Opening-Soon Page
Build in Private, Then Open With One Button
A store is rarely ready on the day it is made. Mercayo keeps a new store out of Google and, if you choose, behind a password page while you add products and test checkout, then opens it to everyone with LAUNCH MY STORE.
- In every plan
- Free for 14 days
Kosha is a demo store on Mercayo. Its products, orders and customers are sample data.
In short
What It Does
Every new Mercayo store starts closed to the public. Two things keep it private until you launch:
Hidden from search engines, always. Before launch, every page tells search engines not to list it, robots.txt closes the whole store, and there is no sitemap. This does not depend on any setting.
A password page, if you choose (on to start with). Visitors see an Opening Soon page with your store's name ("Kosha is getting ready. Please come back soon."), in your store's look, and a password box. Someone with the password can look around for 7 days on that browser. Wrong passwords are slowed down after a few tries.
Your team always sees the store. "View store" from your admin and the editor's preview links skip the opening-soon page, so you can check every page as shoppers will see it.
Orders before launch are tests. A store that has not launched cannot take real orders: an order is accepted only as a test, placed with the email of someone on your team. That lets you try checkout, emails and invoices end to end without a stranger buying by accident.
One button to open. The Launch Your Store screen lists what is still needed (store details, how you get paid, tax, published policies, a plan, and deleting any sample products). When everything is done, the store owner presses LAUNCH MY STORE: the password page and the trial banner go, search engines are let in, the sitemap appears, and the store is live for everyone. Launching cannot be undone.
For your store
Why It Matters
Opening a store half-finished costs trust. A shopper who finds an empty collection, placeholder text or a ₹0 price through an early Google result may not come back, and a search engine that lists half-built pages remembers them.
Keeping the store private while you work lets you take your time: shoot photos, write your policies, check delivery charges to your own PIN code, and place test orders to see the emails and GST invoices your shoppers will get.
The password lets you share a preview with the people who should see it first: a partner, a photographer, a few loyal customers from your WhatsApp group, or an influencer before a festive launch. They see the real store; nobody else does.
And the launch checklist makes sure the things a shopper and the law expect, such as how you get paid, your tax set-up and published policies, are done before the first real order.
Step by step
How It Works
Your Store Starts Private
When you sign up, your store has its free address and is already hidden from search engines and behind the opening-soon page. You can add products, design pages and set up delivery straight away; nobody outside your team sees them. If you like, load sample products to see how a full store looks; they must be deleted before you launch.
Set the Password
Open Settings → Store Status (the Launch Your Store screen). In Password Page, Ask visitors for a password is on. Type a Password of 6 to 72 characters and press SAVE PASSWORD. Until one is set, nobody can get past the opening-soon page. Changing it signs everyone out of the preview. Switch the password off if you want visitors to see the store before launch; search engines are kept out either way.
Make the Words Yours
The opening-soon page is drawn in your store's colours and type, and appears in the Editor as the Password Page. Its words ("Opening Soon", "is getting ready. Please come back soon.", the password box and its hint) are texts you can change in Localization, like every other word of your store, for example to say when you open.
Place Test Orders
Place orders from your own store with the email of a team member. They go through checkout, emails and invoices exactly like real orders, so you see what shoppers will see. An order with any other email is refused until you launch, so nobody can buy by accident. Test orders are not real sales, so cancel them in your admin when you have seen what you needed.
Work Through the Checklist
Before You Launch lists what is left: Fill In Your Store Details, Choose How You Get Paid, Set Up Tax, Create and Publish Your Store Policies, Pay for a Plan and, if you loaded any, Delete the Sample Products. Each has FIX THIS, which takes you to the right screen. When nothing is left, the screen says "Everything needed is done. You can launch."
Launch
The store owner presses LAUNCH MY STORE and confirms LAUNCH. In one step the store opens to everyone: the password page and the trial banner disappear, search engines may list it and the sitemap appears. The screen says Your Store Is Live with VISIT YOUR STORE. The password settings disappear from Settings, because a launched store cannot go back behind the opening-soon page.
Your shoppers
What Your Shoppers See
Before launch, a visitor who finds your store sees a calm Opening Soon page in your store's colours, with your store's name and "Please come back soon", instead of half-finished pages. If you share the password with them, they type it in the box and look around the real store for 7 days on that browser; a wrong password says so, and many wrong tries ask them to wait a minute. Search engines show nothing of your store before launch. After launch, shoppers simply see your store, and the opening-soon page is gone for good.
Settings
Settings You Control
All are under Settings → Store Status → Password Page.
Mercayo
Mercayo's Controls
Mercayo's team can fix the password page on or off for a store, with a reason your admin shows ("Mercayo has set the password page for your store") and a record of who did it. Only your store owner can launch, and the checklist needs a paid plan. Mercayo cannot see your password: it is stored only as a one-way fingerprint. After launch, Mercayo can suspend a store that breaks the terms, but never puts a launched store back behind the opening-soon page.
Limits today
Good to Know Before You Start
- The password page keeps casual visitors and search engines out; it is not a security wall for secret content.
- The opening-soon page holds only its message and the password box: it has no sign-up form or countdown of its own.
- Launching cannot be undone, and the password page cannot come back after it.
- Real orders are refused until launch; only test orders by your team's emails go through.
Questions
About Opening-Soon Page
Can I let some people see my store before launch?
Yes. Set a password and share it with them. Once they enter it, they can look around on that browser for 7 days. Changing the password signs everyone out, so you can end the preview whenever you like. Search engines are kept out whatever the password, so a shared preview never reaches Google.
Will Google list my store before I launch?
No. Before launch, every page tells search engines not to list it, robots.txt closes the store and there is no sitemap, whether the password is on or off. When you launch, all of this is lifted in the same moment, and your sitemap appears for search engines to read.
How do I test checkout before launch?
Place an order with the email of someone on your team. It goes through like a real order, with its emails and invoice. Orders with any other email are refused until you launch. Test orders show in your admin like any other order, so you can practise confirming, packing and cancelling too.
What does LAUNCH MY STORE need?
Your store details, a way to get paid, tax set up, your policies published and a plan; sample products, if you loaded any, must be deleted. The Launch Your Store screen lists whatever is left, each with FIX THIS. Only the store owner can press it.
Can I go back to the opening-soon page after launching?
No. Launching opens the store for good, so links and search results you gather from then on keep working. If you need a pause, switch off the products you are not ready to sell. Before you press it, the confirmation says so plainly.
Can my team see the store while it is private?
Yes. View store from your admin and the editor's preview links skip the opening-soon page for your team. Visitors without the password see only the opening-soon page. The editor's preview links last 24 hours, so you can send one to a colleague for a quick look.
Related
Related Features
- Setup Guide and LaunchSign up with a one-time code, follow a setup guide ticked from your real store data, try a test order, and launch when the essentials are done.
- Sample DataLoad a small set of sample products for your kind of store to see how pages look, and remove exactly those rows with DELETE SAMPLE DATA before launch.
- Search EnginesClean addresses, your own titles and descriptions, product details Google can read, a sitemap and link previews for WhatsApp, on every store.
- Custom DomainsConnect a domain you own, like yourbrand.in, with a guided DNS check and an automatic secure certificate; your free Mercayo address always keeps working.
- Plans and BillingA free trial, then a monthly or yearly plan: your use against its limits, every payment with its GST invoice, and nothing deleted if a payment is late.
More in Online Store: Product Pages · Product Stories and Details · Collections and Filters · Store Search · Shop by Fit · Wishlist · Customer Accounts · After the Order · Content Pages and Blog · Personalisation · Shoppable Videos · Languages and Currencies · Installable Store · Page Speed · Search Engines · URL Redirects · Custom Domains
Try It on Your Own Store
Every feature is in every plan, free for 14 days.
