--- title: "Don't Let Mom Down: Provide Great Website Performance During Peak Holiday Shopping" description: By Tom Fisher, Borland Portfolioat Micro Focus Mother's Day, like every date on the calendar ... image: https://www.websitemagazine.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/gradient-regular-logo-mark-Jan-22-2023-11-47-48-1458-PM-Apr-10-2023-01-15-18-0678-PM-3-3.png --- [Log In](https://www.websitemagazine.com/_hcms/mem/login) [Subscribe](https://websitemagazine.tradepub.com/free/w_webk05/prgm.cgi) [![Website Magazine Logo](https://www.websitemagazine.com/hs-fs/hubfs/gradient-regular@3x-1.png?width=586&height=145&name=gradient-regular@3x-1.png "Website Magazine Logo")](http://Website%20Services,%20Inc.) - [About](https://www.websitemagazine.com/about) - [FAQs](https://www.websitemagazine.com/about/faq) - [Advertise](https://www.websitemagazine.com/about/advertise) - [Editorial Staff](https://www.websitemagazine.com/about/editorial-publishing-staff) - [Resources](https://websitemagazine.tradepub.com) - [Newsletter](https://www.websitemagazine.com/newsletter-sign-up) - More - [Contact Us](https://www.websitemagazine.com/contact) [Log In](https://www.websitemagazine.com/_hcms/mem/login) [Subscribe](https://websitemagazine.tradepub.com/free/w_webk05/prgm.cgi) Search - [Latest](https://www.websitemagazine.com) - [Design](https://www.websitemagazine.com/web-design) - [Development](https://www.websitemagazine.com/web-development) - [SEO](https://www.websitemagazine.com/seo) - [Ecommerce](https://www.websitemagazine.com/ecommerce) - [Content](https://www.websitemagazine.com/content) - [Marketing](https://www.websitemagazine.com/marketing) - [Advertising](https://www.websitemagazine.com/advertising) - [Email](https://www.websitemagazine.com/email) - [Infographics](https://www.websitemagazine.com/infographics) - [View All Topics](https://www.websitemagazine.com/channels) # Don't Let Mom Down: Provide Great Website Performance During Peak Holiday Shopping ![Peter Devereaux](https://www.websitemagazine.com/hubfs/Peter_Devereaux.png) [by Peter Devereaux](https://www.websitemagazine.com/ecommerce/author/peter-devereaux) 08 May, 2015 - - - [mailto:?Body=https://www.websitemagazine.com/ecommerce/dont-let-mom-down-provide-great-website-performance-during-peak-holiday-shopping](mailto:?Body=https://www.websitemagazine.com/ecommerce/dont-let-mom-down-provide-great-website-performance-during-peak-holiday-shopping) - Link Copied! ![Don't Let Mom Down: Provide Great Website Performance During Peak Holiday Shopping](https://www.websitemagazine.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/gradient-regular-logo-mark-Jan-22-2023-11-47-48-1458-PM-Apr-10-2023-01-15-18-0678-PM-3-3.png) By Tom Fisher, Borland Portfolio at [Micro Focus](https://www.microfocus.com/) Mother's Day, like every date on the calendar where gifts have become part of the celebration, will put a strain on retailers as consumers spend more of their time shopping online for the right present. Online retailers need to be certain that they won't lose revenue, not to mention disappointing Mothers, through poor website performance.  Make no mistake about it, the shoppers are coming. The latest survey released by Shop.org shows that one in four will shop online for Mother's Day this year ([read PDF](https://nrf.com/sites/default/files/Documents/2015%20Mother%27s%20Day%20Online%20Consumer%20Shopping%20Outlook.pdf)), which means that retailers had better prepare for the peak traffic volumes sure to be driven by dedication and devotion to Mom. For many retailers however, this is not the case. According to [research](https://www.microfocus.com/about/press/pressreleases/2013/pr210520131001) conducted by Vanson Bourne, while 79 percent of 590 global chief information officers (CIOs) confirmed they are aware of seasonal events that drive Web traffic, 44 percent do not test their websites to see if they could handle the increase in traffic.  Here are four things to keep in mind when preparing your ecommerce site to handle the rush of Mother's Day traffic or any other holiday. ### Think like an end-user Even minor online store changes can break something or cause content to be formatted poorly.  A routine change such as a promotion or ad insertion may work fine on the browser or mobile device it was designed for, but work poorly on untested browsers and devices. Be sure to take the time to test any website changes from the end-user's perspective. Some common areas all e-retailers should test when heading into any key shopping holiday include: - Text, headline, image or banner changes - Checkout features such as payments and cart with checkout promotions - Lines that break if an item is removed or a promotion expires - Landing pages added or removed - Ad campaigns that point to specific landing pages ### Coordinate with marketing to handle the load While changes to the site may have been adequately tested, site performance can still degrade as access volume increases beyond what the e-retailer expected. Know the maximum volume of traffic your system can handle. Build a test environment that is able to simulate real-life scenarios - such as thousands of users, from multiple geographical locations. Any time users unexpectedly increase site activity and the site can't scale to meet the demand, you will have unhappy shoppers and potentially, a loss in revenue. ### Prepare for how they shop The National Retail Federation's Mother's Day Consumer Spending Survey ([read PDF](https://nrf.com/sites/default/files/Mother%27s%20Day%202015%20press.pdf)) reveals that among 18-24 year olds, 46 percent are most likely to use smartphones and tablets to research products and compare prices for gifts this Mother's Day.  Across the board, customers will use a variety of devices and platforms to access information and it's vital that your website is accessible from any smartphone, tablet or desktop. Teams must be able to performance test mobile web and mobile native applications for Android, iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry and consider testing the bandwidth of mobile network connections, including support for mobile phone standards like GPRS, 3G and 4G. The capability to isolate a test that targets high traffic originating from one state, from a specific carrier type like 3G, is important to increase end user experience across all markets. ### Learn from the past Regular website monitoring provides a wealth of information as to how your site performs in normal daily shopping as well as under pressure.  A robust monitoring strategy should include daily updates and reports, which can help to determine where an issue occurred to prevent it from happening again. Studying these metrics and applying lessons learned can help you to be prepared for the next big shopping event. It is especially true with ecommerce, that those who don't learn from past mistakes are doomed to repeat them. ![Peter Devereaux](https://www.websitemagazine.com/hubfs/Peter_Devereaux.png) [Peter Devereaux](https://www.websitemagazine.com/ecommerce/author/peter-devereaux) As the Editor-in-Chief of Website Magazine and President of Website Services, Peter has established himself as a prominent figure in the digital marketing industry. With a wealth of experience and knowledge, Peter has been a driving force in shaping the landscape of digital marketing. His leadership in creating innovative and targeted marketing campaigns has helped numerous businesses achieve their revenue growth goals. Under his direction, Website Magazine has become a trusted source of information and insights for digital marketers worldwide. As President of Website Services, Peter oversees a team of talented professionals who specialize in SEO/SEM, email marketing, social media, and digital advertising. Through his hands-on approach, he ensures that his team delivers exceptional results to their clients. With a passion for digital marketing, Peter is committed to staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends and technologies, making him a sought-after thought leader in the field. - - - - - [mailto:peter.devereaux@websitemagazine.com](mailto:peter.devereaux@websitemagazine.com) #### Popular Post ### [The Impact of Late and Inaccurate Deliveries on Customer Loyalty ![The Impact of Late and Inaccurate Deliveries on Customer Loyalty](https://www.websitemagazine.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/package_delivery-1-1.jpg)](https://www.websitemagazine.com/ecommerce/the-impact-of-late-and-inaccurate-deliveries-on-customer-loyalty) ### [Top 50 Customer Relationship Management Solutions ![Top 50 Customer Relationship Management Solutions](https://www.websitemagazine.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/gradient-regular-logo-mark-Jan-22-2023-11-50-42-2994-PM-Apr-10-2023-01-15-57-0982-PM-2-2.png)](https://www.websitemagazine.com/ecommerce/top-50-customer-relationship-management-solutions) ### [Square Cash Now Available for Business Use ![Square Cash Now Available for Business Use](https://www.websitemagazine.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/squarecash-mini-Jan-22-2023-11-46-25-0939-PM-1-1-1.jpg)](https://www.websitemagazine.com/ecommerce/square-cash-now-available-for-business-use) #### Subscribe to Our Newsletter! 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All Rights Reserved - [Privacy Policy](https://www.websitemagazine.com/about/privacy) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Peter Devereaux", "url" : "https://www.websitemagazine.com/ecommerce/author/peter-devereaux" }, "dateModified" : "2023-05-01T20:23:29.740Z", "datePublished" : "2015-05-08T05:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Don't Let Mom Down: Provide Great Website Performance During Peak Holiday Shopping", "image" : [ "https://www.websitemagazine.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/gradient-regular-logo-mark-Jan-22-2023-11-47-48-1458-PM-Apr-10-2023-01-15-18-0678-PM-3-3.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.websitemagazine.com/ecommerce/dont-let-mom-down-provide-great-website-performance-during-peak-holiday-shopping", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.websitemagazine.com/hubfs/gradient-regular@3x-1.png" }, "name" : "Website Services, Inc." } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "NewsArticle", "author" : [ { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Peter Devereaux" } ], "headline" : "Don't Let Mom Down: Provide Great Website Performance During Peak Holiday Shopping", "publisher" : { "name" : "Website Magazine", "url" : "https://www.websitemagazine.com/" } } ```