Is your website ready for the festive season? A 7-point checklist

December changes how people shop. They're in a hurry, they're comparing options on their phones, and they'll pick whoever makes it easiest to buy or book. Your website is often the first thing they see, so it pays to check it before the rush, not during it.

Here are seven checks. Most take a few minutes.

1. Open it on your phone, on mobile data

Not on office Wi-Fi: on your phone, on mobile data. If it takes more than a few seconds to show anything useful, people will leave. Heavy images are the usual culprit, and they're easy to fix.

2. Make WhatsApp one tap away

In South Africa, WhatsApp is how people actually want to talk to businesses. A floating WhatsApp button, with a message already started, turns "I'll call them later" into a conversation right now.

3. Update your festive trading hours

Closed on the 25th? Open late on the 23rd? Say so on your website and on your Google Business Profile. Nothing loses a customer faster than arriving at a closed door that Google said was open.

4. Check your Google Business Profile

Search for your business name. Is the phone number right? Are the photos recent? Do you have reviews? Ask a few happy customers for a review now, so they're there when December searches peak.

5. Let people book or buy without you

If you're fully booked on the phone, you're losing the people who can't get through. Online bookings or a simple online store keep taking orders while you work, sleep or take a well-earned day off.

6. Show your prices (or at least a "from" price)

People comparing three businesses will message the one that gives them a clue about cost. "Gel nails from R250" or "Delivery free over R500" removes the first question before they even ask it.

7. Test every button and form

Tap every WhatsApp button, submit your own contact form, place a test order. Broken forms are silent: you only notice when the enquiries stop.

Running out of time?

If your checklist turned up more than a couple of problems, it may be quicker to rebuild than to patch. Our "Let's make it your season" campaign is built for exactly this: book before 31 October and you'll be live for the festive season.