NFT Collection Launch Checklist - Complete 2026 Guide

NFT Collection Launch Checklist (2026)

Everything you need to launch a successful NFT collection on Ethereum.

Art and Metadata

• [ ] Create artwork (10K collection or custom size)
• [ ] Upload images to IPFS (Pinata or nft.storage)
• [ ] Create JSON metadata files (name, description, attributes)
• [ ] Upload metadata folder to IPFS
• [ ] Set baseURI in contract to ipfs://CID/

Smart Contract

• [ ] Use OpenZeppelin ERC-721 base
• [ ] Set max supply (hard cap)
• [ ] Set mint price
• [ ] Add per-wallet limit
• [ ] Add pause/resume functionality
• [ ] Add withdraw function
• [ ] Test on Sepolia testnet

Whitelist (Optional but Recommended)

• [ ] Generate Merkle tree from whitelist addresses
• [ ] Set separate presale price
• [ ] Test Merkle proof verification

Launch

• [ ] Deploy mainnet contract
• [ ] Verify on Etherscan
• [ ] Test mint with 1 NFT
• [ ] Build mint page (React + ethers.js)
• [ ] List on OpenSea (automatic for ERC-721)

NFT template with all features: https://telegra.ph/Free-NFT-Smart-Contract-Template---ERC-721-2026-05-13

All templates: https://rentry.co/85pm7d8y