What your Shopify development agency should be testing before you go live

Development testing is a crucial phase for your Shopify build

You’re close to launch, the Shopify store looks finished, and the temptation is to start planning the switch. But before you go live, your Shopify development agency should be doing more than checking that the pages look right.

A thorough Shopify pre-launch testing process should test how the store actually works across different devices, browsers, customer journeys and real-world scenarios.

A good Shopify QA process gives you confidence that the store is ready for launch, rather than simply looking ready. It also gives you a clear opportunity to ask your agency what has been tested, how it has been tested and whether any issues remain before launch.

Why testing is the part of a Shopify project you see least

Most of a Shopify project is highly visible. You can see the designs, review staging pages, provide feedback and watch the store take shape throughout the development process. Testing is different. Much of the work happens behind the scenes, which means it can be difficult to know how thoroughly your store is actually being checked before launch.

A Shopify development agency might be testing dozens of scenarios that you never see. This can include different customer journeys, devices and browsers, checkout behaviour, payment methods, discounts, shipping rules, forms, integrations and edge cases that are unlikely to appear during a normal staging review.

That does not mean you need to be involved in every test. What matters is that your agency can clearly explain its Shopify QA process and what it covers. Knowing what is being tested, when testing takes place and how issues are recorded and resolved gives you much greater confidence when it comes to signing off the store.

Transparency also makes it easier to spot gaps before launch.

If your Shopify agency can show you a structured Shopify pre-launch testing process rather than simply saying the site has been "tested", you have a much clearer picture of the work being done to make the launch as reliable as possible.

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What your Shopify development agency should be testing

A thorough Shopify development testing process should cover the entire customer journey throughout various scenarios, not just whether individual pages work.

Your agency should be testing the store from the perspective of different customers, devices and scenarios, while also checking the systems and data working behind the storefront.

Functional testing

Every important user journey should be tested from start to finish. This means checking that customers can find a product, add it to their basket, move through checkout, complete payment and receive the correct order confirmation.

Testing should also cover the following scenarios:

• What happens when a product is out of stock?
• Does a discount code apply correctly?
• Are the subscription options easy to understand?
• Are logged-in customers shown the right information and pricing?

These edge cases are important because problems often appear outside the standard journey. A store that works perfectly when everything goes as expected can still have issues when a customer does something unexpected.

Payment and checkout testing

Every active payment gateway should be tested in a live-like environment before launch. This should include the complete checkout journey, rather than simply confirming that a payment option appears on the page. For Shopify Payments, the bogus gateway can facilitate this.

Your Shopify development agency should also check shipping rules, markets, tax calculations and discount behaviour, including whether different discounts can be combined when they should not be. These rules can have a direct impact on the amount a customer pays and the order information passed to your fulfilment systems.

Third-party Shopify integrations

Most Shopify stores rely on several systems outside the storefront. Your agency should test every connected integration, including email platforms, CRMs, ERPs, loyalty systems, review platforms and other third-party services.

The developer should confirm that data is passing correctly in both directions. For example, an order should reach the relevant fulfilment, CRM or ERP system with the correct customer, product, payment and delivery information, while updates from connected systems should also reach Shopify as expected.

It is also worth asking what happens when an integration fails. A good Shopify QA process should consider what happens if a connection drops, an API call fails or data is delayed, and whether the failure can be identified and resolved without affecting customers.

Device and browser testing

Your Shopify store should work reliably across the browsers and devices your customers use. At a minimum, testing should cover major browsers such as Chrome, Safari and Firefox across desktop and mobile. The versions tested vary from agency to agency, and we recommend that at least the current and previous version be included in testing.

Particular attention should be given to iOS Safari, where certain interactions, menus, forms and other elements can behave differently from desktop browsers or Android devices.

Your Shopify agency or developer should check key elements at each relevant breakpoint, including forms, filters, navigation, product galleries, images, buttons and other interactive components. A page looking correct on a desktop monitor is not enough to confirm that the mobile experience is ready for launch.

Shopify theme performance testing

Performance testing should cover the key page templates across the store, including the homepage, collection pages, product pages, cart and checkout. The aim is not only to achieve a good score, but also identify anything that could create a poor experience for customers.

Tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights can provide useful benchmarks, while real-world testing can help identify issues that automated scores do not always reveal. The developer should be looking at image sizes, script loading, theme code and the impact of apps.

Issues that should be flagged before launch include:

• Unusually large images
• Unnecessary scripts
• Apps that add significant load time
• Slow-loading key templates
• Interactions that feel noticeably delayed on real devices

Not every store will achieve perfect performance scores, and a PageSpeed Insights score should not be treated as a simple pass or fail for launch. What matters is whether there are specific performance issues that could have a noticeable impact on customers and whether those issues can reasonably be addressed before the store goes live.

Content and data checks

Shopify development testing should also include the content and data that customers will actually see. Every product, collection and key page should be reviewed for missing content, broken images, incorrect pricing, incomplete descriptions and other errors that could undermine the customer experience.

If you are migrating from another platform (eg. Magento to Shopify) or changing your existing Shopify store structure, redirects should also be checked before launch.

SEO checks should cover key elements such as meta titles and descriptions, along with other important technical and on-page requirements. This is an area where specialist input can be particularly valuable, so it is worth asking whether your Shopify development agency has a dedicated SEO team or works with an experienced SEO agency.

A strong pre-launch process should bring all of these checks together rather than treating them as separate tasks. The goal is to identify problems while they can still be fixed easily, before they become customer-facing issues after launch.

What you should be testing on your side

Your Shopify development agency should take responsibility for the technical QA process, but there are some checks only your team can properly carry out. You know your products, customers and brand better than anyone, so your final review should focus on whether the store feels right from a customer and commercial perspective.

Walk through the store as if you were a typical customer who has never used it before, as well as your returning customers. Search for products, browse collections, add items to your basket and complete the checkout process. Look for anything that feels confusing, inconsistent or different from how you expect your customers to shop.

You should also check the content from your own product knowledge:

• Are product descriptions accurate and are the right images being used?
• Are prices, product options and delivery information correct?
• Does the buying journey reflect how you want your brand to present itself?

What to ask your Shopify agency before sign-off

Before you give final approval for launch, it is worth asking your agency a few straightforward questions about its testing process. You do not need to understand every technical detail, but you should be confident that there is a structured process behind the final checks.

Do you have a QA checklist and can I see it?

A good agency should be able to explain what is being tested and provide visibility of the checks being carried out. This gives you a better understanding of the scope of testing and helps identify any areas that may not have been covered.

Has the store been tested on real devices, not just browser emulators?

Browser emulators are useful, but they cannot always replicate the behaviour of a real phone or tablet. Testing on physical devices can uncover issues with navigation, forms, touch interactions, image rendering and other elements that may not appear during desktop testing. Here at Absolute, we test using emulator software, as well real devices.

What's the process if something breaks on launch day?

Even with thorough testing, issues can sometimes appear once a store is exposed to real customer behaviour and traffic. Your agency should be able to explain who will respond, how issues are prioritised and what support is available if something unexpected happens.

These are questions we're always happy to answer. If you're approaching a Shopify launch and want to talk through how we approach pre-launch testing, get in touch with our team.

Are you looking for a Shopify development agency?

We’re a Shopify development agency that takes testing as seriously as the build itself. From functional journeys and checkout through to integrations, performance, devices and SEO, we use a structured pre-launch QA process to identify issues before they reach your customers.

Working with us means you get more than a Shopify store that looks finished. We give you visibility of what has been tested, help your team carry out its own final checks and make sure issues are identified and resolved before you sign off the project.

If you’re planning a new migration to Shopify, or you've built the site inhouse and require a thorough testing process, contact our experienced team to talk through your requirements and we'll explain how we approach Shopify development and pre-launch testing.