Load testing is the process of determining how much of a load something can take before it ceases to function as it should. In these terms, it should be easy to see the value of load testing for websites. Still not convinced you need to go through the trouble? Here are seven reasons to reconsider:
Uncertainty is not good. There is no better (or other) way to determine how well your site will perform under pressure than to run load testing on it. Otherwise, it’s like you’re operating your website with blinders on: How will you know your site’s limits before it’s too late to counteract a problem? You won’t–not without load testing.You want your site to perform as optimally as possible. If you want your site to perform as optimally as possible, you will need to identify problems and tackle them head-on before they can cause any serious damage. Load testing is the best way to do that.
Load testing is a standard element of web development. Basically, if you don’t run load testing on your website, then you are doing sub-par work at web development. If this doesn’t sound so bad to you, think of it this way: Your competition is probably using load testing. How will you stand up (or out) without load testing?
You don’t want your site visitors to find a glitch before you do. This could be extremely damaging to your reputation, as most people surfing the web report that the sites they trust (and frequent) the most are those sites that are fully operational.
Technology changes rapidly. That means that your website (and you) must adapt to these changes in a way that won’t slow it down. Regular and consistent load testing on your website can help you keep up with technology.
Overloads can cost you money. If you run an ecommerce site–especially one that relies on web-based credit card transaction processing–then you need to know that your site won’t freeze up or crash any time you experience an abnormally high volume of traffic. Without this assurance, you could be facing some huge financial losses down the line.
Load testing is easy. You don’t have to be a computer genius to run load testing on your website. Just hire one, instead. There are many website load testing services and programs out there that will do the dirty work for you. All you have to do is sign on.
When you consider all of the benefits of load testing, it may be difficult to identify a single reason why you should not put this valuable process to work for your site, whether you do it yourself or use a system like Smart Bear to help. Ensure your greatest chances at web success by using the advantages of load testing to your betterment.
