Vacation & holiday website prep (out-of-office, contact, hours)
How to update your website before a vacation or holiday closure so visitors always know what to expect.
Going on holiday or closing for a public holiday is completely normal. What you want to avoid is a customer landing on your website at 10pm the night before Christmas expecting a same-day response — and getting nothing but silence.
A small amount of preparation makes sure every visitor knows exactly what to expect while you are away. This guide walks you through it.
Quick summary
Before a holiday closure or vacation, update your contact page hours, add a clear notice to your homepage, set up auto-replies on your contact forms, and update your Google Business Profile. Tell visitors when you will be back and when they can expect a response. 30–60 minutes of prep prevents frustrated customers and missed leads.
Why it matters
When customers cannot reach you, the problem is not usually the delay itself — it is the uncertainty. A visitor who reads "We are closed 23–27 December and will reply to all messages on 28 December" will wait happily. A visitor who hears nothing will try a competitor.
Setting expectations clearly is good business, and it is simple to do.
4–7 days before you leave
Update your business hours
- Update the hours on your Contact page to reflect any closures or reduced hours
- If your hours appear on your homepage or footer, update those too
- Add specific closure dates with a note like "Closed 24–26 December, reopening 27 December"
- Update your Google Business Profile with your holiday hours — this is separate from your website but equally important. Customers checking Google Maps will see this
Google Business Profile hours
Google Business Profile lets you add 'Special hours' for holidays without changing your regular hours. Log in at business.google.com, go to your profile, click 'Edit profile', then 'Hours', then 'Special hours'. Set the dates and mark them as closed or enter reduced times.
Add a notice to your homepage
A brief, friendly banner or message at the top of your homepage goes a long way.
Good examples:
"We're on holiday 24–28 December. We'll reply to all enquiries on 30 December."
"Our office is closed for the Thanksgiving weekend (28–29 November). We reopen Monday 2 December."
Keep it specific. "Closed for the holidays" is vague. "Closed 23 December through 2 January, reopening 3 January" is helpful.
- Add a notice to your homepage — ask us to add a banner if you are not sure how to do this yourself
- Set a reminder to remove the notice when you return — a stale "back soon" message looks unprofessional
Update your contact form auto-reply
Most contact forms send an automatic acknowledgment email when someone submits a message. This is the perfect place to set expectations.
- Update the auto-reply message to include your return date and when the person can expect a real response
- Example: "Thanks for reaching out! We are currently closed for the holiday and will reply to all messages by [date]. We look forward to connecting with you."
- If you do not currently have an auto-reply set up, ask us — it is a quick addition to most contact forms
Set up email out-of-office replies
This is separate from your website, but it is part of the same visitor experience. If someone emails you directly:
- Set an out-of-office reply in Gmail, Outlook, or whatever email tool you use — include your return date
- If your business has a shared inbox (like hello@ or support@), make sure someone has set the out-of-office on that account too
- See Out-of-office & auto-replies for step-by-step instructions for Gmail and Outlook
1–2 days before you leave
Final checks
Visit your own website as a new visitor would. Read the homepage. Is the holiday notice visible? Does the contact page show accurate hours?
Submit a test message through your contact form. Check that the auto-reply arrives with the correct wording and return date.
Check Google on your phone. Search for your business name and look at the listing. Does the "Hours" section show your holiday hours?
Check your social media profiles. Add a pinned post or story about your closure dates if that fits your brand. Update your Instagram or Facebook bio if hours are listed there.
A checklist for different closure lengths
Use this as your guide depending on how long you are away.
A long weekend does not usually require major changes, but these quick steps are worth doing:
- Update Google Business Profile special hours
- Set email out-of-office reply
- Update contact form auto-reply with your return date
- Add a brief notice to your contact page (optional but good practice)
A full week away means some visitors will arrive, not hear back, and may go elsewhere if they don't know you're coming back soon.
- Update Google Business Profile special hours
- Set email out-of-office reply
- Update contact form auto-reply with your return date
- Add a homepage notice with your exact return date
- Update hours on your contact page
- Set a reminder to remove the notice on your first day back
Two or more weeks is a significant absence. Visitors need clear reassurance that you are still in business and will return.
- Update Google Business Profile special hours
- Set email out-of-office reply
- Update contact form auto-reply — consider mentioning a way to reach someone if there is a genuine emergency
- Add a clear homepage notice with your return date
- Update hours on your contact page
- If you have a team member covering urgent enquiries, mention them in the auto-reply
- Consider adding a note to any active social media profiles
- Set a calendar reminder to update everything back to normal when you return
When you return
- Remove the holiday notice from your homepage
- Update Google Business Profile special hours back to normal (or remove the special hours entries)
- Turn off email out-of-office reply
- Update the contact form auto-reply back to standard wording
- Work through any enquiries that came in while you were away
Set a return reminder now
Before you leave, set a calendar reminder for your first morning back: "Update website and email away messages." It is easy to forget once you are back in the flow of work.
Common questions
Related guides
- Seasonal website checks
- Testing your contact & order forms
- Out-of-office & auto-replies
- Setting a vacation responder (Google Workspace)
- What to check on your site monthly
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