The holiday season is upon us and for the e-commerce sector, it is the time of the year when they make their chunk of the annual sales. The two big days that are Black Friday and Cyber Monday are days when the profits of an online store can grow anywhere up to 20% as per a research by Deloitte. This time of the year, your websites need to be prepared to handle the excessive traffic that will be landing on it. There are many things that you must do to prepare your online store for these days. Everything from ensuring the site does not crash to optimizing its design. You cannot afford to miss this opportunity for making the most of this season.
Here are some steps you can take to ensure your website’s preparedness –
Spread the Cheer through Design
Your website may already have a very peppy design but you want it to look different on Black Friday. You want the visitors to feel like it is a special day and you know it. Adding some holiday-related stock images on the site and changing up the design of your homepage to make it look more holiday like can be an added advantage. Remember that design has a big impact on visitors and your homepage is like the cover of the book that most people judge your site by.
Ensure Proper Loading Speed
With so many websites to choose from, if prospective customer clicks on your link and the site take forever to load, that customer is never returning. A quick load speed is necessary to ensure a positive user experience and can lead to more returning visitors to the site. The loading on mobile devices is very important as a majority of shoppers use their smartphones for making online purchases these days. You do not want to miss out on sales simply because your site does not load fast enough on mobile devices.
Test for Malware
Malware can cause your website to slow down and also disrupt its many functionalities. Even though you may have a protocol in place for regular malware testing, you can do a few days before the big day to make sure there is no malware infecting the website and hampering its overall performance. If any malware is detected, you must work on removing it and recovering your site in time.
Online Promotion
Proper Internet marketing is needed to get the word out about the various discounts your online store is offering. Capitalize on social media to entice your followers to visit your site on Black Friday and Cyber Monday by strategically planning your posts for times when people are most likely online. Leave no platform behind. Update posts every way on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram to Pinterest, Snapchat and even Tumblr. Run paid promotions as well to gain a competitive edge.
Create A Sense of Urgency
This is something you can tie-up with your online promotions. Whenever there are any exclusive sales coming up, you must create a sense of urgency about it. Use words like “limited period offer” or “once in a lifetime deals” etc on social media or in your email campaigns. This creates a Psychological impact on the shopper’s mind. You can also use such terms on your website or landing page’s content.
So, these were some of the steps you can all take to make sure you have a profitable Black Friday weekend as well as a prosperous holiday season ahead with your e-commerce store. For any help with your online marketing, website maintenance, and web design, contact Clap Creative today.
