E-commerce Website Checklist Tehran: 15 Steps Before You Pay

Tehran's e-commerce market is crowded — Digikala set expectations high, Yet many stores launch with lorem ipsum products, slow templates, and no plan to rank for product searches.

Use this 15-step checklist before you pay for an online store in 2026 (1405). It turns a vague "e-commerce website" quote into a store that can sell from day one.

Our full scope for Tehran stores is here: e-commerce website in Tehran.

Strategy First: What Are You Really Building?

Are you moving Instagram sales to a proper store, replacing a slow WooCommerce shop, or launching a marketplace? Each needs a different platform and checkout. Define: product count today and in 12 months, payment methods (ZarinPal, SnapPay, COD), shipping zones, and must-have integrations.

Align this with the service scope on our Tehran e-commerce service before comparing quotes.

The 15-Step Checklist

A. Foundation

1. Platform decision in writing — WooCommerce, Shopify, or headless Next.js? Why that choice for your catalogue? Avoid a stack chosen only because the agency knows it.

2. Custom Figma first — demand a Figma preview before code. Templates are heavy on mobile and look dated quickly.

3. One-page mobile checkout — guest checkout, sticky cart, address autocomplete. Every extra step loses 10–20% of buyers.

B. Catalogue & Operations

4. Product limits and variants — how many SKUs, variants (size/color), and images per product without extra fees?

5. Payments spelled out — ZarinPal/SnapPay, installment, COD, and refund flow with per-transaction fees listed.

6. Shipping logic itemised — zones, weight tables, courier options, free-shipping rules, and returns.

7. Inventory and orders — stock sync, low-stock alerts, order statuses, SMS/email notifications.

8. Admin your team can use — can a non-developer add a product and process a refund from a phone in 3 minutes?

C. Performance & Trust

9. Speed is contractual — LCP < 2.5s on product pages for mobile (PageSpeed Insights), not a promise.

10. Trust signals — real photos, Enamad, reviews, warranty, return policy, and secure checkout badges.

D. SEO That Actually Sells

11. Product and category SEO — unique titles, Product/Breadcrumb/FAQ schema, sitemaps, internal linking.

12. Faceted navigation done right — filters crawlable without creating infinite duplicate URLs.

13. Blog that answers buyer questions — comparisons and buying guides that bring Tehran search traffic.

E. Ownership & Growth

14. Ownership and portability — you own code, domain, content, and data and can move hosting freely.

15. Yearly costs and support in writing — hosting, domain, SSL, licenses, SMS, gateway fees, plus SLA.

Quick-Score Table

| # | Area | Ask This | Red Flag | |---|------|----------|----------| | 1 | Platform | Why this stack for my SKUs? | "We only do WooCommerce" | | 2 | Design | Figma before code? | Only demo links | | 3 | Checkout | 1-page guest checkout? | Forced signup | | 4 | Payments | Gateways + COD + refunds? | "Payment later" | | 5 | Shipping | Zones + tables + returns? | Flat rate only | | 6 | Speed | LCP < 2.5s contract? | "Fast enough" | | 7 | SEO | Product schema + sitemap? | "SEO is separate" | | 8 | Admin | Add product in 3 min? | Developer-only | | 9 | Ownership | Own code & data? | Locked hosting | | 10 | Support | SLA in writing? | Pay-per-ticket only |

Printable Checklist: Score Your Quote

• [ ] Platform chosen for your SKU count, not agency habit
• [ ] Custom Figma before code, not a demo template
• [ ] One-page guest checkout with sticky cart
• [ ] Payments (ZarinPal/SnapPay/COD) + refund flow included
• [ ] Shipping zones, weight tables, and returns defined
• [ ] Stock sync, order status, SMS/email notifications
• [ ] Admin: add product and coupon from phone in 3 minutes
• [ ] Speed guarantee LCP < 2.5s on mobile (contract)
• [ ] Trust: real photos, reviews, warranty, return policy
• [ ] SEO: product schema, sitemap, internal linking
• [ ] Faceted navigation without duplicate URL explosion
• [ ] Blog plan for buyer questions in Tehran
• [ ] You own code, data, and domain; free to move
• [ ] Yearly costs itemised (hosting, licenses, SMS, gateway %)
• [ ] Support SLA: duration, response time, bug vs. feature

Score every proposal 0/1 on each of the 15. The highest score — not the lowest price — is the cheapest year-one cost. A 70M quote scoring 14/15 beats a 35M quote scoring 6/15.

Ready for a second pair of eyes? Send us your quotes and product list — we will score them line by line, even if you do not choose us.