Ecommerce Website Launch Checklist for Indian Businesses
Quick answer
Before launching an online store in India, make sure you have: clear store policies (privacy, terms, refund and cancellation, shipping) linked in the footer and at checkout; your legal business name, address, phone and email visible; a payment gateway that is approved and tested in live mode with UPI, cards and net banking; complete product pages with real photos; tested shipping rules and order emails; analytics and conversion tracking; basic SEO; and a smooth mobile checkout. Then place real test orders, including a refund, before you announce it.
An online store has many moving parts, and small gaps cost real orders. This checklist is ordered the way we check stores before launch for clients in Coimbatore and Tiruppur. Use it whatever platform you choose. If you have not chosen yet, our WordPress vs Shopify vs custom website guide helps with that decision.
1. Business details and store policies
Payment gateways in India usually review your website before approving live payments. Razorpay's own article on payment gateway compliance is a useful reference for what gateways expect. Have these ready before you apply:
- About us page explaining who runs the business
- Contact us page with legal business name, full address, phone and email
- Terms and conditions
- Privacy policy explaining what data you collect and why. See our DPDP Act guide for the data protection side.
- Refund and cancellation policy with clear timelines and conditions
- Shipping policy with delivery areas, timelines and charges
Link all of them in the footer and near the checkout. Write them for your actual business, not copied from another store.
2. Payment gateway
- KYC completed and live mode approved
- Test keys removed and live keys in place
- UPI, cards, net banking and wallets tested with real small payments
- Failed and cancelled payments tested: what does the customer see?
- Refund tested end to end
- Webhooks working, so orders are marked paid correctly
- Cash on delivery rules set, if you offer it
3. Product pages
Product pages do the selling. For each product:
- Clear title that includes what it is and key details (material, size, use)
- Real photos from several angles, plus a scale or in-use shot. Our product photography tips help if you shoot yourself.
- Useful description written for buyers, not copied from the manufacturer
- Price, variants and stock status correct
- Delivery and return information near the Add to Cart button
- Reviews, if you have genuine ones
4. Navigation and search
- Categories make sense to a customer, not just to your warehouse
- Menu works on mobile
- Site search returns sensible results, including common misspellings
- Filters work (size, colour, price) if you have many products
5. Cart and checkout
Most lost sales happen here.
- Guest checkout available, or account creation kept very simple
- Only essential fields asked
- PIN code checks delivery availability early
- Shipping charges shown before the final step, with no surprises
- Coupon field works but does not dominate
- Checkout tested on several Android phones and an iPhone
6. Shipping and fulfilment
- Courier partner integrated, or a clear manual process
- Shipping zones and charges set correctly
- Packaging ready, with your branding if possible
- Order confirmation, shipping and delivery emails or messages tested
- Tracking links work
- Return pickup process defined
7. Speed and mobile experience
Most Indian shoppers browse on phones, often on mobile data. Compress product images, limit apps and plugins, and check key pages in PageSpeed Insights. Google's Core Web Vitals are a good benchmark. Our website speed guide explains what to fix.
8. SEO foundations
- Unique title and meta description for the home page, categories and top products
- Clean, readable URLs
- Category pages with a short, useful introduction
- Product structured data (price, availability, reviews) where your platform supports it
- XML sitemap submitted in Google Search Console
- Redirects in place if you are moving from an old store
9. Tracking and marketing setup
- Google Analytics 4 with ecommerce events (view item, add to cart, purchase)
- Google Ads conversion tracking with purchase values
- Meta Pixel and, ideally, Conversions API. See our Meta Pixel setup guide.
- Google Merchant Center product feed, if you plan to run Shopping ads. See our Merchant Center guide.
- Consent and cookie notice as required
10. Security and admin
- HTTPS on every page
- Strong admin passwords and two-step verification
- Staff accounts with only the access they need
- Regular backups
- Domain, hosting and store accounts owned in the business's name
11. Final test orders
- Place a real order with UPI on a phone.
- Place a real order with a card on a laptop.
- Test a cash on delivery order if offered.
- Cancel one order and refund another.
- Check every email and message the customer receives.
- Check the order appears correctly in your admin and analytics.
Frequently asked questions
What policies does an Indian ecommerce website need?
At minimum, a privacy policy, terms and conditions, a refund and cancellation policy, and a shipping policy, plus clear contact details. Payment gateways commonly check for these before approving live payments.
How long does payment gateway approval take?
It varies by provider and how complete your documents and website are. Having policies, contact details and real product pages in place before applying usually makes it smoother.
Should I launch with all my products?
Not necessarily. Launching with your best-selling products, fully photographed and described, is often better than launching with a large catalogue of thin pages.
Do I need Google Merchant Center?
If you want your products to appear in Google Shopping ads or free product listings, yes. It is free to set up, but your product data and policies must meet Google's requirements.
What is the most common launch mistake?
Not testing real orders end to end. Many stores discover broken emails, wrong shipping charges or failed payment updates only after their first customers complain.
Need an online store built?
Our ecommerce website development service builds and launches stores with this checklist covered. For promoting it, see our ecommerce Google Ads service.
Talk to us
Planning an online store, or about to launch one? We can review your setup against this checklist or build the store with you. See our digital marketing services or contact us. Call +91 84319 21721 or email info@xtrodinry.com.
About the author: Karthik N, Founder of Xtrodinry in Coimbatore and SEO strategist. Connect on LinkedIn · About Xtrodinry
Xtrodinry · 4/175/A, Vijayalakshmi Nagar, Panappatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641201 · +91 84319 21721 · info@xtrodinry.com
