This week, my goal is to help you prepare for the surge in online website traffic that you’ll receive during Black Friday. That is why I created ‘The Ultimate Website Checklist for a Seamless Shopping Experience’, to help streamline the process. You can find the checklist following checklist below:

• Website Loading Speed: You can check your load speed on Pingdom or PageSpeed Insights. The biggest issue with slow website speeds are larger images, so before you upload your images as is, consider compressing the file using Optimizilla for faster load speed! BONUS TIP FOR BETTER SEO: Name your images to involve relevant keywords. For example, renaming kslkgjiow.JPG to howtoutilizeseo.JPG.
• Website Responsiveness: I cannot stress this enough! We are in 2023, having a responsive website isn’t an option, it’s a necessity. Check all of your devices including, phone, tablets, and desktop. And since we’re talking about Black Friday, make sure the checkout process is seamless too!
• Inventory Check: Stay ready so you don’t have to get ready! If you have a physical product, keeping track of inventory is key. The demand will be high so instead of having customers complain about wait times, get one step ahead and prevent overselling products you don’t actually have on hand.
• Payment Integration: Double check that your discount codes work properly and that your transactions are processing smoothly. Customers love an easy checkout experience!
• User Experience: As the self-proclaimed ‘streamlining Queen’, you and I both know why customers are coming to your site on Black Friday. So why not make it easy to find the deals? Streamline the navigation flow to easy go from A to B to C.
• Security Measures: Ensure that your SSL certificate is up to date for secure transactions. This time of year is prone to scammers finding ways to steal credit card information. It’s important that no important or personal information is revealed.
• Promotional Banners and Messaging: Update banners and messaging to highlight Black Friday deals. As stated before, make it easy for your customers to find what they are looking for as clearly and visible as possible.
• Customer Support: Customer service 101 is to be as responsive and timely as possible during this time. This does not mean you should be on-call 24/7 because you deserve to spend time with your family too. What it means is implementing an FAQs section for quick resolution or having designated chat support hours within reason.
• Social Media Integration: The best compliment in business is a referral. Implementing social media sharing buttons for increased visibility is an added bonus to the ultimate shopping experience. If they’re sharing it, they’re lovin’ it!

Preparing your website for Black Friday covers the technical, operational and customer-centric aspects. This checklist can help you enhance the overall shopping experience, minimize potential issues and ensure a celebratory Black Friday sale for your business. Remember, a well-prepared Black Friday sale includes a seamless and enjoyable shopping experience on your website for your customers.