The "Go-Live" Checklist for Your Magento Store

When you are creating a store, development is not the only process you are concerned with. You also need to test what you have created for an error and bug free launch. Having said that, there are many cases where developers fail to test the most important portions of their store before making it live, and end up with failed conversions.

You can never avoid testing the segments which concerns the user, and that's the reason why you should have a checklist with you before you start with the "go live" process for your store. Here we have listed very common bugs found in just launched stores.

Testing Payment Processes

It is important to check the payment gateways and the whole process you have coded for bugs and errors before you make it live. When your payment slows down or there are issues with it, you will see a rise in cart abandonment. Most users link delay in payment with an unsecure site. So, make sure you check the payment process for smooth payments, and have an error handling protocol in case any errors are caused during the payments. Always test a few products with complete check out process (all steps) including payment.

Tests Products/Catalogs

While creating a store, you may have created a lot of test products and catalogs. You may have purchased these test products too! It is important to check all the test products and catalogs you have created and delete them before launching the website. The reason being Google crawls these test products and send out erroneous information to your users. You don't want this to happen, do you?

Customize 404 Error Page

Most often, developers ignore to customize this page thus leaving out the default page. This default page is not appealing, does not own your brand's voice and is referenced to the Magento store thus offering a peep into what's happening at the backend. This can become unnecessary for your brand, and work against the brand's identity and reputation. Develop a copy that offers to represent your brand's identity in an appealing manner and makes even the error page engaging.

Switch on the Caching

Caching is important to your website in order to improve its loading speed. Most often developers forget to turn on caching thus compromising on the speed. If your loading speed is compromised, you tend to lower the conversion rate automatically. It is better to enable caching instead!

Make sure you don't forget to implement the points, mentioned in the checklist, while testing your site, and before making it live.

Author Bio:

Deepa, a technical writer with Semaphore Software, who now devotes her time in advising its clients to hire magento developers. She offers information as well as tips and latest trends in this domain. Her love for reading helps her constantly provide latest information on different technical and design aspects of Magento

Deepa is a technical writer with Semaphore Software.