# Go live and take real orders > A new store starts in test mode. Finish the steps in the Set up your store card on your Overview, then press Go live. Your shop loses its "still being set up" notice, search engines can find it, and visitor analytics start. Help Centre / Getting started - Updated 28 October 2026 Every new store starts in **test mode** while you set it up. When your products, payments and delivery are ready, you press **Go live** on your dashboard's Overview and your shop opens to everyone. This article explains what test mode does and doesn't do, what you need before you can go live, and what changes when you do. ## What test mode means - **Shoppers see a notice** on your shop: "This shop is still being set up, but orders placed here are real." - **Search engines are kept away** from your shop until you go live. - **Visitor analytics don't start** until you go live. Test mode does **not** stop real payments. Once you connect a payment method, an order a shopper places and pays for is a real order, even before you go live, and it counts in your reports. The only orders that are tests are the ones you place yourself with **Place a test order**: you approve or decline the payment, no money moves, and they stay out of your reports. See [Take a test order](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/take-a-test-order.md). To check which mode your store is in, go to **Settings > General** and look at **Store mode** in the **Store details** card. It shows **Test** or **Live**. ## Before you begin The **Go live** button stays greyed out until every other step in the **Set up your store** card on your Overview is done. Each one ticks itself off when Shoprocket sees it is true: - **Add your first product.** See [Add your first product](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/add-your-first-product.md). - **Set up payments.** Connect a card gateway, or take payment by bank transfer. See [Choose a payment gateway](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/choose-a-payment-gateway.md). - **Set up delivery.** Add a shipping rate in **Settings > Shipping**. If nothing you sell needs shipping, such as digital downloads only, this step ticks itself off. - **Put your shop on your site, or build and open your shop.** If you sell on your own website, paste the embed code onto a page, and the step ticks off the first time someone visits it. If you sell on a Shoprocket shop, open your shop once from the dashboard. See [Embed Shoprocket on any website](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/embed-on-any-website.md) or [Your hosted shop](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/your-hosted-shop.md). We recommend placing a test order before you go live. The card offers **Place a test order** under **Try your checkout**. ## Go live 1. In your dashboard, open **Overview**. 2. In the **Set up your store** card, click **Go live**. 3. Read the **Go live?** window. It lists what changes: - It removes the "still being set up" notice shoppers see on your shop. - It lets search engines find your shop. - It starts recording visitor analytics. 4. If you placed test orders, you can tick **Also delete my test orders**. This also removes the test customers, gift cards, download links and licence keys they created. Your products and settings stay exactly as they are. 5. Click **Go live**. To wait, click **Not yet**. ![The Go live? window listing what changes, with the Also delete my test orders box and the Not yet and Go live buttons](https://v3.shoprocket.io/img/help/go-live/go-live-dialog.webp) The card changes to **Your store is live**. Click **Got it** to put it away. **Going live can't be undone.** There is no switch back to test mode. You can still place test orders any time from **Orders** or **Settings > Payments**, and they stay out of your reports. If you need to stop selling for a while, pause your store instead (see below). **Hid the setup card?** While your store is in test mode, a rocket sits at the top of every dashboard page, with a number showing how many steps are left. Click it to open **Setup progress**: every step is listed there, and the last one has its own **Go live** button. The rocket stays until your store is live, whether or not you hid the card. ## If Go live asks you to choose a plan If a web designer built your store for you as a client store, it is free while it is being built, and it needs a paid plan before it can go live. The **Go live** step says **This client store is free while you build it. Choose a plan to go live.** Click **Choose a plan**, pick one in **Settings > Billing**, and then go live. ## Your free trial and your plan Every new store has a 14-day free trial. You can go live during the trial. **Settings > Billing** shows when your trial ends, and is where you choose a plan. If the trial ends before you choose a plan, your dashboard shows **Your free trial has ended: choose a plan to keep going**. From then on your shop stops taking orders and you can't make changes, but shoppers can still browse it and nothing is deleted. Choose a plan and everything works again straight away. ## Pausing or closing your store later If you need to stop selling for a while, go to **Settings > Pause or close**: - **Pause my store** keeps your shop online so people can still browse it, and stops anyone buying. Your subscription pauses too. You can show your own message under **What shoppers see while you are paused**. Click **Start selling again** to reopen. - **Close my store** takes your shop offline for good and ends your subscription at the end of the period you have paid for. We keep your data for 30 days in case you change your mind, and you can reopen it during that time. Neither one deletes anything. ## Related - [Open Billing in your dashboard](https://app-v3.shoprocket.io/go/settings/billing) - [Open Pause or close in your dashboard](https://app-v3.shoprocket.io/go/settings/pause) - [Take a test order](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/take-a-test-order.md) - [Set up your store](https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/set-up-your-store.md) --- - HTML version: https://v3.shoprocket.io/help/go-live - Language: English (en) - Also in: [العربية](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ar/help/go-live.md), [Deutsch](https://v3.shoprocket.io/de/hilfe/live-gehen.md), [Ελληνικά](https://v3.shoprocket.io/el/help/go-live.md), [Español](https://v3.shoprocket.io/es/ayuda/salir-en-directo.md), [Français](https://v3.shoprocket.io/fr/aide/mettre-en-ligne.md), [עברית](https://v3.shoprocket.io/he/help/go-live.md), [हिन्दी](https://v3.shoprocket.io/hi/help/go-live.md), [Bahasa Indonesia](https://v3.shoprocket.io/id/bantuan/tayang-dan-terima-pesanan-nyata.md), [Italiano](https://v3.shoprocket.io/it/aiuto/andare-online.md), [日本語](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ja/help/go-live.md), [Lietuvių](https://v3.shoprocket.io/lt/pagalba/pradekite-veikti.md), [Norsk](https://v3.shoprocket.io/nb/hjelp/ga-live-og-ta-imot-ekte-bestillinger.md), [Nederlands](https://v3.shoprocket.io/nl/hulp/live-gaan-en-echte-bestellingen-aannemen.md), [Polski](https://v3.shoprocket.io/pl/pomoc/uruchom-sklep.md), [Português](https://v3.shoprocket.io/pt/ajuda/entrar-no-ar.md), [Română](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ro/ajutor/activeaza-magazinul.md), [Русский](https://v3.shoprocket.io/ru/help/go-live.md), [ไทย](https://v3.shoprocket.io/th/help/go-live.md), [Türkçe](https://v3.shoprocket.io/tr/yardim/yayina-girme.md), [中文](https://v3.shoprocket.io/zh/help/go-live.md)