The Christmas break isn’t just about mince pies and catching up on telly—it’s a golden opportunity to tackle those digital tasks you’ve been putting off all year. While your inbox falls quiet and the phone stops ringing, you’ve got the perfect window to set your business up for a flying start in January.
Here are 15 practical digital tasks you can complete during the festive lull, each designed to deliver real returns when you’re back in full swing.
Website Health Check Tasks
1. Run a Complete Website Speed Test
Slow websites cost you customers. Research shows that 53% of mobile visitors abandon sites that take longer than three seconds to load. Use free tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to identify what’s slowing you down.
What to look for: Large images that need compressing, render-blocking scripts, and server response times. Note down the specific recommendations—these become your January action list.
Time required: 20-30 minutes
Potential payoff: Every one-second improvement in load time can increase conversions by up to 7%.
2. Check All Your Website Forms Actually Work
When did you last test your own contact form? Many business owners discover—too late—that enquiry forms have been broken for weeks. Submit test entries through every form on your site: contact forms, newsletter signups, quote requests, and booking forms.
What to check: Do confirmation emails arrive? Are submissions reaching your inbox (check spam folders)? Do thank-you pages display correctly?
Time required: 15-20 minutes
Potential payoff: Recovering even one lost lead per month could be worth hundreds or thousands to your business.
3. Update Your Copyright Year and Outdated Content
Nothing says “this business might have closed down” like a copyright notice showing 2024. Beyond the footer, scan your site for outdated references: old pricing, discontinued services, staff members who’ve moved on, or seasonal content that’s no longer relevant.
Priority pages: Homepage, About page, Services pages, and any pages with dates or pricing.
Time required: 30-45 minutes
Potential payoff: Builds trust and prevents customer confusion that leads to lost sales.
4. Fix Broken Links and 404 Errors
Broken links frustrate visitors and hurt your search rankings. Use a free tool like Broken Link Checker or Screaming Frog (free for up to 500 URLs) to crawl your site and identify dead ends.
Common culprits: Links to old blog posts, external sites that have moved, downloadable PDFs that have been deleted, and old product pages.
Time required: 30-60 minutes depending on site size
Potential payoff: Improved user experience and better SEO performance.
SEO Quick Wins
5. Optimise Your Google Business Profile for 2026
Your Google Business Profile is often the first thing potential customers see. Log in and ensure everything is current: opening hours (including any holiday closures), photos, services list, and business description.
Quick improvements: Add 5-10 new photos, respond to any unanswered reviews, update your Q&A section, and add any new services you’ve introduced this year.
Time required: 30-45 minutes
Potential payoff: Businesses with complete profiles receive 7x more clicks than those with incomplete information.
6. Review Your Top 10 Pages in Google Search Console
If you’ve got Google Search Console set up (and if you haven’t, add that to your January list), check which pages are performing best and which are declining. Look at the Performance report for the last 6 months.
What to analyse: Which pages get the most impressions but low clicks? These are prime candidates for improved meta descriptions. Which pages have dropped in rankings? These may need content refreshes.
Time required: 30-45 minutes
Potential payoff: Small tweaks to underperforming pages can significantly increase organic traffic.
7. Update Meta Descriptions on Key Pages
Your meta description is your advert in Google search results. Review your homepage, main service pages, and top blog posts. Are they compelling? Do they include a call to action? Are they the right length (150-160 characters)?
Winning formula: State what you offer + who it’s for + what makes you different + call to action.
Time required: 45-60 minutes
Potential payoff: Better click-through rates from search results without improving your rankings.
8. Claim and Verify Directory Listings
Local citations (mentions of your business name, address, and phone number across the web) help local SEO. Search for your business name and claim any unclaimed listings on directories like Yell, Thomson Local, Yelp, and industry-specific directories.
Consistency is key: Ensure your business name, address, and phone number are identical across all platforms.
Time required: 45-60 minutes
Potential payoff: Stronger local search presence and more ways for customers to find you.
Content and Marketing Tasks
9. Plan Your Q1 Content Calendar
January arrives fast, and the businesses that hit the ground running are the ones that planned ahead. Map out blog topics, social media themes, and email campaigns for at least the first quarter.
Consider: What questions do customers ask in January? What seasonal trends affect your industry? What services do you want to promote?
Time required: 1-2 hours
Potential payoff: Consistent content marketing that builds authority and attracts organic traffic.
10. Audit Your Email Marketing Setup
Review your email list health and automation sequences. Check open rates and click rates from the past year. Remove inactive subscribers who haven’t engaged in 12+ months (they’re hurting your deliverability).
Also check: Are your automated welcome sequences still relevant? Do all links in your email templates work? Is your unsubscribe process compliant?
Time required: 45-60 minutes
Potential payoff: Improved email deliverability and engagement rates.
11. Refresh Your LinkedIn Profile and Company Page
LinkedIn is where B2B decisions happen. Update your personal profile and company page with current information, recent achievements, and fresh imagery.
Key updates: Headline, About section, featured content, and banner images. Add any new skills, certifications, or notable projects from the year.
Time required: 30-45 minutes
Potential payoff: Stronger professional presence that builds credibility with potential clients.
Efficiency and Automation Tasks
12. Set Up AI Auto-Responders for the Holiday Period
Don’t let enquiries go cold while you’re away. Configure intelligent out-of-office responses for email, and consider setting up a chatbot to handle common questions on your website.
Smart approach: Rather than just saying “we’re closed,” provide useful information: when you’ll respond, links to FAQs, emergency contact options for urgent matters.
Time required: 30-45 minutes
Potential payoff: Keeps leads warm and shows professionalism even when you’re not available.
13. Review and Clean Up Your Digital Subscriptions
How many software subscriptions are you paying for that you barely use? The Christmas break is perfect for auditing your digital tools. Cancel what you don’t need and research better alternatives for tools that aren’t delivering value.
Common waste: Duplicate tools, premium tiers you don’t fully use, forgotten trial conversions, and legacy software you’ve replaced.
Time required: 30-60 minutes
Potential payoff: Typical businesses save £50-200+ per month by eliminating unused subscriptions.
14. Document Your Key Business Processes
You know how everything works, but could someone else step in if needed? Use the quiet time to document your core processes: how you onboard clients, how you handle enquiries, how you deliver your main services.
Benefits: Easier delegation, better consistency, foundation for automation, and valuable if you ever want to scale or sell.
Time required: 1-2 hours per process
Potential payoff: Reclaim hours each week through better delegation and automation.
15. Back Up Everything Important
When did you last verify your backups actually work? Download copies of your website, check your cloud storage, and ensure critical business documents are backed up in at least two locations.
Don’t forget: Website files and database, email archives, customer data, financial records, and important credentials (stored securely).
Time required: 30-60 minutes
Potential payoff: Priceless peace of mind and disaster recovery capability.
Your Christmas Digital Checklist at a Glance
| Task | Time | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Website speed test | 20-30 min | High |
| Test all website forms | 15-20 min | High |
| Update copyright and outdated content | 30-45 min | Medium |
| Fix broken links | 30-60 min | Medium |
| Optimise Google Business Profile | 30-45 min | High |
| Review Search Console data | 30-45 min | Medium |
| Update meta descriptions | 45-60 min | Medium |
| Claim directory listings | 45-60 min | Low |
| Plan Q1 content calendar | 1-2 hours | High |
| Audit email marketing | 45-60 min | Medium |
| Refresh LinkedIn presence | 30-45 min | Medium |
| Set up AI auto-responders | 30-45 min | High |
| Review digital subscriptions | 30-60 min | Medium |
| Document key processes | 1-2 hours | Low |
| Verify backups | 30-60 min | High |
Make It Manageable
You don’t need to tackle everything in one sitting. Pick three or four high-priority tasks that will make the biggest difference for your business. Even completing just the top five items on this list puts you ahead of most competitors who’ll spend January playing catch-up.
The Christmas closure isn’t lost time—it’s an investment in your 2026 success.
Need Help Getting Your Digital Presence Ready for 2026?
If your Christmas to-do list feels overwhelming, or you’d rather spend the break actually relaxing, we can help. From website audits to SEO improvements and AI-powered automation, Digital Ascendancy helps small businesses build a digital presence that works harder—without the enterprise price tag.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will all these tasks take?
If you tackle everything, you’re looking at roughly 10-15 hours of work. But you don’t need to do it all—focus on the high-priority items first, which can be completed in 3-4 hours.
Which task should I prioritise if I only have an hour?
Test your website forms and update your Google Business Profile. These two tasks take under an hour combined and have the highest immediate impact on capturing leads.
Do I need technical skills for these tasks?
Most tasks on this list are suitable for non-technical business owners. The tools mentioned (Google PageSpeed Insights, Google Search Console, etc.) are free and user-friendly. For anything more complex, that’s where professionals like us come in.
What if I find problems I can’t fix myself?
Document what you find—that’s valuable in itself. When you speak to a web developer or SEO specialist in January, you’ll have a clear brief of what needs addressing, saving time and money on diagnostics.