If your business runs promotions in January — or if you simply benefit from the post-Christmas wave of people researching purchases online — now is the time to prepare. Waiting until January to think about your website is like waiting until race day to check the tyres.
Test your site under load
The worst time to discover your website can’t handle traffic is when the traffic arrives. If you’re expecting a significant increase in visitors, it’s worth understanding your site’s limits. Basic load testing tools can simulate multiple visitors at once and reveal bottlenecks before they become problems.
If your site is on shared hosting, this is especially important. Shared servers slow down unpredictably because you’re competing with other sites for resources. A traffic spike that a dedicated server would handle easily might bring a shared host to its knees.
Speed up everything you can
Visitors arriving from January sale promotions are comparison shopping. They’ll visit three or four sites in quick succession. If yours is the slow one, you lose. The basics:
- Compress images — run every image through an optimiser
- Enable caching — so returning visitors get a faster experience
- Minimise redirects — each redirect adds delay
- Review plugins — deactivate anything you’re not actively using
Make sure your mobile experience is flawless
People browse sales on their phones while watching television, waiting in queues, and commuting. Your mobile experience needs to be fast, clear, and easy to navigate with one thumb. Pay particular attention to:
- Can visitors find what they’re looking for within two taps?
- Are your calls to action visible without scrolling?
- Does the contact form work properly on mobile?
- Can they phone you with one tap?
Update your content
If you’re running January promotions, make sure your website reflects that. Update your homepage, add relevant banner messaging, and ensure any special offers are clearly presented. There’s nothing worse than advertising a promotion that visitors can’t find when they arrive on your site.
Check your forms and contact methods
A surge in traffic should mean a surge in enquiries — but only if your contact form, phone number, and email are all working correctly. Test everything. Send a test submission through every form. Click every phone link. Make sure enquiries are going to an inbox someone actually checks.
Plan for the unexpected
Have a plan for what happens if something goes wrong. Know how to reach your hosting provider. Have a recent backup ready. Make sure someone technical is available during your busiest days, not on holiday.
At Red Web Cambridge, our managed hosting clients don’t need to worry about most of this — we handle performance monitoring, backups, and server management so you can focus on running your sale. If you’d like that peace of mind, get in touch before the rush begins.