Reference / Launch checklist
Publish only when the whole journey is ready.
Use this checklist after configuration and before publication. It covers the storefront, the Shopify data behind it, customer interactions, and the operating plan after launch.
Definition of ready
A launch is a customer journey, not a home page approval.
Citera is ready when a customer can discover a product, choose an available option, understand the offer, add it to cart, edit that cart, and reach checkout without ambiguity on desktop or mobile.
Accurate
Store content and Shopify data tell the same story.
Operable
Every essential action works with touch, pointer, and keyboard.
Recoverable
Empty, sold-out, failed, and changed states remain understandable.
Six launch gates
Check the system in the order a merchant controls it.
Complete each gate before moving forward. If a check does not apply, record why. Do not mark an unconfigured feature as tested.
Store foundations
Every destination exists and every public promise is accurate.
- Primary and footer navigation menus are assigned and contain no dead links.
- Contact, privacy, terms, shipping, returns, and refund pages are current.
- Store email, address, markets, languages, currencies, tax, and shipping settings are confirmed in Shopify.
- Customer accounts and the correct account experience are enabled when the merchant uses them.
- The favicon, social sharing image, logo, and social profile links use final assets.
- Password protection and publication timing match the launch plan.
Design and content
The storefront looks intentional with real content at every width.
- One Citera design direction is selected and checked across all templates.
- Color schemes keep readable contrast for text, buttons, borders, badges, and focus states.
- Heading and body typography remain readable with long titles and 200 percent browser zoom.
- Every sample heading, button, service message, and promotional claim has been replaced or verified.
- Every image has a useful crop, focal point, and alternative text where the image conveys meaning.
- Sections with empty resources are removed instead of leaving blank areas or placeholder cards.
Catalog and discovery
Customers can find a relevant product without guessing.
- Collections contain the intended products and use accurate titles and descriptions.
- Filters are configured in Shopify Search and Discovery and tested in combination.
- Sorting, pagination, product counts, breadcrumbs, and empty collection states are reviewed.
- Predictive search and complete search results are tested with real customer terms.
- Product cards handle long names, sale pricing, sold-out products, missing secondary media, and many variants.
- Quick view and quick buy lead to a full product page when a complete choice is required.
Product and purchase
The selected variant remains the single source of truth.
- Variant selection updates media, URL, price, compare-at price, SKU, availability, and purchase controls.
- Every swatch has a trustworthy color, image, or readable text fallback.
- Product media supports complete viewing, zoom, video, and 3D content when those media types are present.
- Unit prices, selling plans, pickup availability, Shop Pay installments, and gift card recipient fields are tested when configured.
- Add to cart, dynamic checkout, sticky purchase controls, and app blocks stay aligned with the selected variant.
- Specifications, materials, dimensions, care, delivery, and returns answer the real buying questions.
Cart and checkout
Every cart change is visible, reversible, and ready for Shopify checkout.
- Cart drawer or cart page behavior matches the global Theme settings choice.
- Adding, increasing, decreasing, and removing an item update line totals and cart count.
- Discounts, selling plans, unit prices, cart notes, and gift-order attributes render when present.
- Free-shipping progress matches the actual market and shipping configuration.
- Cart recommendations do not distract from the checkout action or show unavailable products.
- Standard and accelerated checkout buttons reach the correct Shopify checkout.
Quality and operations
The team can publish, monitor, support, and roll back with confidence.
- Home, collection, product, search, cart, blog, article, page, contact, 404, password, and gift card surfaces are reviewed.
- Desktop, tablet, and mobile widths have no unintended horizontal scrolling or clipped controls.
- Keyboard navigation, visible focus, headings, labels, status messages, and reduced motion are checked.
- Theme Check, automated regression tests, and the final ZIP integrity check pass on the release candidate.
- Performance is measured on representative home, product, and collection pages.
- A known-good duplicate exists, release notes are current, and support ownership is assigned.
Responsive verification matrix
Review behavior, not just screenshots.
Check each surface with real content and at least one edge state. A clean screenshot is not enough when menus, options, drawers, and forms have not been operated.
| Surface | Desktop focus | Mobile focus |
|---|---|---|
| Header and navigation | Dropdown, mega menu, search, account, cart | Menu drawer, nested links, scroll lock |
| Collection | Grid, filters, sorting, quick actions | Filter drawer, two-column grid, touch targets |
| Product | Media, options, sticky buy, recommendations | Media fit, swatches, buy controls, long content |
| Cart | Drawer, quantities, removal, checkout | Drawer sizing, keyboard, empty recovery |
| Content | Blog, article, pages, policies, contact | Reading width, forms, long links, tables |
Final handoff
Record what changed and who owns the next response.
- Record the published theme version and publication time.
- Keep the previous known-good theme unpublished and clearly named.
- Confirm analytics and purchase events after a real storefront visit.
- Monitor support, checkout failures, search terms, and zero-result pages.
- Route reproducible theme defects through the public support form.
If a check fails, use the troubleshooting workflow before changing multiple settings at once. For unresolved theme behavior, create a support ticket with the exact URL, steps, expected result, and actual result.