Is your website ready for Black Friday?
Black Friday is Friday 27 November 2026. Here are nine checks to finish by 20 November, on any platform, and what to do if your site breaks in the middle of a sale. Written for small shops and booking sites in the US, UK, Canada and Australia.
The holiday weekend, day by day.
Black Friday 2026 falls on Friday 27 November, the day after US Thanksgiving. The busy stretch runs through the weekend to Cyber Monday.
- Thursday 26 November: US Thanksgiving
- Friday 27 November: Black Friday
- Saturday 28 November: Small Business Saturday (US)
- Monday 30 November: Cyber Monday
- Saturday 5 December: Small Business Saturday (UK)
The safest plan is to have your site finished and tested about a week before, so the last few days are for watching, not fixing.
Nine checks to finish by 20 November.
They work on any platform. Do them in this order, and leave the last week for watching.
1. Back up, then test the restore
Before you change anything, take a full backup and check you can restore it, ideally on a copy of the site. A backup you have never restored is a hope, not a plan.
Do this first, this week2. Do your updates by 20 November
Update the platform, theme, plugins or apps by about 20 November, then stop changing things until 1 December, apart from security fixes. This is our own recommendation from looking after sites, not an official rule.
By 20 Nov3. Check speed on a phone
Run your home page, a product or booking page and the checkout through Google's PageSpeed Insights, looking at the mobile result first. Fix the biggest problem it names, often oversized images, and leave the rest until after the sale.
By 20 Nov4. Place a real test order
Buy something on your own site from start to finish: add to cart, use a coupon code, pay through your real payment gateway, then refund it. Check the confirmation email arrives, and look in the spam folder too. Do the same with your contact and booking forms.
By 20 Nov, again on 25 Nov5. Set stock and sale times
Check stock levels, and schedule the sale to start and end at the right times. Look at the time zone your store settings use: a sale set in the wrong time zone can start hours early or late.
By 24 Nov6. Turn on uptime monitoring
Use a monitor that checks your site every few minutes and alerts you by text or email. Write down who to call if it goes down: your host's support line, your developer, and the login for each.
By 24 Nov7. Check SSL and domain expiry
Look up when your SSL certificate and your domain name expire, and make sure auto-renew is on with a card that still works. If either lapses during the sale, visitors see a warning or no site at all.
By 20 Nov8. Set holiday hours on Google
If your opening hours change over the holiday weekend, add special hours to your Google Business Profile so Google Maps and Search show the right times.
By 24 Nov9. Have an 'if it goes down' plan
Keep your host's status page bookmarked, know how to undo the last change you made, and have a short maintenance message ready to put up. See the card below.
Ready by 25 NovWhat applies to your site.
The checklist is the same everywhere. What changes is who looks after the hosting and updates.
Shopify
Shopify runs the hosting and the core updates for you. Your checks are the apps you installed, any theme edits, a real test order, discount codes, sale start and end times, and your domain if you bought it elsewhere.
Wix, Squarespace, Webflow and GoDaddy's builder
The platform runs the hosting and the updates. Your checks are your template changes, any add-ons, the checkout or booking form, sale times, holiday hours and your domain renewal.
WordPress and WooCommerce
You, your host or your developer run the updates and the hosting. All nine checks apply, and the backup, restore test and update window matter most, because a plugin update is a common way for a WordPress shop to break.
Booking or service sites on any platform
No checkout? Test your booking or contact form the same way: send a real enquiry, check the email arrives and isn't in spam, and set holiday hours on Google.
Your site breaks mid-sale. Do this, in order.
- Check the status page. Open your host's or platform's status page. If they have a problem, it's being worked on, and you can tell customers that.
- Undo the last change. If you changed anything recently, such as an update, a new app or plugin, or a banner, undo it or restore your backup from before it.
- Put up a message. Show a short "back soon" or maintenance message so visitors don't think you have closed, and post the same on your social pages or email list.
- Call for help. Contact your host's support or your developer with the time it started and what you changed last.
US, UK, Canada and Australia.
United States
Thanksgiving weekend runs from Thursday 26 November to Cyber Monday on 30 November. Small Business Saturday is on 28 November, and American Express offers free Shop Small marketing materials for US businesses.
United Kingdom
Small Business Saturday UK is on Saturday 5 December, a week after Black Friday, so keep your site steady through that weekend too. Run the same nine checks. If you show "was" and "now" prices in your sale, make sure the "was" price is one you really charged.
Canada
Canadian Thanksgiving has already passed, so Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the main sale days. Run the checks with your store's time zone in mind.
Australia
Black Friday falls in early summer and leads straight into Christmas and the summer holidays, so keep the update freeze going and plan for a long busy stretch.
Will my site cope with extra traffic on Black Friday?
Most hosted platforms such as Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow and GoDaddy's builder handle the hosting for you. On WordPress or WooCommerce it depends on your hosting plan, so ask your host what your plan can handle and whether it has limits. On any platform, a fast page copes better, so run the speed check and fix big images before the sale. We can't promise any site stays up, but the checks on this page lower the risk.
What should I check this week?
Take a backup and test the restore, check your SSL and domain expiry dates, and run a speed check on your phone. Then book time before 20 November for updates and a real test order.
Should I update plugins before Black Friday?
Yes, but early. We recommend doing updates by about 20 November, testing the site afterwards, then not changing anything until 1 December apart from security fixes. That gives you time to spot and fix anything an update breaks. This is our own practice, not an official rule.
What if my site goes down mid-sale?
Check your host's or platform's status page first to see if the problem is on their side. If you changed something recently, undo that change. Put up a short maintenance or 'back soon' message, tell customers on your social pages or email list, and contact your host's support.
How do I test checkout?
Place a real order on your own site: add a product, apply a coupon, pay with your normal payment gateway, then refund yourself. Check the confirmation email arrives and isn't in spam. Repeat it after any change, and once more a day or two before the sale.
How do I show a sale banner or holiday hours without breaking anything?
Use your platform's built-in announcement bar or banner rather than adding new code or a new plugin. Set it up early, preview it on a phone, and schedule it to switch on and off. For opening hours, add special hours to your Google Business Profile as well as your site.
Is my SSL or domain about to expire?
Check the expiry dates in your domain registrar and hosting or platform account, or click the padlock in your browser to see the certificate dates. Make sure auto-renew is on and the card on file is current, so nothing lapses during the sale.
Sources for this page
- timeanddate.com: Black Friday 2026
- Wikipedia: Small Business Saturday
- U.S. Small Business Administration: Small Business Saturday
- Small Business Saturday UK: About us
- ALDC: Small Business Saturday 2026 campaign pack
- American Express: Shop Small for merchants
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- Google Business Profile Help: set special hours