Website Design Overhaul: How to Boost Sales During the Holidays

The holiday season is fast approaching, which means that the season for gift shopping is technically already here. Consumers have become a lot savvier when it comes to gift shopping. Many people are choosing to order holiday gifts online to avoid congested stores. It is a more convenient way of finding the best product available, as well as an online retailer offering the best possible price.

Many eCommerce platforms can boost conversions during the holidays with minimal effort as online shoppers are already active in the space. It is now a simple matter of luring them in to make that final commitment and complete the purchase process.

For example, as part of your fashion brand marketing strategy, you should be allocating resources to holiday season preparation to ensure that your site is ready for the influx of Christmas shoppers.

Attracting Holiday Shoppers with a Fresh Approach

Online retailers that update their websites according to the time of year often experience a boost in sales. This is because consumers are drawn to visually appealing sites. In fact, it only takes 50 milliseconds for an online shopper to decide if they like your site or not. No pressure, right?

So, to prepare for the upcoming holiday season, you need to decorate your online store the same way in which you would a brick-and-mortar establishment. If you were to put up tinsel and Christmas lights in the store, why wouldn’t you give your website the same treatment? You need to adapt to the world around you. If you don’t, you’ll find your brand losing relevance in one of the busiest shopping periods.

11 Tips for Updating your Website for the Holidays

There are so many ways in which you can embrace the festive spirit and give your site a quick revamp. Here are our top 10 holiday season web design ideas:

1. Festive language and imagery: The holiday season is a colorful, exciting time and by making simple image substitutions on your website, you can appeal to a wider audience. For example, anywhere that you feature a lifestyle image can feature a holiday-related image instead.

2. It starts with your homepage: We recommend updating your website sliders and homepage to reflect the change in season. Ask yourself “How do I make my website look Christmassy?” and take it from there. Consider creating multiple holiday homepage designs and alternating them.

3. Put the spotlight on sales: Sales are a must during the holiday season, it’s what consumers expect and will be looking out for. If you have any sales or promotions, be sure to highlight them on more than one page on your site.

4. Holiday specific landing pages: This can tie in with our previous point. For holiday-specific promotions and specials, you can create a dedicated landing page. They’re easy to implement and deactivate once the festive season has passed.

5. Add a countdown: This is good for two things. The first, it creates a sense of excitement for the holiday season, and the second, it reminds people that time is running out to buy gifts.

6. Shipping reminders: With more orders being processed during this time, delivery times may be affected. Be sure to communicate the estimated shipping times with your customers beforehand to avoid disappointment.

7. Add to the shopping experience: You have the opportunity to upsell here and increase your sales. Suggest related products, items often bought together, or even gift wrap and tags to go with each order.

8. Categorised gifts: Make the shopping experience easier by grouping gifts by category. For example, you can list gifts by gender or activity. Shoppers can then look into the category that best fits the recipient. You could even look into fashion for the holidays in 2021. Christmas sweaters and other novelty items are always popular.

9. Share your suggestions: Create gift guides on your blog page to inspire shoppers and promote your products at the same time. Think about the things that people would be interested in during this time and create content that will meet these needs.

10. Gift sets: Gift bundles and sets are always a holiday staple. You can make them mix and match sets or a pre-made selection. This can be based on the website categories as well.

11. Simplify checkout: Research has found that 75% of online shoppers abandon their cart at checkout. This is often a result of tricky payment methods as well as poorly constructed checkout processes. Make sure that your checkout process is quick and easy to ensure that consumers follow through with their purchases.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to the holiday season, there are so many ways to generate conversions. The truth is your approach doesn’t need to be overly complex. A simple website design change that celebrates the gifting period and makes it easier to shop is the greatest tool your brand could have. Consumers are looking for brands that care and understand. Show them that you’re there for them this festive season by giving your website a quick overhaul.