Holidays spell a busy time for e-commerce websites, just like brick-and-mortar stores. This year, things are likely to be even more hectic. Shoppers have their buying power back in the new normal. Moreover, they still prefer to shop online to stay safe from the virus, which is still around. It makes sense to prepare your website for handling the traffic spike beforehand. If you fail to do it, there are always chances of crashing and missing out on sales and revenues. Thankfully, there are ways to stay ahead of the concern. Let us share a few tips to manage your website traffic this holiday season.
The best place to start is by forecasting traffic levels you can expect this season. Although you cannot be 100% accurate with forecasting, having an idea always helps. Looking at past holiday surges and comparing the graph is a good idea. Take into account the numbers that may flow in pandemic times. You can use this information to make a reasonable projection for this holiday season.
Once you know what you can expect, you can perform load testing for the website. It involves sending the forecasted traffic levels to your site to understand how it responds. If things do not seem right, you can take appropriate measures to address the concerns. Load testing highlights the glitches and indicates a need for changes in the current site configuration so that you can act on time.
Although projections and load testing give you the right start, you cannot depend on them alone. The new normal is all about unpredictability, so you have to check your websites traffic in real-time. Have a plan ready to match challenges as they come. Consult an expert to create a roadmap for dealing with surges quickly. This way, you will not have to worry about an unexpected crash after a surge.
A CDN uses a global server network to store static assets such as images at locations closer to the visitors. The website can deliver these assets faster from a closer physical location. It translates into a reduced loading time. Moreover, your server has to bear less burden during the spikes. Apart from helping your website scale for traffic surges, a CDN reduces hosting bandwidth, enhances security, and prevents interruption in service.
The best way to ramp up your website for impending holiday searches is by optimizing the images. Large and high-resolution images can slow down the page load times significantly. The situation can land you in a bigger fix during the holiday season when traffic flows faster. Check the images and optimize them before the season begins. It is also a good idea to declutter your site by eliminating redundant elements.
Traffic spikes are an inherent part of holidays, and they spell high revenues. But everything boils down to ensuring that your site is ready to handle them. Follow these tips, and you can leverage them to your advantage.
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