DocumentationStorefront and publishing
Verify the live store and checkout
Confirm that the published storefront, catalog, cart, and payment checkout work as separate customer steps.
Entry path: After a successful publication, use the public URL or View store when the handoff offers it. On desktop, when the published-site menu is shown, open Storefront → published-site menu → View Site. The current mobile Storefront toolbar hides this menu.
Step 1 — Open the published storefront.
Step 2 — Browse the live catalog.
Step 3 — Check a live product page.
Step 4 — Add the product and inspect the cart.
Step 5 — Confirm the order summary before checkout.
What this covers
Prove that a customer can open the public store, find a real product, add an available option to the cart, and reach a usable checkout—without treating a successful publish message as proof of the whole journey.
Why and when to verify the live journey
Run this check after the first publication and after changes to products, navigation, pricing, inventory, shipping, payments, or checkout. The four results are independent:
- the storefront can be public;
- the intended catalog can be missing or stale;
- the cart can fail even when a product page loads; and
- checkout can be paused even when the storefront is live.
Availability and prerequisites
- A completed publication must provide a public URL.
- At least one intended product should be active, visible, priced, and available for the region you are testing.
- Shipping or delivery setup must cover the test destination when required.
- Stripe must be connected and checkout status must be Checkout live if you expect customers to pay.
- Do not complete a real purchase unless you intentionally want to place that order and understand the charge and fulfillment impact.
Open the live store
Use either path:
- After publication, select View store in the handoff; or
- On desktop when shown, select the published-site menu in Storefront, then select View Site; or
- Open workspace Settings → Shop: store name → Domain and select the published address, including on mobile when the Storefront menu is hidden.
The desktop published-site menu also offers Copy URL when shown, so you can test the same address in another browser session.
Live-store controls and results
| Control or status | What happens |
|---|---|
| Published URL | Opens the public storefront. Confirm the address is the one you intend to share. |
| View store / View Site | Opens the public URL in a new tab. This is different from Open in new tab inside Preview. |
| Copy / Copy URL | Copies the public URL for sharing or an independent browser test. |
| Storefront live | Runner found a public store URL that customers can browse and share. It does not confirm checkout. |
| Checking checkout | Runner is checking whether the store can accept payments. |
| Checkout live | Runner found an enabled Stripe connection. It does not test the selected product, shipping destination, checkout fields, or payment step; verify those separately. |
| Checkout paused | The public storefront is browseable, but payments are unavailable until Stripe is connected. |
| Checkout status unavailable | Runner could not determine the payment state. Select Retry checkout status before claiming checkout is ready. |
| Connect Stripe | Opens the payment-connection path. Only an eligible workspace owner or admin can complete it. |
| Skip for now | Closes the prompt without enabling payments. |
Test the customer journey
- Open the public URL in a fresh tab. For a stronger check, use a signed-out or private browsing session.
- Confirm the expected home page loads without Runner project controls.
- Follow the public navigation to a collection or product page.
- Confirm the intended product is visible with the correct title, media, price, and available options.
- Choose any required option, such as size or color.
- Select the storefront's add-to-cart control and confirm the cart count or cart contents change.
- Open the cart. Confirm product, option, quantity, price, and totals match what you selected.
- Start checkout and confirm the checkout page accepts the required customer and delivery information.
- Confirm the payment step is available if Runner reports Checkout live.
- Stop before the final purchase action unless a real test order is authorized.
- Repeat the core browse and cart steps on a phone-sized viewport or real mobile browser.
Record each result separately
| Check | Pass condition |
|---|---|
| Public URL | Opens without an access gate or missing-page state. |
| Navigation | Important links reach the intended public pages. |
| Catalog | The intended live product and its current data are visible. |
| Cart | Adding an available option produces the correct cart state. |
| Shipping | The intended destination has an expected delivery path when applicable. |
| Checkout | Customer can reach the payment step and Runner reports checkout live. |
| Mobile | Important content and purchase controls remain usable on a small screen. |
States, limits, and troubleshooting
| What you see | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Preview works but public URL fails | Preview and publication are different environments or versions. | Return to Runner, check publication status, and use Republish only after fixing the named issue. |
| Public site loads but product is missing | The storefront is live, but the intended catalog is not visible there. | Check product status, market, inventory, and whether the latest changes were published. |
| Add to cart is missing or disabled | The chosen product or option may not be sellable in this context. | Check availability, options, price, stock, and market setup in Store Operations. |
| Checkout paused | Payments are not connected. | Select Connect Stripe; do not advertise the store as ready for orders yet. |
| Checkout status unavailable | Runner cannot confirm the payment state. | Select Retry checkout status and independently open the checkout path. |
| Checkout opens but cannot continue | Product, shipping, market, customer fields, or payment setup may be incomplete. | Record the exact step and message, fix that setup, publish changes if needed, and retest from the public URL. |