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A successful Black Friday checklist is the secret weapon for any WooCommerce store owner hoping to make big bucks on the year’s biggest sale event.
Black Friday is a massive shopping weekend that brings an intense surge of traffic to online shops. In fact, Adobe Analytics data reveals that U.S. consumers spent $10.8 billion online on Black Friday 2024. This intensity peaked on Cyber Monday, when consumers were spending $15.8 million every minute.
To make the most of that shopping wave, preparation is everything. We’ve seen how a clear plan can help you stay ahead of the rush, avoid technical hiccups, and make smart choices before the sales go live.
So, are you ready to build your Black Friday checklist and set your store up for success? Then let’s begin!
Before we get to the checklist itself, let’s go over a few key details about Black Friday and Cyber Monday that every WooCommerce store owner should remember.
Falling on the Friday after U.S. Thanksgiving, Black Friday marks the start of the holiday shopping season. It’s when retailers and online stores offer huge discounts that shoppers wait for all year. For WooCommerce store owners, it’s the signal to buckle up for one of the busiest weekends in eCommerce.
In 2025, Black Friday lands on November 28, followed by Cyber Monday on December 1. Many shoppers plan their holiday budgets around this weekend, so it’s smart to think beyond just one day of deals.
Plenty of businesses now spread their sales over a full week or more. This helps them manage traffic spikes and reach customers who prefer shopping early or late. Here’s a simple way to plan your own sale calendar:
| EVENT | DATES | STRATEGY |
|---|---|---|
| Early Black Friday | November 17 to 27 | Start offering small discounts or teaser deals. |
| Black Friday | November 28 | The big event and your main sale day! Consider a flash sale with bigger discounts. |
| Small Business Saturday | November 29 | Keep the excitement alive and the sale going! |
| Cyber Monday | December 1 | Highlight online-only deals. |
| Cyber Week | December 2 to 5 | Extend the savings for late shoppers |
You can also tap into other shopping events later in the season:
🔥 Hot Tip 1: Start preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday early, preferably a few weeks to a month before your sale begins. Early planning helps you manage inventory, gives you time to shape your promotions, and lets you test your website before the rush. It’s also your chance to fix issues and polish the shopping experience.
🔥 Hot Tip 2: Once your prep is underway, decide which sale days to focus on. Black Friday and Cyber Monday now span several days, but you don’t need to take part in all of them. Choose the ones that matter most to your store and put your full effort there. Quality beats quantity every time.
Black Friday continues to be one of the biggest opportunities for online store owners. The numbers speak for themselves, based on insights from the Adobe Analytics and Forbes reports:
However, Black Friday isn’t just about discounts. From experience, it’s also about building power for future growth and change.
In short, if you’re a WooCommerce store owner, this is your moment to reach new customers, move more products, and set the tone for the rest of the holiday season.
Now that you understand how profitable Black Friday can be, our Black Friday Checklist will guide you on how to make the most of this massive shopping event.
When Black Friday hits, every second counts. A slow website can feel like a long checkout line, and people walk away when it takes too much time. Therefore, before the rush begins, make sure your store is ready to handle the crowd.
Try testing your site at different times of the day to see how it performs during busy hours. You can also enable browser caching so returning visitors load your site faster. Every bit of speed adds up when traffic spikes.
Shoppers expect pages to load fast, and even a few seconds of delay can make them leave.
For starters, try testing your site at different times of the day to see how it performs during busy hours. Run tests on both desktop and mobile. After all, what feels fast on a computer might lag on a phone. Every bit of speed adds up when traffic spikes.
Furthermore, compress images, clean up code, and remove unnecessary plugins to keep things running smoothly. Try lazy loading for images so they appear only when someone scrolls to them. Use lightweight themes and limit large scripts that take time to process.
Also, enable browser caching so returning visitors load your site faster. We recommend WP Rocket, a popular caching plugin for WordPress.
Additionally, it’s a good idea to use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to find what’s slowing things down.
Picture your server as a parking lot. If it’s too small, visitors won’t find space.
Upgrade to a plan that can handle higher traffic. Alternatively, use a content delivery network (CDN) such as BunnyCDN to spread the load.
Moreover, you should check your host’s uptime record, with 99.9% being your goal. Consider cloud hosting, which lets you scale resources up or down depending on demand.
Before Black Friday, reach out to your hosting provider to ask about temporary boosts in bandwidth. The goal is to avoid crashes when your site is flooded with shoppers.
Most shoppers will browse and buy from their phones. In fact, according to Pew Research, 91% of online purchases are made using a smartphone.
Thus, testing how your site looks and works on different devices is a necessary component of a good Black Friday checklist. Make sure buttons are easy to tap, and checkout is quick and simple.
Keep navigation short and clear. After all, no one wants to dig through menus on a small screen. Use readable fonts and make sure product images resize correctly without losing quality.
In addition, try mobile payment options like Apple Pay or Google Pay to make checkout faster. Every second you save makes buying easier for your customers.
Even the best systems can stumble. Regular backups mean you can recover fast if something goes wrong.
Set automatic daily backups during your sale period, and store them both online and offline. Test your backups to make sure they actually restore correctly. It’s better to know now than during an outage.
You can also use plugins or services that back up your site in real time. Think of it as an insurance policy for your business. Think of it as an insurance policy for your business. For example, Duplicator is a solid choice, as it lets you schedule backups, store them in the cloud, and quickly restore your site if something goes wrong.
A good Black Friday checklist always includes smart inventory planning. Running out of stock or facing shipping delays during the busiest weekend of the year can hurt your sales and reputation.
Start by reviewing last year’s data or recent sales trends. Look at which products sold out quickly and which ones stayed on the shelf. This helps you avoid overstocking slow items and focus on what customers really want.
Tools like Stock Manager can show real-time inventory levels. Set low-stock alerts so you know when to reorder before popular items run out. For bigger stores, connect your inventory with tools like Zapier to sync data across multiple sales channels.
It also helps to group products by demand. Mark your best-sellers, seasonal items, and slow movers. For example, if phone cases always sell faster than chargers, place larger orders for those and prepare backup suppliers in case demand spikes.
Finally, run a quick test order on your site to make sure inventory updates correctly. Nothing frustrates customers more than buying an item that later turns out to be unavailable. A few checks now can save you from last-minute headaches when Black Friday hits.
Contact your shipping carriers early and check pickup times, delivery estimates, and holiday cutoffs. Also, ask about priority services so you can plan your last guaranteed delivery dates. If you ship internationally, double-check customs timelines to avoid delays.
Additionally, compare rates between carriers like UPS, FedEx, DHL, and local couriers to find the best balance between speed and cost. Some WooCommerce extensions, such as WooCommerce Shipping & Tax or ShipStation, can help by automating label printing and syncing tracking details right from your dashboard. This saves time and helps you manage large volumes of orders more efficiently.
Finally, prepare for returns ahead of time. Keep your return policy clear and easy to find on your site, and have a few prepaid return labels ready. A smooth return process builds shopper confidence, which can make a big difference during the busy sales rush.
Holiday shoppers buy a lot, but returns also rise during this season. We’ve seen how a confusing or strict return process can frustrate buyers and hurt your reputation.
Thus, review your return policy to make sure it’s clear and easy to follow. Break it into simple steps, like how to request a return, how long they have to send it back, and how refunds are processed.
Moreover, consider keeping a few prepaid return labels on hand. This saves time and makes the process feel smoother for customers.
Finally, communicate returns clearly on product pages and in order emails. Customers who trust your return process are more likely to make bigger purchases. From our experience, a fair and simple system can turn a disappointed buyer into a repeat customer.
Creating strong offers is one of the most important parts of a Black Friday checklist. Remember, shoppers are hunting for deals, so clear, well-planned promotions can make a big difference.
Decide which products to discount and by how much. We suggest focusing on bestsellers or items with high profit margins. Make sure to check past sales or current trends to see what moves fast!
Use limited-time deals or flash sales to create urgency, like a spark that lights a bigger fire. Add countdown timers on product pages so shoppers can see time running out. Highlight top deals on your homepage or category pages to catch attention.
Furthermore, using plugins like Advanced Coupons to bundle products or offer tiered discounts to encourage larger orders. For example, a “Buy two, get 15% off” or BOGO deal can increase cart size while moving slower-selling items.
Planning your promotions ahead ensures your deals attract buyers and your store runs smoothly during the rush.
Set up coupons early using a WooCommerce plugin like the aforementioned Advanced Coupons, which is designed to let store owners customize a wide range of special deals.
When creating coupons, decide if the discount is a percentage, fixed amount, or free shipping. Also, remember to keep coupon codes short and easy to type.
Schedule your coupons to start and end automatically. For example, you can create a “Flash Sale” code that runs only for a few hours. Make sure some coupons don’t stack, as that could cause errors.
Test each coupon on a few orders before the big day. After they go live, track their usage to see which codes perform best. From what we’ve seen, this helps catch issues early and plan future promotions.
Remember, a smooth coupon setup keeps checkout stress-free. Moreover, it ensures shoppers can take full advantage of your deals.
Show prices before and after discounts so shoppers see exactly how much they’re saving. Also, use a consistent format, like crossing out the old price and showing the new one in bold color.
Make sure to highlight popular deals on your homepage, category pages, or product listings so buyers can spot the best offers easily.
Additionally, use banners, badges, or countdown timers to signal urgency without feeling pushy. It’s important to make these displays look good on mobile screens, too.
Keep it simple. We’ve learned through practice that clear pricing and visible deals reduce confusion and encourage faster purchases.
Your store’s appearance can make or break a shopper’s experience. Thankfully, a quick website refresh helps deals stand out and encourages visitors to act fast.
Shoppers are drawn in by what looks bright and inviting. Therefore, decorate your store with festive colors, banners, and graphics that match its style and the holiday vibe. However, remember to keep the layout simple so shoppers focus on deals, not clutter.
Graphic design tools and photo editors make it easy to design professional visuals without needing a designer. For example, you can use Canva to create custom graphics to highlight deals.
When promoting products, high-quality photos are a must. We’ve seen how clear images from multiple angles can make buyers more confident in what they’re purchasing. Also, if possible, include lifestyle shots showing your products in use.
Don’t forget to optimize images for speed! Large files can slow your site, so compress photos without losing quality. Keep in mind that fast-loading visuals keep shoppers happy and reduce cart abandonment.
Show prices before and after discounts so shoppers can see exactly how much they are saving. Use a consistent format and make the new price stand out with color or size.
Make sure to highlight top deals on your homepage, category pages, and product listings. This makes it easy for shoppers to spot the best offers without searching.
Tools like OptinMonster let you add header bars, exit-intent popups, and countdown timers that grab attention and encourage faster purchases.
Of course, it’s a good idea to check how these visuals appear on mobile screens. Shoppers on phones should see the same clear discounts and timers. Keeping everything simple and visible helps buyers make decisions faster.
Part of a strong Black Friday checklist is giving shoppers a reason to act fast with limited-time offers or flash sales. Schedule these deals in advance so they start and end automatically.
Countdown timers are a powerful way to show urgency. You can use OptinMonster to add timers to product pages, popups, or header bars. This way, shoppers can see how much time is left to grab a deal.
Furthermore, low-stock alerts or “only a few left” messages add extra pressure to buy. Make sure these updates are accurate so shoppers trust your store.
Pair urgency signals with highlighted deals on product pages or category listings. When urgency feels natural, shoppers are more likely to act without feeling pressured.
Getting people to see your deals is just as important as setting them up. A clear marketing plan helps your store stand out during the Black Friday rush.
The standard advice in our industry is to segment your list so different shoppers get relevant offers. For example, give past buyers product recommendations and loyal customers early access to deals.
Schedule campaigns ahead of time using platforms like Mailchimp, and use WP Mail SMTP to make sure your emails reliably reach shoppers’ inboxes. Include reminders as deals near their end to catch attention without spamming.
It’s crucial to write clear subject lines and preview text that hint at the offer. Don’t forget to test each email on a few orders to ensure links, images, and coupon codes work correctly.
Lastly, as part of your Black Friday checklist, make sure to track open rates, clicks, and conversions after sending. Then, use this data to refine future campaigns and spot opportunities for improvement.
Decorate your profiles and pages with Black Friday visuals. Create themed content for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms to match the holiday vibe.
Plan posts for each social media platform in advance to keep messaging consistent. Use a mix of images, short videos, or carousels to showcase deals in different ways.
We highly recommend adding clear calls to action in every post. This can encourage shoppers to click through, use a coupon, or explore a product page.
It’s essential to respond quickly to comments and messages. After all, engaging with followers builds trust and makes your store look active and reliable.
Of course, remember to monitor which posts get the most engagement. Likes, shares, and comments show what resonates and guide future content.
Use paid ads to reach shoppers who haven’t visited your store yet. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok let you target audiences by behavior, interests, or past visits.
Keep ad messages short and focused. Highlight discounts or limited-time offers with eye-catching visuals or videos.
Moreover, test different ad variations with small budgets first. Monitor click-through rates, conversions, and cost per purchase to see which ads perform best.
Lastly, retarget shoppers who clicked but didn’t buy. This reminds them of deals and increases the chance they’ll complete their purchase before the sale ends.
The biggest sale event of the year can be hectic, but a solid Black Friday checklist keeps your store on track. From prepping your website and inventory to crafting deals and marketing them effectively, every step counts.
Follow the strategies we laid out, stay organized, and you’ll be ready to turn the holiday rush into a successful season for your WooCommerce store.
To recap, our Black Friday checklist highlights the following strategies:
Use this Black Friday checklist to get ready for the holiday rush, and check out our other Store Owner Tips for more advice, deals, and ecommerce news.
Focus on popular or high-margin products, use limited-time offers with timers to create urgency, set up clear and attractive coupons, and promote deals prominently on your website and marketing channels. Following a Black Friday checklist helps you keep these strategies on track and maximize your sales.
Review last year’s sales data, monitor stock levels, coordinate with shipping partners early, prepare for international shipping, and have a clear return policy to handle high order volumes efficiently.
Ensure your site speed is optimized, review your hosting plan, optimize your store for mobile devices, and keep backups ready to handle increased traffic and potential issues.
Black Friday is a significant opportunity because it draws massive online shopping traffic, with increased spending, larger cart sizes, and higher-value purchases, enabling store owners to reach new customers, boost sales, and build customer loyalty. Following a detailed Black Friday checklist helps ensure your store takes full advantage of these opportunities.
Black Friday 2025 falls on November 28, and Cyber Monday is on December 1, with several pre- and post-sale events like Early Black Friday from November 17 to 27 and Cyber Week from December 2 to 5. With a Black Friday checklist, you can stay organized and make the most of every sale day.
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