One of the most important (and perhaps one of the most overlooked) aspects of web development is the ability to load test a site. Load testing used to be a straightforward exercise to make certain that a site or web app could handle multiple loads of users, and has since evolved to become a vital part of the overall web development process.
The ultimate goal of load testing is to see how your system performs when subjected to both expected and stressful amounts of load (often termed ‘stress-testing’). Load testing essentially simulates multiple users browsing your site in order to allow you how to gauge precisely how your site would respond at full capacity, providing you with an insight into how long pages take to load during busy periods. This helps you to understand the limitations of your current setup, and how your website, software or back-end system deals with regular and abnormal usage.
One of the most important reasons to load test is that it will ultimately help to save money in the long run. Regular, adequate load tests help web hosting companies to ‘fine-tune’ sites and put plans in place to avoid maxing out capacity, saving you the trouble and effort of having to make investments further down the line.
Besides helping to keep costs down, load testing provides website owners with the confidence that their site is capable of handling heavy or abnormal loads of traffic (often referred to as bottlenecks) before it even goes live. Having confidence that your site can handle the pressure, particularly when it comes to ecommerce hosting, allows owners to breathe a sigh of relief – and if there are any problems, load testing will help to identify them, allowing you to make amendments in due course.
Of course, the web is continually evolving, and so should your site. Load testing will undoubtedly free up a developer from laborious manual tasks, allowing them to have more free time to work on innovative new ideas for the site instead of simply keeping things ticking over.
At catalyst2, we can provide load testing for you, help you find those bottle necks and ultimately save you huge amounts of time, money and stress in the long run. Drop us an email today to sales@catalyst2.com and we can talk you through the options available.
