Tips for Preventing a Website Crash on Black Friday

For Black Friday, when there will be an inevitable increase in site traffic, site owners should ensure they're prepared by carrying out load testing. This allows them to see how a site deals with a big spike in traffic, enabling them to weed out any loading problems or features of the page that impede the shopping experience. After all, if a site crashes in the middle of a transaction, the customer will only go to a more reliable site to purchase their gift.

Performance on Mobile
Mobile sites should also be considered by retailers, as they're increasingly being used for online shopping and browsing. The size of the site can be an issue, for example, as it can often be too "heavy" to accommodate the smaller screen size and slower download speeds on mobile devices. One way to reduce the size of your mobile site, and in the process improve availability and load speed, is to remove any unnecessary features that are likely to cause performance issues.

When purchasing a gift on a traditional desktop site, consumers may browse detailed images of the items they're purchasing. On a smartphone, however, it's far more likely that high-resolution images will slow down site performance and cause loading errors, so fewer images with lower resolution may be more appropriate. By optimizing your site for mobile, you ensure a quicker and more reliable site and, therefore, a better experience for your customers.

Ultimately, website performance — whether on desktop or mobile — must be top priority during the Christmas season. With the right monitoring and testing tools in place, retailers need not worry about the possibility of an underperforming or crashing site. Not only will they ensure a consistent quality customer experience and repeat buyers, but it could be the deciding factor when it comes to where to shop in the new year.