--- title: "Black Friday Checklist 2026: What to Check First in Your Online Store" url: "https://aov.ai/blog/black-friday-checklist/" kind: "post" lang: "en" description: "A short Black Friday checklist for online stores: five checks to do first, then the tasks for each week until Cyber Monday, 30 November 2026." slug: "black-friday-checklist" author: "Daniel Ha" author_url: "https://aov.ai/author/daniel-ha/" published_at: "2026-10-12T10:04:00.000Z" updated_at: "2026-10-12T10:04:00.000Z" categories: ["Shopify"] tags: ["BFCM","Black Friday","Cyber Monday"] feature_image: "https://aov.ai/images/blog/black-friday-checklist/black-friday-checklist-next-to-online-store.webp" --- # Black Friday Checklist 2026: What to Check First in Your Online Store ## Key Takeaways ### Black Friday 2026 is on Friday 27 November Cyber Monday, the last day of the sale, is on Monday 30 November. ### Five checks come before every other task They cover your offer, a purchase on your phone, your home and product pages, shipping and returns, and stock and support. ### Plan in weeks 7 to 5, test in weeks 4 to 2 In the final week before the sale, keep changes to your store small. ### Most checklist tasks need no developer You can do them in your Shopify admin, and a developer helps when the problem is in theme or app code. ### One checklist can't fit every store The free Shopify store audit from AOV.ai helps you identify the problems that stop customers from buying in your own store. Black Friday 2026 is on Friday 27 November. This checklist starts with five checks for your online store, then lists the tasks for each week until the sale ends. If you start late, do the five checks first, then continue from the week you are in. You may also see the name BFCM checklist: here is [what BFCM means](https://aov.ai/blog/what-is-bfcm/). ## Do These 5 Checks First If you have little time, do these five checks before any other task. The examples use Shopify. You can do each check yourself, and we note where a developer may help. - **Test your offer at checkout**, in your Shopify admin. A discount that fails at checkout can stop the order. - **Buy a product on your phone**, with a test order. Shopify says [most BFCM traffic comes from phones](https://www.shopify.com/uk/blog/bfcm-checklist). - **Show the offer on home and product pages**, in the theme editor. Customers should see the same offer and price on every page. - **Make shipping and returns easy to find**, on your FAQ page. Customers should know the shipping time and the return policy before they pay. - **Confirm stock and customer support**, with your team. You can sell only the stock you have, and every question needs an answer. ### 1. Test Your Offer at Checkout Add a product to your cart and check that the discount is applied at checkout. Shopify says to test both discount codes and automatic discounts. Then check the dates of each discount. A discount has a start date, and you can [set an end date](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-types/percentage-fixed-amount) so it stops when your sale ends. ### 2. Buy a Product on Your Phone Place one order on your phone, from the product page to the confirmation email. Shopify has a test mode for payments. You aren't charged for orders you place in it, as its [guide to test orders](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/checkout-settings/test-orders) explains. End test mode right after the test, because customers can't place real orders while it's active. You can also place a real order, then cancel and refund it. ![A phone with a store page leans on a parcel, beside five steps of a test order, from the product page to the order email.](https://aov.ai/images/blog/black-friday-checklist/one-test-order-on-a-phone.webp) _Sample store built for this article._ ### 3. Show the Offer on Home and Product Pages Open your home page and one product page the way a customer would. The offer, the price, and the end date should be the same in every place. The theme editor in Shopify lets you update your home page without writing code. You can also use its [mobile preview](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/customizing-themes/theme-editor/features-overview) to see each page as it looks on a phone. If the editor can't make a change you need, contact the developer of your theme. ### 4. Make Shipping and Returns Easy to Find Before they pay, customers should find two answers easily: when the order arrives, and how to return it. Update your FAQ page with your shipping times, your return policy, and the terms of the sale. Then show the shipping time again at checkout, so customers know when to expect their order. ### 5. Confirm Stock and Customer Support Check the stock of every product in your offer. Shopify notes that ordering stock often needs to start months before the sale. If you can't order more now, build your offer around the stock you have. Then decide who answers customers during the sale, and send a test message through your contact form. These five checks are the same for every store. To find the problems in your own store, you can also get a free Shopify store audit from AOV.ai. ## Weeks 7 to 5: Plan Your Offers and Pages With seven to five weeks left, decide your offer and prepare the pages that will show it. In [its own checklist](https://www.shopify.com/uk/blog/bfcm-checklist), Shopify says ecommerce stores should start by early autumn, or the beginning of November at the latest. So with seven weeks left, you still have time for every task in this list. ![Five stages of a Black Friday plan: plan offers, test your store, keep changes small, watch orders, then say thank you.](https://aov.ai/images/blog/black-friday-checklist/black-friday-plan-week-by-week.webp) _Sample store built for this article._ - Choose your offer and its dates. For ideas, read our [Black Friday sale ideas](https://aov.ai/blog/black-friday-sale-ideas/). - Choose the products for the offer from the stock you have. - Create each discount in your admin, with a start date and an end date. - List the pages to update: home page, product pages, cart, and FAQ. - Before you change your theme, [make a copy of it](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/managing-themes/duplicating-themes), so you can go back if you need to. In your Shopify admin, this action is called Duplicate. - Write the emails that announce the sale to your customers. ## Weeks 4 to 2: Test Your Store With four to two weeks left, test your store from the home page to the order email, and fix what you find. Shopify hosts your store on fast, global servers. It doesn't limit the data your store can send to visitors, as its [guide to store performance](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/web-performance/improving-web-performance) explains. So for a busy sale, the part you control is the speed of your pages. The biggest factors are your theme, the apps you installed, and any other code you added to your store. - Place a test order on a phone and on a computer, and check that the confirmation email arrives. - Test every discount code and automatic discount at checkout. - Open the [web performance reports](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/web-performance/web-performance-reports) from the Themes page of your Shopify admin. - Remove the apps you don't use. - **May need a developer:** removing an app doesn't automatically remove its code from your theme. Ask the app developer how to remove it. - **May need a developer:** if your theme comes from another company and your pages are slow, contact the theme developer or a Shopify Partner. For the full steps, read how to [prepare your store for Black Friday](https://aov.ai/blog/prepare-store-for-black-friday/). ## The Final Week: Keep Changes Small In the last week before the sale, change as little as possible, because there is not much time to test. - Wait until after the sale to add a new theme or a new app, unless you can test it first. - If a change is necessary, make it on a copy of your theme, then check the copy before you publish it. - Decide who answers customers on each day of the sale. - Prepare short answers to the questions you expect: shipping time, returns, and discount terms. - Read your FAQ page once more, and correct anything that changed. ## Black Friday to Cyber Monday: Watch and Respond During the sale, watch your orders every day and respond on the same day. The sale period starts on Black Friday, 27 November 2026, and ends on Cyber Monday, the Monday after it, 30 November. We calculated these dates from the [official US holiday calendar](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/) and [the definition from Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/uk/blog/bfcm-2020). - Check your first orders: the discount is applied, and the confirmation email arrives. - Watch your stock, and hide products that are out of stock. - Ship orders in the time you promised, and tell customers immediately if an order is late. - Answer customer questions on the same day. - Write down every problem you see, because you'll need this list after the sale. ## After Cyber Monday: Review and Thank Customers After Cyber Monday, end the offer in every place, then review the results of the sale. - Check that each discount ended on the date you set. - Remove the sale messages from your home page and product pages. - Handle returns the way your return policy says. - Write down what worked and what didn't: the offer, the pages, and the problems. - Thank your new customers by email. ## Check Your Own Store This checklist is the same for every store, so it can't show the problems in your own store. At AOV.ai, we offer a free Shopify store audit. It helps you identify the problems that stop customers from buying, so you can resolve them before the sale begins. ### What stops customers from buying? Free Shopify store audit from AOV.ai - Check your own store - Identify the problems - Resolve them before the sale begins Get a free Shopify store audit ![A magnifying glass moves over a store page on a phone and marks two prices set in small text.](https://aov.ai/images/blog/what-is-bfcm/box/magnifying-glass-checks-store-page.gif)![A magnifying glass moves over a store page on a phone and marks two prices set in small text.](https://aov.ai/images/blog/what-is-bfcm/box/magnifying-glass-checks-store-page.webp) ## Frequently Asked Questions ### When Should I Start Preparing for Black Friday? Start as early as you can. [Shopify says](https://www.shopify.com/uk/blog/bfcm-checklist) early autumn, or the beginning of November at the latest. If you have less time, do the five checks first, then follow the weeks in this checklist. ### How Do I Stop My Store from Crashing on Black Friday? Shopify hosts your store on fast, global servers, as its [guide to store performance](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/web-performance/improving-web-performance) explains. Your part is the speed of your pages. Check your theme, remove the apps you don't use, and review any other code you added to your store. ### Can I Combine Discounts on Shopify? Yes, when you allow it for each discount. You select the types of discount it can combine with: product, order, or shipping discounts. Not every combination is available to every store, so read [how discounts combine on Shopify](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-combinations) and test your offer at checkout. Our guide on how to [prepare your store for Black Friday](https://aov.ai/blog/prepare-store-for-black-friday/) explains the steps.