Test, then go live

Test first

In the editor. The cart and checkout work while you edit. Orders placed from the editor are always test orders, even when your store is in Live mode. They appear in Sales marked TEST, and their emails have [test] in the subject.

On your published site. With Payments → Mode set to Sandbox (test), your published site runs as a test shop:

  1. The cart shows "Test mode — no real charges"
  2. Orders are recorded and marked TEST in Sales
  3. To test PayPal, pay with a sandbox buyer account, a test PayPal account that PayPal creates for you in the Developer Dashboard. A real PayPal account or card won't work in sandbox.
  4. Delete test orders from Sales whenever you like.

Going live checklist

  1. [ ] Products are finished, and each one is placed on a page with a Product block
  2. [ ] Shipping zones, methods and rates are set, if you ship
  3. [ ] Sender Details are filled in, so shoppers get their invoices and receipts
  4. [ ] PayPal is connected in Live mode, if you use it
  5. [ ] Payments → Mode is set to Live
  6. [ ] Your website is published

Publishing

  1. Click Edit Website → Publish Website. You'll be asked to publish all website pages or changed pages only.
  2. Changed pages only is enough for store changes too, including switching the store on or off. What the switch controls (the cart button, checkout, and whether Product blocks show) is shared by every page, and it's updated whenever your store settings have changed.

What updates by itself, and what needs publishing

Your published site fetches your store's details every time a page loads. Much of what you change in the Store therefore reaches your site without publishing.

Updates by itself — no need to publish:

  1. Prices, sale prices, options and stock
  2. Hiding, showing or deleting a product
  3. Shipping zones, methods and rates
  4. Payment methods, PayPal connection and Sandbox/Live mode
  5. Currency and symbol

A shopper who is already browsing your site sees changes to shipping, payments and currency on their next visit.

Needs publishing:

  1. Switching the store on or off, which shows or hides the cart button, checkout and every Product block
  2. Adding a Product block, or changing its product, button label or quantity box
  3. Any other change to your pages, design, menu, header or footer

Adding a new product changes nothing on your site until you place it on a page with a Product block and publish that page.

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