Is Your Website Ready For Holiday Business?

With Thanksgiving just around the corner and Christmas shopping already ramping up, you don't want to be unprepared.

This year, especially, will bring tons of online shoppers who want to avoid going out to the stores and being in crowds. So, online businesses need to be ready.

Whether you sell products or certain services, your business could see a dramatic increase in holiday business over the next month. The last thing you want is for prospective customers to come to your website and find it not working properly or outdated.

Here are a few tips that you can quickly put into place to ensure a good shopping experience for your visitors.

Test Functionality

Go through the buying process, either yourself or a friend or family member. Notice any snags that are encountered along the way and fix them. Make the process as easy and smooth as possible for your customers. Frustrated people leave the site and usually don't return. Your goal, this holiday season, is to gain customers who will be happy with your products and service, and who will return themselves and tell others about you.

Check Your Inventory for Upcoming Holiday Business

Make sure you have enough products on hand to get you going. You can continue to create them as the season goes on, but you don't want to make customers wait a long time to get what they have ordered. Holiday business can sneak up on you, so be sure you're ready.

Is Your Website Up to Date?

This can make or break whether a customer stays on your site after they land there. You want to make sure you present a professional friendly image. Sometimes, making some simple changes, such as color choices, or updating photos/graphics can make a huge difference. A modern, professional and updated website lets others know you care about your business and are willing to invest your time and effort into keeping it up-to-date.

Also, if you sell products or services, check the information you have on there to make sure it's accurate. If you haven't edited your website in a few years but have raised your pricing or changed the look of some of your products, make sure that is what is shown on the website. Ensure the website reflects your current pricing, images and information.

Add Testimonials

This is a great time to add some current testimonials to your website. Whether it's a customer who loved your product or one who was very happy with your service, ask them to write up a short testimonial. Be sure to ask if it's ok if you use it and their name before you post it to your website.

Personally, I always look at reviews before I buy anything to see if people are generally happy with the product. These can really help move a customer from the "thinking about it" phase to making the purchase.

By taking these few tips and following through on them, it can make the difference between a happy return customer and a visitor who leaves quickly and frustrated.