Bitcoin Storefront Checklist — 31 Checks

Updated 22 October 20266 minute readBy Satoshi Shelf

Thirty-one checks that separate a storefront that accepts Bitcoin from one that leaks files, loses payments, or cannot answer a buyer. No email required. Print it and work through it.

If you only do five: use a self-custody wallet, quote in fiat with a locked BTC amount, verify the transaction server-side, put the file behind an expiring token, and publish a refund policy. Those five prevent most of the expensive mistakes.

Wallet and keys (5)

Use a self-custody wallet. You control the keys; an exchange balance is not a store wallet. Back up the seed offline. Test recovery on a second device before you take a real payment. Decide on addresses. Prefer a fresh address per order. If that is not possible, use a dedicated address per product and a unique amount window. Test a tiny real payment. Send a small amount to yourself and confirm it appears where you expect. Plan for device loss. Write down who can recover the wallet and how. Do not leave that answer in your head.

Pricing and checkout (6)

Price in fiat. Keep a price you understand, then convert to BTC at checkout instead of guessing a BTC price. Lock the quote. Show an expiry time — ten to fifteen minutes is plenty — and enforce it. Use integer sats. Avoid floating-point BTC amounts and rounding mismatches. Show the exact amount. QR code, copyable address, satoshi amount, and a bitcoin: URI if you support it. Explain the miner fee. Make it clear that the buyer pays the network fee and the received amount may differ from a card total. Decide the underpayment rule. Exact amount or a stated tolerance; enforce it server-side and show a helpful error.

Verification (5)

Verify existence. Reject unknown, malformed, or testnet transaction IDs. Verify the destination. Match the exact receiving address for this order, not a substring or a label. Verify the amount. Sum the outputs to your address in sats and compare with the quote. Prevent replay. Mark consumed transaction IDs, and bind each payment to one order with a unique address or amount window. Set a confirmation threshold. Publish it. Zero-conf may be fine for a $4 file and wrong for a $200 one.

Delivery (5)

Keep files out of the public root. A public URL is a permanent leak, even if you delete it later. Issue a short-lived token. Sign it server-side and scope it to one product and one order. Make it expire. Fifteen minutes is enough for a download link. Do not create permanent URLs. Stream, do not expose. The token should authorize a server-side read, not reveal a permanent file path. Test the unhappy paths. Expired token, wrong product, reused txid, underpayment, and explorer timeout.

Trust and policy (4)

Publish a refund policy. Digital goods are often final, but the buyer should know before paying. Describe exactly what they get. File types, sizes, formats, and whether there is a preview. Show a support channel. A real email address or Telegram handle beats a dead contact form. Do not overclaim privacy. “No account” is not the same as “anonymous.” Say what you collect and what the chain reveals.

Launch and discovery (6)

Write unique titles and descriptions. Every product page should answer a specific query, not repeat the homepage. Add Product and Organization schema. Use accurate prices, availability, and URLs. Publish a sitemap and canonical URLs. Keep checkout and preview pages out of the index if they duplicate products. Link from guides and categories. Crawlers and buyers should not need to guess where the product lives. Publish one useful guide. Answer the question a buyer asks before they trust you with money. Ask early buyers for permission-based feedback. A real quote, used with consent, is worth more than a fake review.

Want the implementation?

The Bitcoin Storefront Starter Kit is a working storefront with the payment flow already wired: live BTC quotes, QR checkout, on-chain verification, and gated delivery.

See the starter kit Read the seller guide

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FAQ

Is this checklist really free?

Yes. There is no email gate, no account, and no download form. Print the page or save it as a PDF from your browser.

Do I need every item to launch?

No. The five-item “if you only do five” list covers the minimum. The rest reduces the odds of a support ticket, a leaked file, or a payment you cannot reconcile.

Does this apply to Lightning?

Most of it does. Wallet handling, pricing, delivery, and policy still matter. Lightning adds channel liquidity and routing, so test that path separately before claiming support.

What should I do after launch?

Take one real payment, watch the full flow, and ask the buyer what was confusing. Fix that before adding more products or another payment rail.

The Bitcoin storefrontlaunch checklist.

Wallet and keys (5)

Pricing and checkout (6)

Verification (5)

Delivery (5)

Trust and policy (4)

Launch and discovery (6)

Want the implementation?

Related guides

FAQ

The Bitcoin storefront
launch checklist.