Shopify

Shopify Checklist: The Ultimate Pre-Launch Guide (SA)

Alister

E-commerce Consultant

| 6 Aug 2026 18 min

Introduction

Every week, another South African entrepreneur spends hours inside the Shopify admin — clicking through product forms, shipping zones and tax screens — and then launches anyway, unsure whether they got it right. Three weeks later the first complaints arrive: "your delivery quote is wrong", "your checkout rejected my Capitec card", "where is my invoice?"

A successful launch is not luck. It is a checklist. South Africa is one of the most fee-heavy Shopify markets on earth because Shopify Payments is not available here, our payment gateways and couriers each have their own quirks, and our tax and privacy rules (VAT at 15%, SARS thresholds, POPIA) are genuinely different from the American tutorials most guides copy. There are over 22,000 active South African Shopify stores as of May 2026, growing about 28% year-on-year — and most of them made avoidable launch mistakes that cost them sales, margins and refunds.

This guide is the definitive pre-launch Shopify checklist for South African stores, organised into 15 phases with checkboxes. Work through them in order, tick every box, and you will launch a store that is legal, fast, optimised and ready to sell.

Quick answer: A complete Shopify pre-launch checklist for South African stores has 15 phases: (1) business setup and a business bank account, (2) plan choice — Basic 2% third-party fee, Grow 1%, Advanced 0.6%, (3) domain, (4) theme and branding, (5) products priced in Rands, (6) shipping with The Courier Guy, Aramex, Dawn Wing, BobGo or Pargo pickup points, (7) a payment gateway — PayFast, Paystack, Yoco, Stitch or Ozow, since Shopify Payments is not available in SA, (8) VAT settings (15%, compulsory SARS registration from R2.3 million turnover since 1 April 2026), (9) POPIA privacy policy and consent, (10) analytics, (11) SEO fundamentals, (12) checkout testing, (13) mobile testing, (14) marketing readiness and (15) launch. Tick every box before you go live.

Want a second pair of eyes on your store before launch? CrazyClicks offers pre-launch store audits and Shopify builds in Cape Town — get in touch.

Why a launch checklist matters for South African stores

Most Shopify setup guides are written for the United States, where Shopify Payments exists, domestic shipping is simple and sales tax is handled at checkout. South Africa is a different operating environment:

No Shopify Payments — every sale goes through a third-party gateway, which triggers Shopify's additional third-party fee (2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced).
Multiple local gateways with different card, EFT and Pay-by-Bank rates — your gateway choice alone can change your effective cost per sale by 2%.
A national courier ecosystem — The Courier Guy, Aramex, Dawn Wing, BobGo and Pargo each integrate differently and price by weight, distance and area code.
VAT at 15% with a compulsory SARS registration threshold of R2.3 million turnover (raised from R1 million on 1 April 2026).
POPIA is in force — your store must have a privacy policy and lawful consent before you collect a single email address.

Key fact: According to Shopify data, South Africa has over 22,000 active Shopify stores (May 2026), growing ~28% year-on-year. The cost of a launch mistake is competition: shoppers have plenty of alternative stores to buy from.

Getting each phase right is cheap. Fixing it after launch is expensive — you lose trust, refunds, rankings and margin. This is why the checklist exists.

Phase 1: Business setup — company, bank account and paperwork

You can technically build a Shopify store with nothing but your ID number. But the moment you want a payment gateway, a courier account, a VAT number or a business bank account, paperwork matters.

Decide your trading structure: sole proprietor (simplest) or a private company (Pty Ltd) registered with CIPC.
If a company, file your Memorandum of Incorporation and get a company registration number.
Open a business bank account — payment gateways and couriers pay into this, and SARS and POPIA compliance is cleaner.
Check whether you need a SARS income-tax number for the business.
Decide early whether you will VAT-register voluntarily or wait until turnover crosses the threshold.
Set up a business email (e.g. hello@yourstore.co.za) rather than a Gmail address — it builds trust at checkout.

Key fact: Payment gateways like PayFast and Yoco require bank verification before you can receive payouts. Getting a business account sorted first means your first sale's money actually lands where you expect it.

A township business or side hustle can absolutely launch as a sole proprietor and upgrade to a company later. The key is to decide deliberately, because your gateway and courier accounts are tied to your entity and changing it later is admin you do not need on launch day.

Phase 2: Choose your Shopify plan

Shopify bills South African merchants in US dollars, so plan costs move with the exchange rate (mid-2026: roughly R16.50–R18.00 per USD). Official plan pricing (July 2026):

Plan	USD monthly	USD yearly (per month equiv.)	Approx ZAR monthly	Approx ZAR yearly
Starter	$5	$5	~R90	~R90
Basic	$25	$19	~R450	~R350
Grow (was "Shopify")	$65	$49	~R1,170	~R880
Advanced	$399	$299	~R7,200	~R5,400
Plus	from $2,300	from $2,300	from ~R41,000	from ~R41,000

Start with the 3-day free trial, then $1/month for 3 months on eligible plans (Basic or Grow) where the offer is active.
Choose your plan by the third-party fee rate, not just features: Basic 2.0%, Grow 1.0%, Advanced 0.6%.
Check staff accounts: Basic gives 2, Grow 5, Advanced 15.
If you plan to sell in person too, note POS Pro is ~R1,600/month per location.
Use annual billing for roughly a 25% discount on Basic, Grow and Advanced.

Key fact: Because Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa, Shopify charges a third-party payment provider fee on every sale: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced. On R100,000/month of sales that is R2,000, R1,000 or R600 — a fixed cost you carry until you upgrade plans.

Most South African first-timers should launch on Basic, upgrade to Grow when their monthly sales justify the 1% fee saving, and treat the plan as a lever to be pulled as revenue grows. Read our Shopify pricing guide and Shopify plans explained before you commit.

Phase 3: Buy and connect your domain

Your Shopify store will come with a free yourstore.myshopify.com address, but nobody remembers it and it does not look professional. You need a real domain.

Buy a .co.za domain (or .com if you plan to sell internationally) from a reputable registrar.
Register the domain in your own name — never let an agency or developer own it.
Connect it to Shopify via the admin's Domains section (add as a custom domain and point DNS, or transfer fully).
Set up a professional business email on the domain.
Add SSL so your checkout shows the padlock — Shopify includes this automatically.
Renew on time and set the auto-renew.

A .co.za domain costs roughly R100–R300 per year, a small price for the trust it buys. For a full primer on choosing and buying domains, see our guide on buying a domain name.

Phase 4: Theme and branding

Your theme is your storefront. South African shoppers decide in seconds whether your store is trustworthy, and most of that judgement is visual.

Pick a theme that matches your catalogue size and product type (free themes are fine to start; paid themes cost roughly R400–R1,200 one-off).
Upload your logo, favicon and brand colours.
Set your brand fonts and ensure readable contrast.
Write your Home, About, Contact and Shipping pages before launch.
Install a professional favicon (the tab icon) — a tiny trust signal shoppers notice.
Enable predictive search and a visible search bar.
Set up your collection pages with banners and descriptions.

If you are not a designer, keep it simple: one clean theme, three brand colours, great product photos. Whitespace converts better than clutter. For teams who want it done properly, CrazyClicks offers Shopify development and website design that handle the full build.

Phase 5: Products with ZAR pricing

This is where most pre-launch stores lose days. Set products up properly the first time and you save hours later.

Create product categories and collections before adding products.
Price everything in Rands — Shopify fully supports ZAR storefront pricing.
Write unique, SEO-friendly product titles and descriptions (no manufacturer text copies).
Add 3–6 high-quality images per product with descriptive alt text.
Set SKUs, barcodes and accurate stock levels for every variant.
Configure variants correctly (size, colour, pack size) — wrong variants cause refunds.
Set up pricing tiers or compare-at prices for sales later.
Decide on tax-inclusive vs tax-exclusive pricing and apply it consistently.
Add weight and dimensions to every product so courier rates calculate correctly.

Key fact: According to Shopify, ZAR storefront pricing is fully supported — products can be priced in Rands even though the subscription is billed in USD.

Product descriptions are also your SEO foundation. Before you launch, write descriptions that answer real questions ("Is this cap waterproof? What sizes fit what body?"), because that is what Google and AI assistants quote. Get the basics right here and the SEO phase later becomes easy.

Phase 6: Shipping with South African couriers

Shipping is the #1 cause of support tickets and abandoned carts for South African Shopify stores. Get it right before launch.

Choose your courier or couriers: The Courier Guy, Aramex, Dawn Wing, BobGo, and Pargo (pickup points) all integrate with Shopify for SA shipping.
Decide your shipping strategy: flat rate, free over a threshold, or calculated by weight.
Set up shipping zones for South Africa with correct rates.
Add Pargo or a pickup-point option for customers who miss deliveries.
Set a free delivery threshold (e.g. free over R750) to raise average order value.
Configure handling time clearly (e.g. "orders dispatched within 24 hours").
If you sell bulky or regional items (Polokwane to Cape Town), model rates against your flat fee so you do not lose money.
Print/export labels or connect a shipping app so fulfilment is not manual forever.

A simple comparison of shipping strategies for South African sellers:

Strategy	Best for	Watch out for
Flat rate	Low-weight, consistent products	Overcharging = cart abandonment
Free over threshold	Raising average order value	Setting the threshold too low
Calculated by courier	Mixed weights, nationwide	Slight delays in the quote at checkout
Pickup point (Pargo)	Deliveries to work/PO boxes	Explain the pickup process clearly

For a deeper dive, read our Shopify shipping guide for South Africa.

Phase 7: Payment gateways

Because Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa, your gateway is your single most important integration. Mid-2026 rates (ex-VAT unless noted):

Gateway	Card rate	Pay-by-Bank / EFT	Per-txn	Notes
PayFast (Payfast by Network)	3.2% + R2	2.0% + min R2 Instant EFT / Capitec Pay	R2	Widest local method coverage; no monthly fee; native Shopify integration
Peach Payments	~2.95% local, ~3.50% international	Capitec Pay supported	R1.50	Real-time payouts (~90 sec); good at volume
Yoco	2.95% local, 3.40% international	Not offered	None	Cheapest card-only option; online plans from R249/mo
Paystack	2.9% + R1 local, 3.1% + R1 international	2.0% EFT	R1	Developer-friendly; owned by Stripe
Stitch	2.95% local	2.0% Capitec Pay	None on cards	"Built for Shopify"-badged gateway (2025)
Ozow	2.85% cards (tiered)	1.5% Pay-by-Bank	Per-method	Best for high-AOV/B2B pushing Pay-by-Bank

Sign up and complete verification for your chosen gateway (allow a few working days for vetting).
Install the gateway's Shopify app and enter your API keys.
Switch on Pay-by-Bank / Instant EFT if offered — it is cheaper than cards and popular with South African shoppers.
Test a real payment before launch (Phase 12).
Check how payouts work: PayFast pays out to your bank, Peach offers ~90-second real-time payouts, Yoco and Paystack pay out on their schedules.
Compare total cost per sale (gateway + Shopify third-party fee) before locking in.

Key fact: Combined per-transaction cost on Shopify: Basic + PayFast card is roughly 5.2–5.5%, Grow + Peach ~3.95%, and Basic + Ozow Pay-by-Bank ~3.5%. Your gateway choice changes your margin on every single sale.

Deep-dive comparisons live in our Shopify with PayFast, Shopify with Paystack and Shopify with Yoco guides, plus our roundup of Shopify payments alternatives.

Phase 8: Tax settings — VAT 15% and SARS

South African tax rules are not optional. Set them up before you collect your first Rand.

Confirm whether you are VAT-registered.
If registered, set tax-inclusive or tax-exclusive pricing in Shopify Settings → Taxes and duties.
Enable Shopify's automatic tax calculation for South Africa, or configure the 15% standard VAT rate manually.
Collect customer VAT numbers for B2B orders so you can issue proper tax invoices.
Register for a SARS tax reference if you will exceed the threshold or choose to register voluntarily.
Remember the threshold: R2.3 million turnover (compulsory registration since 1 April 2026).
Keep records of Shopify's USD fees so you can claim input VAT on them.
If dropshipping from abroad, understand customs duty and import VAT on incoming parcels.

Key fact: SARS compulsory VAT registration was revised upwards from R1 million to R2.3 million turnover on 1 April 2026. If you are under the threshold, registration is voluntary — but many B2B buyers prefer VAT-registered suppliers because they can claim input VAT.

Shopify's subscription and gateway fees are billed in USD and generally exclude VAT; VAT-registered businesses can claim input VAT on these fees through SARS. For the full picture, read our guides on Shopify taxes in South Africa and Shopify VAT.

Phase 9: POPIA and legal pages

POPIA (the Protection of Personal Information Act) is in force, and ecommerce sites must have a privacy policy and a lawful basis for processing personal data. Ignore it and you risk fines of up to R10 million.

Publish a privacy policy explaining what data you collect, why, and who you share it with.
Publish Terms and Conditions covering returns, refunds, delivery and liability.
Publish a returns and refunds policy — South African consumer-protection expectations make this a must.
Publish a shipping and delivery policy with timelines and courier details.
Add consent checkboxes to newsletter signup forms (no pre-ticked boxes).
Add a cookie or tracking-consent banner if you use analytics, pixels or remarketing.
Give customers a way to request or delete their data (POPIA rights).
Keep data processing agreements in place with your email and analytics providers.

Key fact: POPIA requires a lawful basis for every collection of personal information. A customer's email address, phone number or delivery address all count. Pre-ticked consent boxes are not valid consent.

Checkout itself is a data-collection point: the order form collects names, addresses and phone numbers, so your privacy policy must cover it and your order confirmation should mention your POPIA approach. This is not a "later" task — it is a launch-day requirement.

Phase 10: Analytics and tracking

You cannot improve what you cannot measure. Install analytics before the first customer arrives.

Set up GA4 and install the tag on your store.
Verify your store in Google Search Console and submit your sitemap.
Add Meta Pixel (or the new Conversions API) for Facebook/Instagram ads.
Set up Google Ads conversion tracking if you plan paid search.
Configure enhanced ecommerce events (add-to-cart, checkout, purchase) in GA4.
Create goals/conversions for purchases so every channel is measured.
Install a heatmap/session-recording tool if budget allows.

The data you gather from day one tells you where shoppers drop off — a poorly placed CTA, a slow page, a confusing checkout. Without tracking, you are flying blind. For help, CrazyClicks offers Google Ads, Meta Ads and conversion optimisation services.

Phase 11: SEO fundamentals

SEO is a long game, but the fundamentals are set at launch — and retrofitting them is painful. Our full Shopify SEO guide covers this in depth; the launch minimums are:

Unique meta titles and descriptions for every product and collection.
Descriptive alt text on every image.
Clean, readable URLs (e.g. /products/leather-duffel-bag not /products/ref=xyz).
One H1 per page, with logical H2/H3 structure.
A Google Search Console submission and sitemap (done in Phase 10).
Fast page speed — compress images before upload.
Mobile-friendly, responsive design verified on a phone.
Keyword research for the South African market (Google SA, local intent like "buy sneakers Cape Town").

Key fact: Google AI Overviews now summarise search results at the top of the page, so clear, structured content that answers questions directly is the best way to stay visible in 2026.

Phase 12: Test your checkout

The checkout is where money happens. Test it like your revenue depends on it — because it does.

Place a test order using a real card (gateway test mode) and confirm the money flows.
Test Pay-by-Bank / Instant EFT from end to end.
Confirm the customer receives a Shopify order confirmation email.
Confirm your gateway sends its own payment receipt.
Test coupon codes and discounts actually apply.
Test a refund and confirm it reaches the customer.
Test the abandoned-cart email (if enabled).
Verify your courier rate shows correctly at checkout for a few test addresses (Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Polokwane).

Fix anything that fails. A broken checkout at launch is worse than no launch.

Phase 13: Mobile test

More than half of South African shoppers buy on their phones. Your desktop store may be perfect while your mobile store is broken.

Open every key page (home, product, cart, checkout) on an actual phone.
Test on Android and iPhone if you can.
Confirm the checkout does not force tiny tap targets or double-charge on button taps.
Check that images do not make pages crawl.
Verify WhatsApp buttons, if you use them, open the right chat.
Confirm the "add to cart" button is thumb-reachable.

Key fact: Mobile is the default browsing and buying device for the majority of South African consumers — a non-mobile-friendly store loses sales before it ever has a chance to convert.

Phase 14: Marketing readiness

Your store is built. Now make sure you have a way to tell people it exists.

Set up email marketing (a provider like Mailchimp, Klaviyo or MailerLite) with a signup form on your site.
Create your Google Business Profile if you have a physical location — vital for local searches like "shop near me".
Set up WhatsApp Business with a catalogue if you sell via chat.
Create or refresh your social profiles (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) with your store link.
Plan your launch campaign: launch discount, email to your list, social posts, influencer or micro-influencer outreach.
Prepare product imagery and short video content for socials.
Set up a basic Google Ads or Meta Ads budget if you intend to run paid from day one.
Write your thank-you/order-confirmation email — it is your first retention opportunity.

Start simple: one strong launch offer, one channel you already understand, and email capture from day one. You can scale the machine afterwards.

Phase 15: Launch day

The checklist is nearly complete. Final pass:

Disable Shopify's password page so the store is public.
Place one last test order as a customer to confirm nothing broke overnight.
Verify the domain resolves and SSL is active.
Check your "thank you" and dispatch emails one final time.
Publish your launch announcement everywhere you planned.
Send your launch offer to your email list.
Monitor support inboxes and social mentions for the first 48 hours.
Book a post-launch review in two weeks: check GA4, fix weak pages, prune slow sellers.

Congratulations — you are live. Now the work of growing starts.

Beginner Mistakes to Avoid

Skipping a business bank account. Payment gateways and couriers need one for payouts; verify early or your first payouts stall. Fix: open the account in Phase 1.
Picking a plan by features instead of fee rate. A 2% third-party fee on R100,000/month is R2,000. Fix: compare Basic/Grow/Advanced by total cost.
Wrong shipping rates. Underquoting eats margin; overquoting kills the sale. Fix: test rates against real addresses before launch.
Only accepting cards. South African shoppers use EFT and Pay-by-Bank; card-only stores lose sales. Fix: switch on Pay-by-Bank with your gateway.
Ignoring VAT. Guessing prices as VAT-inclusive or exclusive inconsistently creates cash-flow surprises and SARS headaches. Fix: decide once and set tax settings in Phase 8.
Launching without a privacy policy. POPIA fines reach R10 million and shoppers increasingly check. Fix: publish all four legal pages in Phase 9.
No mobile testing. Most SA shoppers are on phones; a broken mobile checkout kills conversion. Fix: do the Phase 13 pass on real devices.
Launching with no analytics. Without GA4 and Search Console you cannot see what is failing. Fix: finish Phase 10 before going live.

Expert Tips

Model your fee stack before launch. Gateway + third-party fee + apps should be budgeted at 6–8% of revenue on a Basic plan. See our Shopify fees guide for the full math.
Use the annual billing discount. The ~25% saving on Basic, Grow and Advanced is instant margin and hedges a weak rand.
Push Pay-by-Bank for high orders. Ozow Pay-by-Bank at 1.5% beats card rates dramatically on big tickets and B2B orders.
Set a free-delivery threshold above your break-even. R750 is a common sweet spot for SA stores with light parcels.
Write product descriptions that answer questions. That is what ranks in Google AI Overviews and voice search in 2026.
Collect emails from day one. Your first list is your cheapest acquisition channel — see our email marketing guide.
Do not pre-tick consent boxes. Valid POPIA consent must be active and informed.
Re-test after every app install. New apps can silently break checkout, mobile layout or tracking.

The Quick-Start Checklist

Business registered and business bank account open
Plan chosen on the 3-day trial / $1-for-3-months offer
Domain bought in your name and connected
Theme, logo, favicon and brand colours set
Products priced in ZAR with alt text and variants
Courier shipping configured (The Courier Guy / Aramex / Pargo etc.)
Payment gateway live (PayFast, Yoco, Paystack, Stitch or Ozow)
VAT 15% configured (if registered) and SARS threshold noted
Privacy policy, terms, returns and shipping policies published
GA4, Search Console and pixel tracking installed
Meta titles, descriptions and alt text in place
Test orders passed on desktop and mobile
Mobile experience verified on real devices
Email capture, Google Business Profile and WhatsApp Business set up
Launch offer planned and ready to announce
Store set live, final test passed, launch announced

South African Case Study

Illustrative example (not a real client). A Johannesburg entrepreneur, Thandi, sells handmade leather goods. She set up her Shopify Basic store herself in two weekends but skipped the fee and shipping maths. Launching at R100,000/month in sales, her combined gateway + Shopify third-party fee was ~5.4% (PayFast cards), she underquoted courier rates for Gqeberha and Polokwane deliveries, and she had no privacy policy for two months.

After a CrazyClicks-style audit she: switched on Ozow Pay-by-Bank (combined ~3.5% on EFT orders), raised her flat shipping rate and added a free-delivery threshold of R850, published POPIA-compliant policies, and moved her plan to annual billing. Estimated savings: ~R1,900/month on fees plus fewer shipping write-offs — roughly R25,000 per year — and her cart abandonment rate dropped noticeably once shipping was predictable. Her store was profitable within six months of the fixes.

The lesson: a solid launch checklist prevents most of these leaks before they start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much does it cost to launch a Shopify store in South Africa?

A: You can launch for very little: the trial is 3 days, then $1/month for 3 months on eligible plans, plus a domain (~R150–R300/year), a free theme and your gateway's no-monthly-fee options like PayFast. The real cost appears with volume — a Basic store doing R100,000/month in sales typically costs R5,500–R8,500/month all-in (6–8% of revenue).

Q: Can I launch Shopify as a side hustle or township business?

A: Absolutely. Many South African sellers start as sole proprietors with WhatsApp Business and Instagram before moving to Shopify. You only need formal structures as you scale, but a business bank account and POPIA-compliant policies are worth having from day one.

Q: What is the best payment gateway for a new SA Shopify store?

A: PayFast is the most common starting point because it has the widest local method coverage and no monthly fee. Yoco is cheaper for card-only sales; Paystack is developer-friendly; Ozow shines for Pay-by-Bank on higher-value orders. Choose by your customer's payment habits.

Q: Do I have to charge VAT on Shopify?

A: Only if you are VAT-registered. The standard rate is 15%, and compulsory SARS registration kicks in at R2.3 million annual turnover (since 1 April 2026). Voluntary registration is often worth it for B2B sellers.

Q: How long does it take to launch a Shopify store?

A: A simple store with 20–50 products can go from sign-up to launch in one to two weeks of focused work. Allow extra days for payment gateway vetting, domain DNS propagation and courier account activation.

Q: Do I need a separate shipping app for The Courier Guy?

A: Not necessarily. Shopify Shipping and several apps support The Courier Guy, Aramex, Dawn Wing, BobGo and Pargo. You can also set flat rates manually and ship through the courier's own portal while you are small.

Q: What happens if I launch without a privacy policy?

A: You are POPIA-non-compliant, which carries fines of up to R10 million, and you lose shopper trust. Publish your privacy policy, terms, returns and shipping policies before go-live — they take an afternoon.

Q: Can I change my Shopify plan after launch?

A: Yes, any time. Upgrade when your sales make the lower third-party fee worth it (Grow's 1% vs Basic's 2%), and consider annual billing for the ~25% discount.

Q: Should I hire an agency to launch my Shopify store?

A: If you lack time or want it done right the first time, yes. CrazyClicks is a full-service digital agency in Cape Town that handles Shopify development, shipping setup, gateway integration and post-launch SEO — see our services or contact us.

Summary

Launching a Shopify store in South Africa is more than flipping a switch. It is 15 phases of setup — business paperwork, plan choice, domain, branding, ZAR products, courier shipping, a payment gateway, VAT, POPIA legal pages, analytics, SEO, checkout tests, mobile tests, marketing readiness and a final launch pass. Every phase prevents a specific failure: a lost payout, a broken checkout, a refund, a fine or a missed sale. Work through the checklist in order, tick every box, and you launch with confidence — the same confidence that separates profitable South African stores from the ones that quietly fail within a year.

Key Takeaways

Launch in 15 ordered phases — business setup, plan, domain, theme, products, shipping, payments, tax, legal, analytics, SEO, checkout, mobile, marketing, go-live.
Your plan choice is a fee decision — Basic carries a 2% third-party fee, Grow 1%, Advanced 0.6%, because Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa.
Gateway choice changes your margin — combined per-sale costs range from ~3.5% (Ozow Pay-by-Bank on Basic) to ~5.5% (PayFast cards on Basic).
VAT and POPIA are non-negotiables — 15% VAT, the R2.3 million SARS threshold (since April 2026), and a lawful-basis privacy policy before you collect data.
Test before you celebrate — a full checkout test on desktop and mobile catches the mistakes that kill first-week conversion.

Ready to launch your Shopify store?

Every box in this checklist is doable today, but if you would rather spend your time selling than configuring shipping zones and tax screens, the CrazyClicks team in Cape Town builds, configures and launches South African Shopify stores end-to-end — including gateway setup, courier integrations, POPIA pages and post-launch optimisation. Start a project, see our services, or read our case studies.

And when you are ready to try it yourself, claim Shopify's current introductory offer — the $1/month for the first 3 months on eligible plans — and use this checklist as your roadmap: start your Shopify store today.

Sticky sidebar: CrazyClicks services card (link to /services).