Instructions: What Must Be Checked on a New OpenCart Website

1. Product Catalog

Category Pages Go through all main categories and subcategories. Check that: products are displayed, images are visible, names and prices are shown correctly.

Product Page Open several different products (simple product, product with options, product with specifications). Be sure to check:

  • Main image and additional images
  • Description, specifications, reviews
  • Price, old price (if there is a discount)
  • “Add to Cart” button — whether it works
  • Option selection (size, color, etc.) — whether it is displayed correctly

Filters and Sorting Open a category with a large number of products. Try:

  • filtering by price, brand, specifications
  • sorting by price, name, popularity

Site Search Enter different queries: exact product name, part of a word, brand name. Make sure the search works correctly.

Be sure to check that there are no empty pages or broken images anywhere on the website.

2. Cart and Checkout

This is a very important stage — go through it several times.

Adding Products to the Cart Add products in different ways: from the homepage, from a category, from a product page, with options.

Cart Page Check:

  • whether the product quantity changes
  • whether the price is recalculated correctly
  • whether a product can be removed

Checkout Process Go through the entire process:

  • as a guest (without registration)
  • as a registered user

Check:

  • shipping method selection (all options)
  • payment method selection
  • correctness of address input and saving
  • final order amount (with and without shipping)
  • order confirmation button
  • page after the order is placed

Additionally:

  • check an order with free shipping (if available)
  • test an order with a discounted product
  • check coupon and reward points functionality (if used)
  • make sure taxes are applied correctly

3. Customer Account

Registration Register as a new user. Check the confirmation email and correctness of the data.

Account Login Log in and out of the account several times.

Inside the Customer Account Check:

  • editing personal information
  • managing shipping addresses
  • order history (after test orders)
  • order details (status, items)

4. Admin Panel

Log into the admin panel and check:

  • Products — adding / editing / deleting
  • Categories — creation and editing
  • Orders — whether they are displayed, whether statuses can be changed, whether documents can be printed
  • Settings — name, phone number, email, currencies, etc.
  • Modules, Shipping, and Payment — whether everything is enabled and working

Tip: place a test order and immediately check how it appears in the admin panel.

5. SEO and Technical Settings

These points are not always visible to users, but they are critically important.

Check:

  • presence and correctness of robots.txt
  • presence and relevance of sitemap.xml

  • SEO information on key pages (categories, product pages, information pages, manufacturers, contacts):

  • meta-title

  • meta-description
  • image alt tags
  • hreflang (if multiple languages are used)
  • canonical

It is recommended to use SEO audit tools (including free ones) to check individual pages.

Also make sure:

  • the website redirects from www to non-www or from non-www to www
  • redirect from http to https (SSL) is working

6. Additional Checks

Cookie Notification Check whether the cookie notification is displayed:

  • whether it appears on the first visit
  • whether it can be accepted / closed
  • whether it does not appear again after acceptance

Mobile Version Open the website on a phone and check:

  • menu
  • catalog
  • product page
  • cart and checkout

Loading Speed Main pages (homepage, categories, products) should load quickly. You can check this for free using the free service PageSpeed Insights

Contact Forms If you have contact forms connected — send a test message — make sure it arrives in the email inbox. Also check all existing forms on the website. Was the email received / is the form submitted correctly.

Emails to Customers After placing an order, check the email:

  • correctness of order details
  • shipping address
  • customer information

What Should You Do If an Error Is Found?

  • Take a screenshot
  • Write down on which page and during which actions the issue occurred

Go through the entire checklist — it will take time, but it will significantly reduce the risk of problems after launch.

If everything was completed successfully — the store is ready to go live ????

Good luck! If something is unclear or you need help with testing — contact us, we provide these services and will be happy to help.