December is when small mistakes show. A website that still lists summer hours, a contact form that nobody is watching, or a shop that slows down on mobile will lose people who were ready to buy or book.
If you sell online, pair this list with is your ecommerce website ready for peak season?. The points below apply whether you take bookings, quote for work, or run a counter.
Before the diary fills up
- Opening hours on the website, Google Business Profile and social bios — including shutdown dates
- Phone and form tested from a mobile, with replies going to someone who is actually in
- Seasonal offers with an end date, so January does not still advertise a Christmas deal
- Delivery or lead-time cut-offs written in plain language
- Page speed on a phone — compressed images, especially if you have added festive banners
Do not forget Google
A lot of local Christmas searches never reach your homepage. They stop on the map listing. Update holiday hours there too. Our guide to Google Business Profile for North East firms covers the rest of the listing.
Hosting and certificates should not be an extra surprise in December. An expired SSL padlock or a full mailbox will do more damage than a missing snowflake graphic. If speed has been on the list all year, why website speed matters is the short version.
Garvey's IT can check the site, hosting and Google listing together — web design, hosting and social from one team in Stockton-on-Tees. Ask for a pre-Christmas website check while there is still time to fix what you find.
Common questions
When should a local business update its website for Christmas?
Late October or early November. Opening hours, delivery cut-offs and seasonal offers need to be live before people start searching. Leaving it until the week of Christmas means you are editing the site while customers are already trying to call.
Do service businesses need a Christmas page if they do not sell online?
They need accurate hours and a working contact route more than a themed page. Trades, clinics and professional firms lose work when Google and the website still show a summer timetable or a phone number that is not staffed.