Every year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday mark the biggest ecommerce surge of the year. Yet the difference between record-breaking sales and missed opportunities often comes down to preparation.
When websites slow down, crash, or confuse shoppers, potential sales are gone in seconds. Add in cluttered landing pages or inconsistent branding, and you’ve got a cyber holiday headache instead of a high-performing campaign.
This guide breaks down exactly how to prepare your website for Black Friday 2025, from technical tune-ups to Black Friday landing page tips to conversion-focused marketing strategies. Whether you’re running an online store or managing campaigns for multiple clients, these steps will help you launch faster, convert more, and handle the online traffic like a pro.
One alternative to a DIY approach to your Black Friday Cyber Monday strategy? Teamtown’s design experts can help you build your landing pages, visuals, and UX updates, ensuring that every click counts.
Why Preparing Early for Black Friday Matters
Black Friday and Cyber Monday can account for up to 30% of a retailer’s annual sales. In 2024, Shopify merchants reported over $9 billion in sales in a single weekend, with mobile making up nearly 70% of orders.
That spike in activity means your site must handle thousands of extra visitors without a hitch. Unprepared websites experience slow load times, failed checkouts, and frustrated customers, all of which directly impact conversions and brand trust.
Ideally, start preparing for Black Friday by late August or early September. This gives you enough time to test your site’s infrastructure, refresh creative assets, and build pre-sale buzz before the season begins.
In short, the earlier you optimize, the smoother your holiday sales run and the more likely your campaigns are to convert under pressure. If you find yourself asking, “What can my ecommerce website do to prepare for Cyber Monday?” look no further than the tips and tricks below to fully align your ecommerce site for the cyber holiday rush.
Technical Optimization: Keep Your Site Fast & Reliable
Black Friday traffic surges serve as the ultimate stress test for your site. If your foundation isn’t solid, no amount of marketing will save your visitor’s site experience. Here are a few tech tests to perform to give your site a fighting chance for optimization during high-traffic periods.
Test for High Traffic Loads
Run load and stress tests to simulate peak traffic. Check your hosting capacity and server response times. Tools like GTmetrix, Pingdom, or Google Lighthouse reveal performance bottlenecks. Also, upgrade your hosting plan, if necessary. Shared servers often can’t handle the ecommerce rush.
Optimize for Mobile-First
Mobile accounts for the majority of holiday sales. Responsive design is the baseline, but it’s speed and usability that truly win over your online shoppers. When first considering your holiday ecommerce optimization tactics, start by auditing your mobile site for readability, tap-friendly buttons, and intuitive navigation. Also, use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to reduce mobile page weight wherever possible.
Improve Site Speed
Even a 1-second delay in your website’s load time can drop your conversion rate by up to 20%. Start by implementing browser caching and image compression. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to serve assets globally for faster delivery times, and lazy-load images and scripts to prioritize your above-the-fold content. Even small improvements here directly affect your bottom line and your brand reputation where it matters most.
Create Compelling Black Friday Landing Pages
Your homepage shouldn’t carry all the weight of your Black Friday sales. Instead, create dedicated landing pages for Black Friday that spotlight key deals or product categories, helping shoppers focus, stay engaged, and convert faster.
Start by giving the page one job and removing anything that competes with it. Above the fold, make the problem, promise, proof, and primary CTA unmistakably clear. Urgency should be real - that is, tied to inventory, deadlines, or tiered pricing - and technically honest (for example, timers connected to your CRM or ecommerce rules).
Place decision aids right by the CTA: a few crisp value bullets, a short risk-reversal line, and a proof tile. Keep forms short with autofill and wallet pay, keep layout scannable, and keep performance tight so LCP is under two seconds. Mobile is the default, so design for thumbs and attention spans. Urgency works when the next step feels obvious, safe, and fast.
Dedicated Pages for Key Deals
To start, create unique URLs for your major offers, like /black-friday-electronics or /holiday-bundles. Not only are these easier to promote via ads and email campaigns, but they also simplify performance tracking.
It’s these areas where Teamtown’s design team really shines. We craft on-brand, high-converting seasonal pages tailored to your campaign goals.
Clear CTAs and Visual Hierarchy
Your calls-to-action (CTAs) should be impossible to miss, but not overwhelming to your customers. Use bold, high contrast buttons with clear action verbs like “Shop Now,” “Get 20% Off,” or “Claim Your Deal.” Maintain a visual hierarchy that guides users from headline to offer and eventually to take action by clicking on your CTA button.
Buying Guides & Product Highlights
Adding editorial-style sections like “Best Gifts Under $100” or “Our Top Tech Deals” not only improves your search rankings but also helps undecided shoppers make faster decisions, especially on mobile.
If your brand has a new product or hero SKU, consider a Product Launch or Waitlist strategy in tandem. Build curiosity by teasing the launch two to three weeks ahead of Black Friday with early access sign-ups or limited preorders. On launch day, reward subscribers with exclusive first access before opening sales to the public. This creates a sense of scarcity and urgency while giving your email and SMS lists a reason to engage early.
Finally, create a dedicated page for Black Friday deals where you can control messaging, run targeted ads, and drive conversions through focused, distraction-free design.
Marketing & Promotions Strategy
Even the most polished website won’t perform if nobody knows about your deals. As part of your Black Friday ecommerce strategy, build anticipation early, then convert that attention with well-timed offers.
Start by locking your calendar, freezing creative windows, and aligning finance and customer experience teams on offer rules so there are no game-day surprises. Agencies that manage this process typically map out the offer ladder, think bundles, thresholds, and exclusions, while building a flexible creative system with modular blocks that adapt to every channel. They also stand up dedicated landing and checkout flows in staging environments with real timers and thorough QA.
On the growth side, warm up your lists early with VIP access and lead-generation campaigns throughout October, then rotate remarketing creative weekly through November. Keep operations synced on inventory and contingency plans, and monitor performance daily with clear go/no-go rules for extending the sale. The result? Control under pressure, not chaos and adrenaline.
Here are a few additional strategies for ensuring you get the most out of your website’s marketing and promotion strategies around major ecommerce dates.
Start Early with Teaser Campaigns
Luckily, there are plenty of Black Friday marketing tactics to boost your site’s promotions and online presence. Launch “coming soon” messaging to build anticipation around upcoming cyber deals. Countdown timers and early-access signups encourage potential customers to stay tuned to your socials or email newsletters for announcements. In turn, reward loyal customers with first-look emails or VIP discounts.
Email Marketing
Get a jumpstart on email marketing for Black Friday by building your list early. Segment your newsletters based on buying behaviors and customer interests so you can send personalized, relevant deals. Test subject lines, creative elements, and send times to see what resonates most with your audience and ensure your email designs mirror your website’s Black Friday branding for a cohesive experience.
One creative approach that performs well is a Tiered Drop + Cart Unlock promotion. Instead of offering a blanket discount, run three timed product drops over 72 hours, each with real scarcity. As shoppers cross certain cart thresholds, they unlock surprise add-ons at checkout. It’s a smart way to create urgency through limited drops, build momentum through spend thresholds, and add excitement with mystery, lifting average order value without relying on steep discounts.
Offer your VIP subscribers a two-hour early access window via email or SMS to turn list growth into a conversion advantage and smooth the traffic spike.
Incentives & Discounts
Complement your email and promotional strategy with clear, enticing incentives. Offer bundles, free shipping, or “buy more, save more” tiers. Shoppers love feeling like they’ve unlocked something special. Use scripts or plugins to automatically apply discounts at checkout, minimizing friction and maximizing conversions.
Automate Discounts
Use scripts or plugins to automatically apply discounts at checkout. By doing so, you’ll minimize friction and maximize your conversion rates.
Optimizing the User Experience
Speed and design bring shoppers in, but it’s a seamless User Experience (UX) that closes the sale. Below are a few tactics to enhance your online shopping experience and improve site speed for Black Friday customers.
Simplify Checkout Flow
Your checkout experience is not the time to complicate things for your shoppers. Start by removing any unnecessary steps or data fields. This includes enabling options like guest checkout for new customers who want a quick yet intuitive experience, or digital wallet options for shoppers linked to Apple or Google Pay.
Cart Recovery Tools
While it’s likely you’ll experience some level of cart abandonment, don’t let these sales slip away. Use exit-intent pop-ups or limited-time discount reminders to keep your online shoppers hooked. Send follow-up emails with their previously saved items and incentives to keep your products and brand front of mind.
How do I recover abandoned carts during Black Friday?
Set automated reminders within one hour of cart abandonment, followed by another 24 hours later. Include visuals of products left behind, as well as a clear CTA to direct your online shoppers to complete their checkout.
Transparent Shipping & Returns
Clarity builds trust, especially across your ecommerce site. Maintain that transparency by displaying delivery dates, shipping costs, and return policies up front to your shoppers. To reduce buyer hesitation, consider offering extended cyber holiday return timelines, too.
Top 5 UX Mistakes to Avoid on Black Friday
- Cluttered, overwhelming design
- Hidden or confusing CTAs
- Overloaded sliders and animations
- No guest checkout option
- Lack of clear customer support contact
Black Friday for Small Businesses
While some ecommerce companies have enormous spend limits to invest in their Black Friday marketing, you don’t need a massive budget to compete. Simply focus your energy on where it matters most. This includes:
- Running limited-time offers that emphasize exclusivity (i.e., “Only 50 available!”).
- Rewarding loyal customers with early-access links.
- Leveraging social media to highlight your brand story and authenticity.
How can small businesses compete on Black Friday?
Be personal and stay true to what sets you apart. Focus on your niche, tell your brand story, and deliver an exceptional customer experience. Authenticity beats volume every time.
Measuring and Iterating on Your Strategy
Ready to take your optimization to new heights? Prior to Black Friday rolling around, use the following holiday ecommerce website checklist:
- Set up an analytics dashboard
- Track traffic sources
- Track conversion rate by landing page
- Track cart abandonment rate
- Track revenue per visitor
Once you’ve collected those metrics, conduct a post-sales review to determine which pages performed best, which offers converted most effectively, and where customers on those pages dropped off throughout the shopping process.
Feed those insights into your next campaign plan. You’ll want to start preparing this plan for 2026 before January ends.
Need help analyzing creative performance? Teamtown’s designers and strategists can audit your seasonal assets and build data-backed templates for future success.
FAQs
What should a Black Friday landing page include?
A strong headline, clear offer, countdown timer, persuasive visuals, social proof, and an easy-to-find CTA. Keep it focused on one goal.
How can small businesses compete on Black Friday?
Lean into community and authenticity, exclusive deals for existing customers, storytelling, and quality over deep discounts.
What are common Black Friday website mistakes?
Unoptimized images, slow load times, unclear CTAs, and confusing checkout flows.
Should I create a separate page for Black Friday deals?
Yes! Focused pages convert better and make campaign tracking easier.
How do I recover abandoned carts during Black Friday?
Use automated follow-ups, personalized email reminders, and limited-time discounts to recover abandoned carts.
What metrics should I track after Black Friday?
Monitor traffic, conversion rate, cart abandonment, average order value, and overall ROI.
Set Your Website Up for Black Friday Success with Teamtown
Preparing your website for Black Friday 2025 isn’t just about surviving the rush; it’s about turning traffic into lasting customers.
By combining technical reliability, conversion-driven design, and clear UX, you’ll create a shopping experience that performs under pressure and builds brand loyalty well past the holidays.
Start early And test everything. If you want a partner who knows how to make design and strategy work together, book a call with Teamtown or explore our design services to get your site Black Friday–ready!
