What is 'Load Testing'?
In the modern business world, where more and more customers are flocking online, it is essential that your business has a good website whatever service or product you provide. However, having an effective website does not just boil down to how it looks. It is also based on how fast the page will load and run, as a slow website is sure to cause frustration for customers.
Of course, businesses that rely on their website for sales are sure to want a faster loading page, as poor website quality will no doubt turn customers away, even if they’ve practically filled their online shopping basket. So how can you find out at what speed you website runs for a range of different locations? If the information below doesn’t suffice, be sure to click here for more information on load testing.
The benefits of load testing
While having lots of different forms of media on a webpage can look great and add another dimension to the site, it can significantly slow the running speed.
The site may load quickly in your area with these various additions, but what about places where the internet access isn’t as fast, or is perhaps limited? What about customers trying to access your site from local WiFi networks in coffee shops and other public areas? Perhaps more importantly, is the on-page media making it more difficult for people to access the site on their mobile device?
According to a recent survey from Intelligent Positioning, mobile traffic increased from 22.8 per cent to 37 per cent in 2013, demonstrating its growing popularity. Load testing will therefore assess how your website performs in a number of different situations and offer solutions going forward for how to optimise it further.
A high-performance website helps to maximise revenue for your company and minimise bounce rates, while also cutting costs through reduced bandwidth usage. Furthermore, a fast-running site is often good for a business’ reputation, with more people likely to tell friends and family about your service.
What about peak times?
It’s a dream for pretty much every business to have a wealth of customers all at once. However, for web pages, this can quickly turn into a nightmare as the abundance of traffic crashes your site.
The official Google Webmaster Central Blog recommends some tips for preparing your site for a traffic spike. However, knowing when that spike will happen can be difficult to tell. This is why keeping a constant track of website data is essential to try and anticipate a potential crash due to high traffic levels.
A load test can give you details of how much traffic you can realistically handle, with the report also helping to suggest ways to manage this in the future. This will allow you to make changes to the current system and to be prepared for the moment you need to get the very best out of your service.
Is your website ready for a load test?
Before having a load test completed, there are several things you can do to prepare for it to get the most out of it.
Conducting a pre-load test performance audit will identify the optimisation techniques that will have the biggest benefit for your business. Then you can put these factors into place for a main test to see how the finished product will work online.
