Essential website tips to preparing for the Christmas holidays!

The Christmas season is fast approaching, and your website plays a crucial role in keeping customers informed!

A few simple updates can reduce enquiries, avoid confusion, and build trust during your busiest time of year.

Here are the essential updates every business should make before the holiday rush begins.

Display your holiday closure dates.

Make it easy for customers to see when you’re closed or running reduced hours.

Add a pop-up to your site before your holiday period and continue it until your hours are back to normal.

Include your last operating day, reopening date, and expected response delays.

Communicate your delivery cutoff dates.

If you ship products, customers need to know whether their order will arrive before Christmas.

Display the cutoff time on your site's homepage, and on the store, product and checkout pages.

Block out the dates over your holiday period.

For e-Commerce sites:

Ensure you block out delivery and pickup dates. 

For Online Booking sites:

Ensure you update your availability.

This helps customers plan ahead and avoid disappointment.

Update your Google My Business listing.

Your Google My Business listing is typically the first touchpoint users will look at to see if you are open. 

Update your opening / availability hours on your Google My Business listing. 

Prepare automatic email responses.

Set up auto-replies to manage expectations while you're away.

Include on the email your closure dates, expected reply times, helpful links and how they can get in contact with you if it's urgent (optional)

Final Thoughts

Improving your website’s search rankings doesn’t always require a massive investment of time or money. These five simple fixes can make a significant impact almost immediately. By focusing on speed, mobile optimization, link health, on-page SEO, and internal linking, you can improve your website’s performance and climb the search engine rankings.

Need help with your website’s Search Performance? 

At Contour Digital we can help you to optimise your site for better rankings and increased visibility!