Quick Tips: Expecting Traffic Spikes? Get Your Site Ready!
3
0
0
0
0
Every website owner’s goal is to increase traffic to their site. But what if your site gets too much traffic in a short period of time? Will your site go down? Will it run so slowly that impatient users will leave prematurely? From having your site linked to from a major blog, to a traditional media appearance, to ‘Cyber Monday’ for eCommerce retailers, many causes exist for traffic spikes. Thankfully, there are some simple steps you can take to help your website be more prepared.
1. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A content delivery network (CDN) serves your static files (images, CSS, Javascripts, etc.) from various servers throughout the world. The CDN detects the site visitor’s general location via their IP address, then sends out the data from the server geographically closest to them. The major CDNs are incredibly robust and can handle massive amounts of traffic with ease. Amazon CloudFront and Rackspace Cloud Files are solid (and affordable) CDNs.
2. Enable Caching on your CMS
Various caching options exist for all major content management systems and eCommerce platforms. Every time someone visits a page on your CMS, calls to a database are made, the results are interpreted, and finally the browser-readable output is created for the user to view. Caching reduces the load on your server by creating a static version of each asset, which is refreshed at a specified interval. This means that if 2,000 people visit the same page on your site in a five minute period, many of the database calls will only need to be performed once; this will result in much faster load times for your visitors.
3. Don’t Enable SSL on Pages That Don’t Need It
While essential to many tasks now being performed online, (secure) HTTPS is slower than standard (non-secure) HTTP. If some of your pages don’t involve sensitive information being transmitted, chances are you could see a decrease in your overall server load by disabling SSL on those specific pages.
There you have it - three easy tips to help your site stay running efficiently during high traffic periods. Other, more involved, options exist such as running multiple servers with load balancing, or using a cloud database system. If you’d like help implementing the features discussed above, or have questions about how your company’s WordPress or Joomla CMS can run more efficiently, contact Regal Creative. We’d love to help you ensure your site is up to snuff.
Image credit: MediaLoot