Test Your Store Before Launch
Use this pre-launch checklist to test products, navigation, checkout, payments, shipping, taxes, emails and order creation before publishing your PlanetShopping store.
Purpose
A complete test order is the best way to catch launch problems before customers do. This guide gives you one practical checklist for reviewing the storefront and completing an end-to-end purchase flow.
What You’ll Learn
- You’ll learn how to review your storefront, test product pages and navigation, verify checkout behaviour, confirm payment, shipping and tax settings, check email notifications and inspect the resulting order.
Before You Begin
Complete your theme, product, payment, shipping, tax, domain and notification setup as far as possible. Have at least one representative product ready for testing.
Step 1 – Review the Storefront
Open your storefront preview and browse it like a customer. Check the homepage, navigation, categories, product pages, contact information, policies and any important links.
Step 2 – Check Desktop and Mobile
Review the main customer journey on both desktop and mobile. Look for cropped images, unreadable text, broken buttons, awkward menus or content that does not fit the screen.
Step 3 – Add Products to the Cart
Add a representative product to the cart. If your store uses product options or variants, test at least one product that includes them. Confirm price, quantity and selected options are correct.
Step 4 – Test Checkout
Proceed through checkout using the supported PlanetShopping test process. Enter a realistic customer address and review the information shown at each step.
Step 5 – Verify Shipping
Confirm that the expected shipping option and charge appear for the test address. Try another supported region if your store ships to multiple areas.
Step 6 – Verify Taxes
Confirm that the tax shown at checkout matches the configuration you intended for the test address and product.
Step 7 – Verify Payment and Order Creation
Complete the test payment using the method supported by PlanetShopping. Confirm that the order is created in the Merchant Panel with the correct customer, items, totals, shipping and tax information.
Step 8 – Check Customer Emails
Review the transactional email generated by the test order. Confirm store name, customer information, order details and links are correct.
Step 9 – Review Inventory
If inventory tracking is enabled, confirm that the test order affected inventory as expected.
Step 10 – Correct and Re-Test
Fix any issue you find and repeat the affected part of the test. Do not assume a configuration change worked until you verify it again.
Every merchant should complete at least one end-to-end test order before publishing the store.
Tips & Best Practices
Use a product with realistic shipping and tax behaviour. Test a mobile checkout. Check confirmation emails in an actual inbox. Review the created order in the Merchant Panel, not just the storefront confirmation page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to test every product?
No. Test representative products, especially those with different options, shipping requirements or tax treatment.
Should I test on my phone?
Yes. A large share of ecommerce traffic comes from mobile devices, so the mobile journey should be checked before launch.
What if I find a problem?
Correct the relevant setting, then run the test again before publishing.
Related Articles
Next Step
When the full test passes, continue to Publish Your Store.