Launching a Shopify store without thorough testing is like submitting a design without proofreading the copy. Something will be wrong, and your first customers will find it. I've launched stores where a broken checkout cost real orders, and I've learned from those mistakes. Here's the testing checklist I use now.
Test Payments with Bogus Gateway
Shopify provides a test payment gateway called "Bogus Gateway" for exactly this purpose. Enable it in Settings > Payments > Activate Bogus Gateway. It simulates successful payments, declined cards, and gateway errors without processing real transactions.
Test all three scenarios:
- Successful payment (use card number 1)
- Declined payment (use card number 2)
- Gateway error (use card number 3)
After testing, switch to your real payment gateway. Don't launch with Bogus Gateway active - yes, someone has done this.
The Complete Checkout Flow
Walk through every step a real customer takes:
- Find a product (through navigation, search, and collection browsing)
- Read the product page (images load? Description is correct? Variants work?)
- Add to cart (button works? Cart updates? Quantity changes work?)
- View cart (prices correct? Can modify quantities? Can remove items?)
- Enter shipping info (address form works? Shipping rates calculate?)
- Select payment (all enabled methods appear?)
- Complete purchase (confirmation page shows correct order details?)
- Receive confirmation email (arrives? Contains correct information?)
Do this on desktop AND mobile. Then do it again on a different browser.
Mobile Testing: Non-Negotiable
Over 70% of Shopify traffic is mobile. Test on actual devices, not just browser dev tools. The mobile simulator doesn't catch everything:
- Touch targets too small (buttons you can't tap reliably)
- Horizontal scroll on narrow screens (usually caused by an element wider than the viewport)
- Form inputs that zoom in on focus (happens when input font size is under 16px on iOS)
- Fixed/sticky elements covering content on scroll
- Images not loading on slow connections (test with throttling)
Legal Pages
For German stores, this is critical. Check that all required pages exist and are linked in the footer:
- Impressum (with full legal details)
- Datenschutzerklärung (privacy policy)
- AGB (terms and conditions)
- Widerrufsbelehrung (cancellation policy)
Click every link. Read every page. Check that your company details are consistent across all legal pages. Inconsistencies are Abmahnung bait.
Email Notifications
Place a test order and check every automated email:
- Order confirmation
- Shipping confirmation
- Delivery notification
- Account welcome (if customer accounts are enabled)
Check that emails render correctly on mobile, that all links work, and that dynamic content (order number, product names, prices) displays correctly. If you use custom email templates (like digital download links), test those specifically.
Product Data
Go through every product and verify:
- Title and description are free of typos
- Prices are in the correct currency (EUR, not USD)
- Images load and are the right aspect ratio
- Variants (size, color) are correctly configured with accurate prices
- Inventory tracking is set correctly (especially for POD where you don't want "sold out" showing)
- SEO title and description are set (not default Shopify-generated text)
Navigation and Search
Test your navigation structure:
- Every menu link goes to the right page
- Dropdown menus work on both hover (desktop) and tap (mobile)
- The search function returns relevant results
- Empty search results show a helpful message, not a blank page
- Breadcrumbs (if used) are accurate
Performance
Run your store through Google PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse. Shopify themes can be surprisingly heavy. Common issues:
- Unoptimized images (use Shopify's built-in image optimization)
- Too many apps adding JavaScript (each app typically adds 50-200KB)
- Render-blocking CSS from theme customizations
- Third-party scripts (chat widgets, analytics) blocking initial render
Aim for a Lighthouse performance score above 70 on mobile. Perfect 100 is nearly impossible with Shopify's platform overhead, but 70+ ensures a good customer experience.
Cross-Browser Testing
At minimum, test on: Chrome (desktop + mobile), Safari (desktop + iOS), Firefox, and Samsung Internet (surprisingly large market share on Android). Each browser renders CSS slightly differently, and Shopify's liquid sections can produce different results.
The Pre-Launch Checklist
Before flipping the store to live:
- Remove password protection
- Switch from Bogus Gateway to real payments
- Set up Google Analytics / Shopify analytics
- Submit sitemap to Google Search Console
- Verify all DNS records are correct
- Test one real purchase (smallest product) and verify the full flow
The RAXXO shop was tested extensively before launch. See the result at raxxo.shop.
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