Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Website Tips for UK Small Businesses
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are fast approaching – and while they started as American shopping events, they’ve become major milestones in the UK retail calendar too. For small businesses, especially online retailers, this is a prime opportunity to boost sales and grow your customer base.
But to truly benefit, your website needs to be ready. Whether you’re running a sale or simply hoping to draw in more festive shoppers, here’s how you can prep your website – and when to do it.
🗓 Key Dates to Know
- Black Friday 2025: Friday, 28th November
- Cyber Monday 2025: Monday, 1st December
These two days mark the start of the peak shopping season, but your prep should start weeks in advance.
🧰 Timeline for Prepping Your Website
Early November (Now!)
- Audit your site speed & mobile responsiveness: Around 60% of traffic now comes from mobiles – if your site is slow or hard to use on mobile, you’re missing out.
- Plan your offers: Whether it’s 10% off, a free gift, or free delivery – make your deals clear and compelling.
- Update your homepage: Add a Black Friday banner or pop-up to start building excitement.
Mid November
- Test your checkout process: A confusing or buggy checkout is one of the top reasons shoppers abandon carts.
- Set up analytics: Ensure you’ve got visitor tracking and conversions set up properly.
- Boost your SEO: Optimise key pages so people can find your offers with meta descriptions, product titles, and structured headings.
Week of Black Friday (24th–28th Nov)
- Launch a teaser campaign: Use email and social media to count down to your sale. SMS campaigns can also drive urgency.
- Check your hosting: Make sure your site can handle traffic spikes – let your provider know if you’re expecting high demand.
Black Friday – Cyber Monday
- Go live early: Shoppers start early – launch Thursday evening or Friday morning.
- Monitor performance: Keep an eye on orders, traffic, and customer enquiries. If you’re on a maintenance plan, your provider should handle this.
💡 Extra Tips to Stand Out
- Create urgency: Add countdown timers and “only X left in stock” messages.
- Use clear calls-to-action: “Shop Now”, “Grab Your Deal”, or “Limited Time Offer” work well.
- Add trust signals: Use customer reviews and secure payment badges to build confidence.
🎯 Not Selling Online Yet?
It’s not too late. You can get a landing page or basic ecommerce setup live quickly to capture seasonal interest. Prices for landing pages start from £250, and ecommerce sites from £1500.
If you’d like help getting your website Black Friday ready, give us a ring on 01793 239239 or email hello@obrienmedia.co.uk.
Let’s make this season your best yet!