or order history are changing.
What to Monitor After You Go Live
Verification doesn't stop at launch. In the first days and weeks, watch:
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Organic traffic and keyword rankings compared against your pre-migration baseline
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404 errors, which usually point to a redirect that was missed
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Checkout completion rate by device and payment method
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Customer support tickets, since a spike often points to a confusing or broken experience
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Email deliverability and engagement
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Page speed on key templates
Common Pre-Launch Mistakes to Avoid
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Verifying only the top 20 products instead of a representative range
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Leaving a staging password or noindex tag in place at launch
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Testing checkout with only one payment method or only on desktop
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Treating redirects as a post-launch task
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Launching on a Friday afternoon or during a peak sales period
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Assuming integrations are working because they connected, without testing real data flowing through
Frequently Asked Questions
What should be on a Shopify migration checklist?
At minimum: product and catalog data, 301 redirects and SEO settings, checkout and payment testing, customer data, integrations and apps, design and content review, domain and DNS readiness, and a launch and rollback plan.
How long does it take to verify a store before launch?
For most stores, thorough pre-launch verification takes one to two weeks, depending on catalog size and how many integrations are involved. Rushing it is one of the most common causes of post-launch problems.
Will I lose my SEO rankings after migrating to Shopify?
Not if redirects are complete and accurate, metadata is preserved, and nothing is blocking search engines at launch. A short-term fluctuation is common, but a well-verified migration usually recovers quickly.
What's the most commonly missed item on a Shopify migration checklist?
Redirects for lower-traffic URLs and leftover noindex or password settings from staging are two of the most commonly missed items, and both can quietly affect search visibility.
Should I test checkout with real transactions?
Yes. Use test mode where possible, and also complete at least one small real transaction per payment method before launch to confirm everything works end to end.
Bigfolio is a Shopify Plus agency that treats verification as part of the build, not an afterthought.
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Verify our track record on the Official Shopify Partners Directory
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Contact us to plan a migration where nothing slips through on launch day