SaaS Fundamentals Checklist for E-Commerce

Evaluate Shopify, BigCommerce, or a headless setup with Next.js for theme flexibility, custom checkout needs, and app ecosystem depth. Ensure the platform supports rate limits, webhooks, and robust SDKs for future integrations.

Standardize SKUs, option sets, and barcodes (GTIN/UPC) so inventory syncs cleanly across POS, marketplaces, and 3PL. Clear variant naming prevents oversells and speeds customer support during peak season.

Use a staging store with masked customer data to trial apps, themes, and checkout changes. Run sample orders and refunds before every promo to prevent live incidents.

Embed JSON-LD for Product, Review, and Offer, and ensure GMC feeds include brand, MPN, GTIN, and availability. High quality feeds reduce ad disapprovals and drive richer search snippets.

Set up tax automation with Avalara or TaxJar and map shipping zones, carrier services, and dimensional weights. Display delivery estimates on PDP and cart to lower abandonment.

Serve responsive images in WebP or AVIF and compress hero assets to improve LCP on PDPs. Use platform CDNs or CloudFront and lazy-load noncritical scripts.

Add trust badges, low-stock indicators, size guides, and sticky add-to-cart to reduce hesitation. Use session recordings to validate placement and copy.

Enable Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and PayPal with guest checkout to reduce friction on mobile. Monitor checkout step drop-off and fix errors quickly.

Use Klaviyo or Omnisend with dynamic cart content, rate limiting, and SMS compliant opt-ins. Test incentive thresholds to protect margin while recovering revenue.

Deploy Yotpo or Okendo to collect photo reviews and syndicate star ratings to PDP and ads. Moderate content and tag by SKU so social proof is relevant.

Use tools like Rebuy or CartHook to present complementary products or free-shipping thresholds. A/B test copy and placement to lift AOV without slowing pages.

Set up GA4 server tagging and Meta CAPI to recover signal loss after iOS 14.5. Validate purchase events against order IDs to keep CAC and ROAS trustworthy.

Add Afterpay or Klarna for higher AOV items and keep PayPal for trust. Track method-level authorization rates to optimize routing.

Use Stripe Radar or Signifyd and tighten AVS/CVV rules during high-risk campaigns. Route flagged orders to a manual review queue with SLA targets.

Use Recharge or native billing for flexible intervals, one-time add-ons, and skip options. Promote subscription benefits onsite and in post-purchase emails.

Automate retries with smart intervals, use network updater tools, and send SMS or email reminders. Report churn by reason to guide product and pricing.

Display local pricing with clear duty and import fee estimates using Shopify Markets or Zonos. Use FX rounding rules to avoid odd price endings.

Support PO numbers, net terms, and PDF invoices integrated with accounting tools. Add credit limits and dunning for wholesale buyers.

Connect your store to a WMS or 3PL like ShipBob and reserve stock at checkout. Prevent oversells by reconciling marketplace and POS deductions hourly.

Use tools like Inventory Planner to account for seasonality, ad spend, and lead times. Set reorder points by SKU velocity and vendor MOQs.

Show ship-by dates on PDP and in emails, split fulfillments when needed, and capture payment rules by region. Transparent messaging reduces support tickets and chargebacks.

Build rules based on inventory location, carrier SLA, and cost to serve, using ShipStation or Shippo. Favor single-box shipments to minimize fees.

Use Loop or Returnly for label generation, instant exchanges, and outcomes tracking. Capture reasons to improve sizing, imagery, and quality control.

Connect Gorgias or Zendesk to surface order status and tracking in tickets. Build WISMO macros and tag tickets to report root causes to operations.

Track CAC, LTV, AOV, ROAS, repeat rate, and refund rate in GA4, Looker Studio, or Triple Whale. Review anomalies daily and investigate root causes.

Implement GDPR and CCPA compliant banners with OneTrust or Termly and honor user preferences. Document data flows and fulfill deletion requests within SLA.

Use Pingdom or UptimeRobot and route alerts to Slack and PagerDuty. Maintain a runbook with rollback steps for theme or app incidents.

Version control themes with Git, schedule database and asset backups, and test restores quarterly. Store credentials in a secure vault and rotate keys.

Use Lighthouse and SpeedCurve to track LCP, CLS, and TBT, then remove or defer heavy apps. Prioritize critical CSS and inline key scripts only when needed.

Limit staff scopes, enable 2FA, log refunds and discount changes, and offboard immediately. Review permissions quarterly and reconcile against HR records.