So, you decided to install Magento and set up your store. But launching your website might be tricky. There are a lot of things that could be missed, so we prepared a checklist that you can use to ensure that everything is done before going live.
Here is what you should do:
- Create admin users with strong credentials. The passwords should contain numbers, letters in different registers, and special symbols.
- Fill inventory. The store should contain product information, including descriptions, images, and required attributes.
- Add placeholder images. This is required for the products which temporarily do not have authentic product images. The set of placeholder images is uploaded to Catalog > Catalog > Product Image Placeholder.
- Set up shipping methods. It is done in Stores > Configuration > Sales > Shipping methods.
- Set up payment methods. It is done in Stores > Configuration > Sales > Payment methods.
- Configure taxes. It is done in Stores > Configuration > Sales > Tax.
- Add Terms and Conditions page. It is needed to outline the rights of the buyer and the seller. The page is added under Stores > Settings > Terms and Conditions and is activated on Checkout page by enabling corresponding option on Stores > Settings > Configuration > Sales > Checkout.
- Add Privacy Policy page. It describes the customers’ information collected by the webstore and how this information is used. The page can be edited in Content > Elements > Pages.
- Implement trusted security certificate. It is done in Stores > Configuration > General > WEB > Base URLs (Secure) > URL with HTTPS.
- Check store URLs. You must ensure that all the store links are working correctly and return a 200 OK HTTP success status. Also, all the base URLs stored in the core_config_data table should be configured to link to the live website.
- Set up the storefront URL. It is adjusted in Stores > Configurations > General > Web > Base URLs > Base URL.
- Change default backend URL. This change is required as an additional security measure because the default path /admin is easy to guess.
- Set up proper favicon. It is configured in Content > Design > Configuration > (Store) > HTML > Head Favicon Icon.
- Configure the SEO titles and metadata. It is performed in Content > Design > Configuration > (Store) > HTML > Head.
- Ensure that the store’s contact information contains correct data. It is done by adjusting the information in Stores > Configuration > General, selecting Store Email Addresses for actual business emails, Contacts for the Contact Us email, and General > Store Information for the phone number.
- Configure default email templates. The templates should be adjusted to the company’s design, including the logo.
- Set up Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. It helps to better understand customers' website behavior and adjust marketing processes according to this data.
- Configure Cron jobs. It is needed for the proper work of email sending, price rules, Google sitemaps, and much more. This is configured in Stores > Configuration > Advanced > System > Cron (Scheduled Tasks).
- Set up default pages. The settings include the homepage and the 404 page. They are located in Stores > Configurations > Web > Default Pages.
- Remove all the test data. The live store should contain only the available products.
- Enable caching and indexing. This is required for better site performance.
- Merge and minify JavaScript. This helps decrease the site loading time and lowers the number of HTTP requests. It is configured in Stores > Configuration > Advanced > Developer > JavaScript Settings.
- Merge and minify CSS. This change is required to improve page loading speed. It is configured in Stores > Configuration > Advanced > Developer > CSS Settings.
- Enable compilation. The compilation is another tool that helps increase the website's performance. Sometimes, it allows to speed up the site up to 50%. The compilation is configured in System > Tools > Compilation.
- Create Sitemap. The sitemap helps the search bots index the webstore, thus improving its position in the search.
- Enable website crawling. Configuring INDEX and FOLLOW parameters in robots.txt allows the search engine bots to index and reindex the site, improving its visibility in the search.
- Make the database backup. It is a good practice to create periodical backups, so the site can be quickly restored if the primary database crashes, is corrupted, or is lost.