Good e-commerce projects start with requirements that are specific enough to guide design decisions. Teams should know what the shop sells, what payment methods matter, how delivery is explained, and which pages need to rank or convert before the first design mockup is approved.
A simple requirements list can prevent expensive rework: product data, checkout flow, trust signals, customer service routes, analytics and the content needed for key categories. These are business decisions as much as technical ones.
For smaller companies, a practical online shop build checklist can help connect the commercial goals with the actual pages, forms and checkout steps customers will use.
The goal is not to document everything forever. It is to make the first version focused enough that marketing traffic has a clear path to purchase.