Black Friday brings a surge of online shoppers eager to score the best deals without battling crowds at the mall. With nearly half of consumers choosing to browse and buy from home, your website needs to work harder than ever to capture attention and convert visitors. Making sure your site is fast, seamless, and strategically optimized can be the difference between getting noticed and getting lost in the noise.
Ensure a Fast & Efficient Website Experience
Did you know that online visitors give a website 50 milliseconds before deciding whether the site is worth their while. That’s because they realise that websites need to adhere to certain standards to be trustworthy. If it takes too long to load, shoppers experience something called “cognitive friction” that frustrates them and then causes them to have doubt in the brand.
Much like a shopper at a physical store, who will be tempted to leave if there are crowds and lengthy queues at the checkout counters, online shoppers will do the same if pages load slowly and orders take forever to process. The success of your online promotional campaign relies heavily on your web hosting’s ability to cater to an influx of traffic.
Make sure your site’s speed is impeccable. Even a one-second delay can cost you. With the holidays ahead, now is the perfect time to investigate your options, upgrade, or switch. The last thing you want is for your website’s performance to damage your reputation after all the hard work you’ve put in behind the scenes.
Update Your Website and Make Sure It’s Responsive
Your website needs to be a living, breathing representation of your brand. Whatever you are promoting should be front and centre on your site. It should be very easy for customers to find the deal they saw elsewhere online.
Display stock levels accurately, keep prices updated, and banners current. Most importantly, make sure your website is mobile-responsive. Over half of online purchases made during 2024’s Black Friday were made via mobile phones. If your site doesn’t display or function properly on smaller screens, you’ll lose out on a large portion of your purchasing audience.
Aim For Customer Service to the Max
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the perfect occasions to get exposure for your small business. Prepare to amaze customers with great service! Get extra help to assist with orders, get organised to simplify packing, etc. A little extra effort goes a long way; outstanding service can turn once-off bargain hunters into loyal brand advocates.
Create Great Deals That Add Value
Discounts are expected, but value is what customers will remember. Instead of slashing prices across the board, think strategically:
- Bundle complementary items for an irresistible combo deal.
- Reward loyal customers with exclusive early access or additional discounts.
- Add a freebie or a limited-time offer that feels like a bonus, not an afterthought.
- Launch a limited-time-only product.
Secure Your Website
Criminals are generally more active during the holidays, especially cybercriminals. Companies are preoccupied with serving customers, and customers with scoring great deals, leaving cybercriminals prowling the internet for weaknesses.
Ensure your website is protected with a valid SSL Certificate, and verify that your hosting provider offers regular backups, malware scanning, and DDoS protection. Remember: customers won’t complete a purchase on a site that looks suspicious or unsafe. Prioritising cybersecurity is just as important as advertising your deals.
Offer Multiple Payment Gateways, Including Flexible Payment Options
Online shopping isn’t a new or uncharted territory for South African consumers. By now, they have a preferred payment gateway, and if your e-commerce store doesn’t offer it, they might shop elsewhere. Flexible payment gateways such as Payflex or PayJustNow are gaining popularity, especially during high-spend seasons like Black Friday. Offering them could make the difference between a lost sale and a loyal customer.
Test Everything Before the Big Day
Don’t wait until Black Friday to find out that your website is ‘broken’ and something isn’t working. Conduct a full website stress test to simulate high traffic and ensure your site performs under pressure.
Double-check that:
- All links and product pages load correctly.
- Checkout, payment, and confirmation emails function smoothly.
- Discount codes are properly applied at checkout.
- Your mobile site is fast and fully responsive.
Ask a few colleagues or friends to test the shopping journey from start to finish. Fresh eyes often spot glitches you may miss. Fixing small issues before launch day can save you from losing money on the day itself.
Online Security Tips for Black Friday Shoppers
On Black Friday, the risk for cyber scams is higher than usual, and so here are our top tips for online consumer safety:
- Stick to familiar websites: The internet will be ripe with deals, but be cautious. If you’ve never heard about a company, don’t just click and “add to cart”. Do further homework about the company, or play it safe and stick to the brands you know and trust.
- Double-check URLs: Just because it says it’s a Takealot deal doesn’t mean the ad will take you to Takealot’s website. Double-check the URLs you are directed to.
- Look for the padlock: If the online store doesn’t have the little padlock icon in the URL address bar, don’t risk it!
- Trust your gut: If the deal sounds too good to be true, perhaps it is. Before trusting a deal, browse the internet to see if a similar scam isn’t doing the rounds. If you are still unsure, call the company’s customer service number.
- Read the fine print: It is never a good idea to skim over the Terms and Conditions section of any online store you do business with. When you are buying limited offer deals, the fine print is even more important! The last thing you want to do is to spend money on a great deal only to find out later that the delivery of your purchase is only scheduled for early next year.
At Domains.co.za, we are here to make your website perform at its best this Black Friday and Festive shopping season with our super-fast, highly secure, and reliable Web Hosting. Talk to our Support or Sales teams today to upgrade or sign up for one of our powerful and fast hosting plans.
