Preparing Your E-Commerce Site for Ramadan & Festive Seasons in Malaysia: A Complete Checklist

TL;DR: During 2025 Ramadan and Hari Raya, Malaysian e-commerce sites see a 7.1% surge in online sales. To capitalise on this peak season, optimise your site’s performance, streamline checkout, implement festive messaging, and prepare for additional online sessions daily. Start 4-6 weeks before Ramadan to maximise conversions.

Why Ramadan & Festive Seasons Matter for Your E-Commerce Business

If you’re running an e-commerce store in Malaysia, Ramadan and Hari Raya Aidilfitri represent one of the year’s most critical revenue windows. Here’s why:

The Numbers Don’t Lie:

• Malaysia’s retail sector surges 5.7-6.6% during Ramadan, with online sales specifically growing 7.1% year-on-year.​
• 84% of Malaysian shoppers intentionally increase spending during Ramadan, focusing on food, fashion, and personal care.​

For business owners, this means: if your site isn’t optimised for Ramadan and/or festive traffic and conversions, you’re leaving significant revenue on the table.

The challenge? High traffic without proper preparation leads to slow load times, abandoned carts, and frustrated customers who switch to competitors.

Start preparations 4-6 weeks in advance. This gives you time to test changes, fix bugs, and run pre-launch marketing campaigns without last-minute panic.

Technical SEO & Performance Checklist

1. Ensure Your Server Can Handle Peak Traffic

When Ramadan hits, your hosting infrastructure becomes mission-critical. A slow server during peak shopping hours doesn’t just frustrate customers—it tanks your conversions and SEO rankings.

Test your hosting capacity with your hosting provider. Do they offer auto-scaling during high-traffic periods? This is non-negotiable. Standard shared hosting often crumbles under Ramadan traffic spikes.

Here’s the real difference: Not all servers are created equal. Most e-commerce sites run on generic SSDs, which bottleneck performance even with good code optimization. That’s why we build e-commerce sites on NVMe SSDs at Solbright—they’re 5x faster than standard SSDs and handle traffic spikes without breaking a sweat. Combined with lightweight, custom code (no bloated page builders), your site maintains blazing-fast load times even when traffic triples or quadruples during Ramadan.

• Test your hosting capacity with your hosting provider. Do they offer auto-scaling during high-traffic periods?​
• Run load tests (use tools like GTmetrix or Pingdom) to simulate 3-5x normal traffic. Your site should maintain <3 second load times even at peak. Learn more about why website speed matters for conversions.
• Consider a CDN (Content Delivery Network) if you don’t have one. This distributes content globally and ensures fast loading even during traffic spikes.
• Monitor real-time traffic during the first few days of your campaign using Google Analytics 4 and server dashboards.

2. Optimise for Mobile (Critical for Malaysia)

• Over 80% of Malaysian online shoppers use mobile devices. Your mobile checkout must be frictionless.
• Test checkout on 3G/4G networks, not just WiFi.
• Reduce form fields in mobile checkout.
• Ensure touch buttons are large (minimum 48px) for easy tapping.

3. Update Your XML Sitemap & Robots.txt

• Add festive landing pages to your XML sitemap if you’re creating new Ramadan/Raya collections.
• Refresh your robots.txt to ensure Googlebot crawls updated product pages and category pages (not staging URLs).
• Submit the updated sitemap to Google Search Console at least 2 weeks before launch.

4. Schema Markup for E-Commerce

• Add Product Schema with latest pricing, availability, and offers.
• This helps your products appear in Google Shopping, Google Lens, and AI search results.

On-Page SEO & Content Strategy

5. Create Festive-Specific Landing Pages

Don’t just rely on existing product pages. Create dedicated landing pages for seasonal intent:

Ramadan/Hari Raya Landing Pages to Create:

• “Hari Raya Aidilfitri Gift Guide 2026”
• “Best Baju Raya for Men & Women”
• “Ramadan Iftar Food & Beverage Collections”
• “Raya Decoration Ideas & Where to Buy”
• “[Your Location] Festive Shopping Deals”

Why This Works: Shoppers searching for “Hari Raya gift ideas” or “Raya clothing online” are at peak buying intent. Custom landing pages with seasonal keywords rank faster than generic product pages.​

SEO Title & Meta Description Example:

• Title: “Best Hari Raya Baju Kurung & Baju Melayu 2026 – Free Delivery Johor Bahru”
• Meta Description: “Shop authentic baju raya online. Premium fabrics, fast delivery. Browse 1000+ styles. Limited-time 30% off. Order now!”

6. Optimise Product Titles & Descriptions for Ramadan Search Intent

Shoppers search differently during festive seasons. Update your product titles:

Before (Generic):
“Men’s Traditional Shirt – Blue”

After (Festive-Optimised):
“Baju Melayu Ramadan & Hari Raya 2026 – Premium Blue Silk | Free Delivery”

Include:

• Festive keywords (“Hari Raya,” “Aidilfitri,” “Raya 2026”)
• Benefit keywords (“Fast Delivery,” “Free Returns,” “Premium Quality”)
• Location modifiers if relevant (“Johor Bahru,” “Klang Valley”)

7. Create FAQ for Common Ramadan Questions

Shoppers ask specific questions during festive seasons. Use FAQ schema to capture featured snippets:

Sample Questions to Address:

• “Can I exchange Raya clothes online?”
• “Do you offer same-day delivery during Ramadan?”
• “What sizes do you stock?”
• “Are there refund policies for Raya items?”

By having such FAQs, you help answer shoppers’ doubts and facilitate-decision making/conversion.

User Experience & Conversion Optimization

8. Streamline Your Checkout Process

Optimise the process to make it easier for shoppers to buy from you!

Checkout Optimisation:

1. Reduce steps: Aim for 2-3 steps max (Cart → Shipping → Payment).
2. Enable BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later): 18% of Raya shoppers use BNPL, especially Gen Z and younger millennials.​
3. Offer multiple payment methods:
   • E-wallets (Grab Pay, Touch ‘n Go eWallet, Maybank, CIMB Clicks)
   • Credit/Debit cards
   • BNPL (Atome, Shopee Pay Later)
   • Bank transfers
4. Add trust signals:
   • Show customer reviews/ratings
   • Highlight “Free Returns” and “Money Back Guarantee” where appropriate and relevant
   • Display estimated delivery date and shipment tracking
   • Display company registration (SSM) number

9. Create Festive Banners & Urgency Messaging

• Top-of-page banner: “Hari Raya Sale – Up to 40% Off. Free Delivery on Orders Above RM50. Last 3 Days!”
• Product page pop-ups: “Only 5 left in stock” or “Most customers buy this for Raya”
• Countdown timer: “Sale ends in: 2 days, 14 hours”
• Exit-intent pop-up: “Don’t miss out! Get 10% off your first order with code RAYA10”

These are proven conversion boosters, especially during high-emotion seasons like Ramadan.

10. Implement Live Chat & WhatsApp Business

• 48% of Malaysians prefer WhatsApp for customer service. Integrate WhatsApp Business API for order support.​
• Deploy live chat during peak hours (4-7 PM, 9 PM-12 AM). Use chatbots to handle FAQ instantly.
• Common questions to prepare:
  • “Will my order arrive before Raya?”
  • “Do you have [size/color] in stock?”
  • “What’s your return policy?”

Marketing & Visibility Checklist

11. Implement Geo-Targeted SEO for Malaysia

• Ensure your website clearly states “Malaysia-based” or your city (Johor Bahru, Klang Valley, etc.).
• Create location-specific product pages if you serve multiple regions.
• Optimise Google Business Profile with accurate holiday hours during Ramadan (some businesses have adjusted hours).

To further strengthen local rankings before peak festive demand, some brands also explore relevant backlink exchange partnerships within their industry to build regional authority signals.

12. Prepare Email Marketing Campaigns

Start 3-4 weeks before Ramadan with segmented email campaigns:

Example Campaign Timeline:

• Week 1: “Coming Soon – Hari Raya Collection” (build anticipation)
• Week 2: “Early Access – Exclusive Preview for VIP Members”
• Week 3: “Flash Sale – 24 Hours Only”
• Week 4: “Last Chance – Sale Ends Tomorrow”
• Post-Ramadan: “Thank You for Shopping – Here’s 15% Off Your Next Order”

Personalization: Segment by purchase history (e.g., customers who bought fashion get fashion-focused emails; food buyers get food promotions).

13. Leverage Social Commerce (TikTok Shop, Shopee Live)

• Go live 2-3x per week during Ramadan on TikTok Shop or Shopee Live.
• Show product close-ups, styling tips, and real-time Q&A.
• Offer exclusive livestream-only discounts (e.g., “Only available on tonight’s stream!”).

Analytics & Monitoring

14. Set Up Google Ads & Remarketing

• Allocate 20-30% of your annual ad budget to Ramadan/Raya periods (ROI is 2-3x higher than off-season).
• Create remarketing campaigns targeting visitors who abandoned carts.
• Run dynamic remarketing ads showing products they viewed.
• Use geo-targeting for “Johor Bahru,” “Klang Valley,” “Singapore” if applicable.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Not preparing early enough – Start 6-8 weeks in advance, not 1 week before. Regular maintenance ensures your site runs smoothly during traffic spikes. See why website maintenance is critical.
2. Overloading the homepage – Keep navigation clear. Too many banners = confusing UX.
3. Ignoring mobile users – 80%+ of Malaysian shoppers use mobile. Test thoroughly.
4. No inventory management – Stock-outs during Ramadan frustrate customers and harm rankings. Clearly show availability.
5. Forgetting customer service – Ramadan traffic = more inquiries. Ensure your team is ready 24/7 or automate responses.
6. Inadequate payment options – Missing e-wallets or BNPL costs sales. Offer at least 5+ payment methods.
7. No retargeting strategy – Don’t let cart abandoners slip away. Implement email & ad retargeting immediately.

Action Plan: Your 6-Week Ramadan Prep Timeline

Week 1-2 (6-7 weeks before):

• Audit current site speed, mobile experience, checkout process
• Plan new festive landing pages & keywords
• Brief your development team on technical optimizations

Week 3-4 (4-5 weeks before):

• Build landing pages, create schema markup
• Update product titles & descriptions with festive keywords
• Set up email campaigns & social media content calendar

Week 5 (2-3 weeks before):

• Go live with campaigns, monitor real-time metrics
• Test checkout & payment systems under load
• Brief customer service team on holiday hours & FAQs

Week 6 (1 week before):

• Launch final promotions, final inventory check
• Monitor 24/7 for technical issues
• Prepare post-Ramadan thank-you campaigns

Final Thoughts

Ramadan and festive seasons in Malaysia represent a rare opportunity for e-commerce businesses to capture massive traffic surges and revenue growth. But success requires planning, not reactivity. If you’re wondering about e-commerce investment ROI, understand the real cost of building an e-commerce site.

Sites that optimise early—with strong technical foundations, festive-specific content, streamlined checkout, and customer-ready support—can see 20-40% higher conversion rates during these periods.​

Your next step? Audit your current site against this checklist. Identify 2-3 quick wins (like checkout optimization or email campaigns) you can implement this week, then tackle the bigger items (landing pages, schema markup) over the next 4-6 weeks.

The businesses that win during Ramadan aren’t just the ones with the biggest discounts. They’re the ones with the best-optimised experience.

Need Help Preparing Your E-Commerce Site?

If you’re running an online store in Johor Bahru, Klang Valley, or Singapore and need help optimizing for Ramadan, Chinese New Year, or other festive seasons, Solbright Digital Services can help.

Get a Free Website Performance Audit – See exactly where your site stands and what to prioritise for Ramadan.