The Ecommerce Launch Checklist for Erbil Brands (Before You Take Your First Order)

Ecommerce launch checklist for Erbil brands

Launching a store in Erbil is different from launching in a market with one currency, one language, and mature courier APIs. Here's the checklist we run before any client store goes live.

Payments

• At least one Iraqi wallet live: FIB, FastPay, or Zain Cash
• Cash-on-delivery as a fallback — still dominant in Iraq
• IQD as the primary displayed currency

Catalog & language

• Arabic and Kurdish product titles/descriptions, not machine translation
• RTL layout tested on real devices — see our Arabic RTL ecommerce checklist

Speed & hosting

• Sub-3-second load on 4G — run your current site through our Website Speed Auditor
• Image compression and a CDN that performs well for Iraqi ISPs

Platform decision

• Shopify for speed to launch, custom for complex catalogs or heavy localization — see Shopify vs custom ecommerce in Iraq

Operations

• Shipping zones for Erbil, Baghdad, Basra, and Sulaymaniyah with realistic delivery windows
• WhatsApp order confirmation — customers expect it

Mesopo builds and launches Erbil stores end to end — see ecommerce services and our Erbil location page. Start your store.