Shopify migration QA checklist

Commercial disclosure: this page may mention Shopify. Recommendations should be weighed against the stated testing status and native Shopify alternatives.

The Three QA Windows

A Shopify migration has three QA windows:

1. Pre-launch QA: find issues before the domain switch.
2. Launch-day QA: verify the handover.
3. Post-launch QA: monitor search and tracking stability.

Skipping any one of these leaves blind spots.

Pre-Launch QA

Check these before launch.

URL And Redirect QA

• Redirect map is complete for high-priority URLs.
• Old product URLs have relevant destinations.
• Old category URLs map to relevant collections.
• Blog/guide URLs are mapped.
• Existing redirects have been reviewed.
• No high-value URL is marked “unknown”.
• Import or implementation method is confirmed.

Shopify Page QA

Check priority pages:

• Homepage.
• Top collections.
• Top products.
• Important blog posts/guides.
• High-value landing pages.
• Policy/support pages.

For each page, confirm:

• Page loads.
• Correct title tag.
• Correct meta description.
• H1 is present and sensible.
• Canonical is correct.
• Page is indexable where intended.
• Internal links work.
• Images load.
• Product/collection content is present.

Collection QA

Collections replacing WooCommerce categories need special checks:

• Product set is correct.
• Collection is indexable if it targets search demand.
• Intro copy is present where useful.
• Product links are crawlable.
• Filters do not create uncontrolled indexation.
• Internal links point to related collections/guides.

Product QA

Check:

• Product title.
• Product description.
• Price.
• Variant options.
• Images.
• Alt text for key images.
• Availability.
• Related products.
• Parent collection links.
• Product structured data.

Technical SEO QA

Check:

• Robots.txt.
• Sitemap files.
• Canonical tags.
• Noindex rules.
• Structured data.
• Breadcrumbs.
• Pagination/loading behaviour.
• 404 page.
• App scripts on key templates.
• Page speed on key templates.

Analytics And Tracking QA

Check:

• Analytics installed.
• Ecommerce events firing.
• Consent configuration.
• Ad pixels.
• Form submissions.
• Checkout/order confirmation tracking.
• Search Console access.
• Launch annotation plan.

Launch-Day QA

On launch day, do not test everything equally. Test risk first.

First 30 Minutes

• Confirm the live domain resolves.
• Confirm HTTPS works.
• Confirm homepage loads.
• Confirm top collections load.
• Confirm top products load.
• Test checkout path.
• Test analytics page view.
• Test ecommerce event if possible.
• Check robots.txt.
• Check sitemap access.

First Two Hours

• Test priority old URLs.
• Test redirect samples by page type.
• Crawl high-priority old URLs.
• Check for 404s.
• Check for redirect chains.
• Check for loops.
• Confirm Search Console access.
• Confirm sitemap submission or discovery.
• Check key title/meta output.
• Check structured data samples.

Launch-Day Log

Record:

• Issue.
• URL.
• Severity.
• Owner.
• Evidence.
• Fix.
• Time found.
• Time fixed.

This log becomes extremely useful if organic traffic fluctuates in the first weeks.

Post-Launch QA

Daily For Two Weeks

Review:

• 404s.
• Redirect failures.
• Organic landing pages.
• Search Console coverage/indexing.
• Organic clicks/impressions.
• Organic revenue or enquiries.
• Top query movement.
• Analytics event continuity.

Weekly For Two Months

Review:

• Priority collection performance.
• Priority product performance.
• Blog/guide traffic.
• Indexed page counts.
• Crawl results.
• Redirect health.
• App or theme changes made after launch.

Monthly For One Quarter

Review:

• Organic recovery/stability.
• Collection rankings.
• Product visibility.
• Content gaps created by migration.
• Internal linking opportunities.
• Technical debt introduced after launch.

Severity Levels

Use simple severity labels:

This helps teams avoid treating every issue as equal.

Common QA Failures

Watch for:

• Redirects imported incorrectly.
• Old category URLs missed.
• Blog content forgotten.
• Search Console not verified.
• Analytics installed but ecommerce events broken.
• Sitemap not accessible.
• Robots.txt blocking more than expected.
• Product structured data missing.
• Internal links still pointing to old URLs.
• Apps slowing key templates after launch.
• Collection pages weaker than old category pages.

When To Request An Audit

Request a migration audit if:

• Organic revenue is material.
• Top pages lose visibility.
• Many old URLs return 404.
• Redirect chains are widespread.
• Search Console shows unexpected indexing issues.
• Analytics data is unreliable.
• The team cannot explain traffic changes.

Suggested Next Reads

• Shopify redirect mapping guide
• WooCommerce to Shopify migration checklist
• Move WooCommerce to Shopify without losing SEO

Sources Used

• Shopify migration checklist
• Shopify SEO overview
• Google Search Central: site moves with URL changes
• Google Search Central: ecommerce SEO