The holiday season is starting to roll around.  With Thanksgiving done, people are starting to look for the perfect presents for family and friends.  And those presents could come from your business!  Now's a good time to get your website in tip top shape for the holiday season.

 

1. Necessary Updates.  Typically these updates should be done several times a year.  This is just the general checking up on everything, making sure everything is working, and maximizing effectiveness.  Since it's the holiday season, it's very likely there's going to be an increased amount of people looking at your website.  That means it's important now, more than ever, to make sure everything is in perfect condition.  Make sure all forms work, such as a signup for a newsletter.  Make sure all pages are functioning.  Make sure all product descriptions are clear and concise.  If you find that certain buttons or widgets aren't garnering the response you'd hoped, replace them.  Have outdated information or photos?  Make sure you go in and update them.  And most importantly, don't wait until the last minute to do these things!  People are already shopping.  It's possibly people have been shopping since Halloween.  So don't wait around to get these updates done; people are already looking at your website!

 

2. Traffic Capabilities.  From previous years, or previous months, you should be able to predict how much traffic your website will receive.  It's a good idea to have these kinds of numbers in mind, that way you can prepare for what's to come.  One important thing is that the server you website exists in can handle the amount of online traffic it will receive.  Make sure your website can handle these spikes in traffic increase, especially if you're having some type of sale or promotion.  Your site being down will irritate potential customers, as well as make your business lose sales.  

 

3. Go Mobile.  If you haven't done it already, make sure your website is mobile-capable.  In this day and age, so many shoppers are purchasing stuff from mobile devices, such as tablets, phones, etc.  In fact, last Black Friday, 1 out of every 4 retail website visits were from mobile shoppers.  25% of sales is a lot to miss out on if you don't have a mobile site available.  And make sure that your mobile website isn't just a smaller version of your current website. It should be mobile-friendly and geared towards the behaviors of mobile shoppers.

 

4. Share-ability.  People want to share what they're buying with their friends, family, etc.  That could be your products that they're sharing with the world.  Make sure that your products are share-able on all the major social media outlets, and encourage your customers to share their favorite products.  Businesses have seen that one of the best sharing buttons for social media is Pinterest's "Pin it" button.  

 

5. Checking Out.  It's the final step.  And' it's quite possible it's the most important step.  The customer has already gone through your website, read about your products, and decided that they want to buy something.  And this is where your website's functionality becomes crucial.  Checking out should be a simple and easy experience for the customer.  Before the holidays you should run some tests on which types of check-outs work best.  For example, you could try A/B testing.  By doing A/B testing you can find out if users find any of the information confusing, or if certain buttons or phrases don't get seen.  It's a great way to get your checkout working to the best of its ability, and leaving customers satisfied with their purchase.

 

For more information on how to optimize your website for the holidays, contact a Blue Archer Professional.

 

Michelle Hawley

Digital Content Writer

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