The Ultimate Squarespace Checklist for a Smooth Black Friday Sale

Black Friday is the moment every online store waits for, and the countdown starts long before the deals go live. Shoppers are ready to spend big, and the brands that prepare early are the ones that win the day. With Squarespace, you have everything in one place to make it happen! Get those stunning storefronts, powerful discount tools, and marketing features that keep your audience engaged. This checklist will guide you step by step so your store runs smoothly, your offers shine, and your customers keep coming back. Get started today with Squarespace and make this Black Friday your biggest success yet.

Pre-Season Foundations (August–September)

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Before the holiday rush begins, August and September are the ideal months to lay the groundwork for a smooth and profitable Black Friday. Treat this time as your prep season, where attention to detail ensures fewer surprises later.

Inventory Review & Product Line Planning

Start by reviewing your sales data to identify bestsellers and seasonal products that deserve restocking or a prominent spot on your homepage. For example, if last year’s holiday-themed candles sold out quickly, make sure you order more and promote them early. Adding gift cards, bundles, or complementary items also boosts order value—such as pairing mugs with coffee blends or skincare products with travel pouches. Squarespace makes it easy to highlight featured products with clean layouts and curated categories.

Website Audit

Once your product lineup is set, test the overall shopping experience. Walk through your checkout flow as if you were the customer, looking for issues like broken links, confusing navigation, or slow-loading pages. For instance, test on a mobile phone to see if product images resize properly or if the “Add to Cart” button is too small to tap. 

Squarespace Circle experts recommend compressing large images and trimming unused blocks to keep the speed high. Don’t forget SEO: updating titles, meta descriptions, and alt text can help your “Holiday Gift Guide” page rank higher in search results.

Brand & Messaging Prep

Finally, establish the look and feel of your Black Friday campaign. Decide on a theme like “Cozy Winter Deals” and create a matching visual style across banners, emails, and social posts. Preparing templates and graphics early means you won’t be rushing to design assets at the last minute, ensuring your promotions look cohesive and professional.

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October: Promotional Strategy & Setup

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With your foundation in place, October is the month to map out promotions that will grab attention and drive conversions. By planning early, you can create campaigns that feel polished and consistent across every touchpoint.

Discount Strategy

Decide what type of discount makes the most sense for your audience. Options include percentage discounts, fixed amounts off, free shipping, bundles, or exclusive early-bird offers. For example, you could run a “Buy Two, Get One Free” bundle on bestsellers or give VIP subscribers 20% off a week before the general sale. Squarespace Circle resources suggest balancing discounts with profit margins so your offers are attractive without hurting revenue.

Set up Squarespace Features

Squarespace has built-in tools to showcase your promotions. Use the Announcement Bar to highlight deals sitewide, like “Black Friday Starts November 24!” Add promotional pop-ups to capture email sign-ups in exchange for early access. Create custom banners with seasonal imagery that align with your theme. Then, head to Commerce → Discounts to set up codes for free shipping, percentage discounts, or specific product promotions. For instance, you could prepare a “FREESHIP50” code that activates at checkout for orders over $50.

Email & Social Content Mapping

Plan your communications in advance to keep customers engaged. A sample sequence might include a teaser email, a launch email on Black Friday morning, a reminder on Saturday, and a last-call message on Cyber Monday. On social media, use countdown posts, product spotlights, and urgency cues like “Only 24 Hours Left.” Align visuals across channels so customers immediately recognize your sale.

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Black Friday & Cyber Week Execution

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When the big weekend arrives, it’s time to put your planning into action. Black Friday and Cyber Week move fast, so staying organized and responsive is key to maximizing results.

Launch Promotions and Monitor Performance

As your discounts go live, closely track how customers are engaging with your site. Use Squarespace Analytics to monitor traffic sources, bounce rates, and conversion paths. For example, if you see high traffic from Instagram but low conversions, you may need to adjust the landing page linked in your bio. Keep an eye on bounce rates too—if many visitors leave from your product page, consider refining the copy or adding clearer calls to action.

Inventory & Fulfillment Coordination

Strong promotions are only effective if you can fulfill the orders. Update stock visibility so customers know what’s available and what’s running low. For instance, adding “Only 5 left in stock” to a product page can create urgency while setting expectations. Double-check shipping partners for capacity and timing, especially for holiday deadlines. Having a system in place for quick restocking or substitutions ensures fewer delays and happier customers.

Communication with Customers

Keep communication clear and frequent during the rush. Use Squarespace’s Announcement Bar to post real-time updates such as “Cyber Monday Deal Ends Tonight!” Send reminder emails highlighting deadlines or low stock. On social media, share quick posts like “Final hours for free shipping!” These updates reinforce urgency and help drive last-minute purchases while keeping your audience informed and engaged.

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Post-Sale Wrap Up & Continuous Improvement

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Black Friday may end after Cyber Week, but the smartest businesses treat it as the start of long-term growth. A thoughtful wrap-up ensures customers feel valued while giving you insights to improve future campaigns.

Thank Customers and Collect Feedback

Start by showing appreciation. Send a thank-you email to every buyer, ideally with a personalized message. For example, “Thank you for being part of our biggest Black Friday yet—your support means everything to us.” You can also include a short survey link or a prompt asking customers to rate their shopping experience. Collecting feedback now highlights what customers loved and where you can improve.

Analyze What Worked and What Didn’t

Use Squarespace Analytics to review performance metrics once the sale ends. Look at where customers dropped off in the checkout process, which products sold fastest, and how email campaigns performed. For instance, if abandoned carts are high on mobile, you may need to streamline the mobile checkout experience before your next sale. If one email in your sequence had exceptional open rates, consider why that subject line resonated.

Plan Follow-Up Offers and Retention Efforts

Keep momentum going with post-holiday offers. You could send a “Thank You Sale” in early December with a small discount to encourage repeat purchases, or promote gift cards for last-minute shoppers. Loyalty-building efforts, like exclusive early access for returning customers, help turn one-time buyers into regulars. With the right follow-up strategy, Black Friday becomes more than a weekend win—it sets the stage for year-round growth.

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Squarespace Features Cheat Sheet

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Having the right tools at your fingertips makes Black Friday prep easier and execution smoother. Here are some must-use Squarespace features:

• Commerce → Discounts: Set up percentage, fixed-amount, or free shipping codes in advance. Always test codes to ensure they apply correctly at checkout.

• Email Campaigns & Automation: Schedule teaser, launch, and reminder emails. Use automation for abandoned cart recovery and post-purchase thank-yous.

• Analytics: Check Site Speed to avoid slowdowns during high traffic, and use Commerce Analytics to track top-selling products and conversion rates.

• Announcement Bar & Image Blocks: Post time-sensitive offers across your site and highlight products with high-quality visuals that match your branding.

• Mobile Preview Mode: Test layouts on phones and tablets to confirm text, buttons, and images display properly. Many stores overlook this step, leading to cart abandonment.

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