Launch online store checklist: buy one first

A store owner orders for themselves from a logged-in account, with a saved address and a coupon that never expires. A first customer arrives as a guest, types a different city, and sees a shipping line that says not available, or a tax line that only appears after the payment step. Some stores still have payments set to test mode, so a real order never completes. The owner has seen the success page many times, so it does not look like a problem from their side. A launch check has to start from zero, the way a stranger does.

• Guest checkout: can a visitor with no account reach payment without signing up?
• Shipping: does a distant address return a rate, rather than a blank line?
• Tax and fees: do they appear before the payment step, not after it?
• Payment settings: is the provider in live mode, and tested once in its own test mode?
• Confirmation: does the order email arrive, and does its link open the right order?

Sign out, open the store in a private window and add one item without an account. Look for the moment checkout asks you to create an account before payment, and whether a guest option is labeled clearly. A store that only works when logged in loses every first customer who does not want an account yet. The same walk shows whether a coupon field, a gift note or a required phone number stops the guest. Write down each field that appears, since your saved account has hidden them all.

Type an address in a region you never ship to, and see whether checkout says so before the payment step, or only after the card is entered. Then type an address in a region you do ship to, and compare the shipping line with the rate you set. A free shipping threshold shown in the cart but missing at checkout is a mismatch worth looking for. The run types the address and stops at payment, so it can show whether the shipping and tax lines appear in time. It cannot judge whether your tax settings are right for each place you sell.

A first customer checks their inbox before they trust the store. Check the confirmation with a real order you place yourself, then confirm the email arrives, names the right items and total, and links to an order page that loads. Check the sender name as well, since an unfamiliar name in a spam folder reads as a scam. The simulated run stops at payment and never sends an order, so it cannot check this step.

Stores change after launch: a new shipping zone, a discount rule, a theme update or a payment app. Each one can block a guest at the payment step while your own logged-in order still works. Run one guest order again after each change, from a private window, before you send the store any new traffic.