Warning that the federal healthcare website will still be plagued by delays and outages in the weeks to come, an administration official said people who log on to shop or apply for subsidized health coverage will join a new “queuing system” if traffic exceeds a benchmark of 800,000 visitors.

“Consumers may not immediately be able to complete the application. But they will be queued in order to ensure a smoother process,” said Julie Bataille, communications director for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency responsible for HealthCare.gov. …

But if volume becomes a problem this time, the new queuing system will enable consumers to see educational material while they wait or allow them to submit an email address where they can be notified later once the system is back up, according to the Bataille.