Before the December Scramble: Seven Website Jobs That Protect Christmas Sales
Photo: Stephen Sweeney, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Christmas has a habit of arriving while you are still unpacking the autumn stock. By 8 November 2026, the sensible move is not a last-minute redesign. It is a short, slightly boring, highly effective tune-up of the parts customers rely on when they are deciding whether to buy from you. The aim is simple: fewer confused messages, fewer abandoned baskets and fewer phone calls asking whether you are open on Christmas Eve. Here are seven jobs worth doing now, roughly in order of how much grief they prevent.
1. Put festive hours where people actually look
Do not bury Christmas opening times on a contact page three clicks deep. Add a short line to the header or footer, update the contact page and change your Google Business Profile at the same time. Include the awkward days: Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and the first normal day back. Use exact dates rather than 'see social media for details'. If you are closing early, say when. If you are open only for click and collect, say that too. Customers are not being lazy; they are trying to work out whether a trip into town is worth it.
2. Make delivery cut-offs impossible to miss
Last posting dates are one of the most searched bits of information in November and December. Put your standard and tracked delivery cut-offs on the homepage, in the basket and on product pages. Say what happens after the cut-off: collection only, local delivery, or dispatch in January. If you rely on Royal Mail, Evri or a courier, add a gentle caveat about weather and volume without turning it into a legal essay. A clear line such as 'Order by midday on 18 December for standard delivery before Christmas' does more for trust than a festive banner with no substance.
3. Explain click and collect like a nervous customer
Click and collect is brilliant until the customer arrives at the wrong door. Add a short block to your confirmation email and website: where to go, when someone will be there, what to bring, and whether there is parking or a buzzer. If the collection point is round the back, say so and add a photo of the entrance. If someone else can collect, explain what they need. This is not over-explaining. It is preventing a queue at the counter while someone waves a phone at a confused member of staff.
4. Say what is in stock, even when it is not perfect
Customers can cope with 'made to order' or 'back in January'. What they cannot cope with is discovering it at checkout. Use plain stock messages on product pages: 'In stock, dispatched in 1–2 days', 'Low stock', 'Made to order, ships in 5–7 days'. If an item will not arrive before Christmas, say so clearly. If you are pausing orders over the break, put a date on it. Honest stock copy stops refunds, angry emails and the feeling that your website is hiding something.
5. Sync your Google listing with the website
Your Google Business Profile is often the first shopfront customers see. If the website says you open at 9am and Google says 10am, people believe the one that suits them least. Update hours, special festive hours, phone number, address and service options in both places on the same day. Check the 'more hours' section too, especially if you have different hours for collection. A mismatch is not a small admin error; it is a trust problem at the exact moment someone is deciding whether to leave the house.
6. Fix the mobile checkout snag you have been ignoring
Test your checkout on your own phone, using mobile data rather than office Wi-Fi. Try to buy something as a new customer. Look for forced account creation, tiny delivery options, postcode lookup that fails, and buttons that sit under your thumb but refuse to respond. Turn on guest checkout if you can. Add Apple Pay or Google Pay if your platform makes it easy. Then ask someone else to buy something while you watch. The snag you have learned to live with is probably costing you sales.
7. Build the seasonal page people are searching for
One clear page can catch a lot of festive intent: 'Christmas gifts under £20', 'last posting dates', 'click and collect', 'festive opening hours'. Link it from the homepage and the main menu. Do not bury it as a blog post from three years ago. Keep it short, scannable and dated for 2026. If you sell locally, add collection times and a map link. If you sell online, add delivery cut-offs and returns information. This page is not decoration; it is the answer sheet for customers in a hurry.
None of these jobs needs a new website. Most can be done in an afternoon with a laptop, a phone and a cup of tea. The point is calm preparation. Fix the obvious questions before the December scramble, and your site can spend the festive season doing what it should: helping people buy without having to guess.
