Load testing consultants are professionals who know what is necessary in order to make your websites and web applications run smoothly and ensure that there are no hiccups along the way. Choosing to pass on load testing could mean trouble for your websites and applications, your business, and revenue.
It’s important to understand what load testing is and whether it’s worth the fee to have an objective third party like our consultants at LoadView help you load test your software. Let’s take a look.
Load Testing Basics
The only way to find out if a load testing consultant is worth the fee is to first understand what load testing is. While there are many moving parts to the load testing process, the overall concept of load testing is fairly simple.
Load testing is generally a type of performance testing that subjects your software to a realistic load, similar to one that your software would be under when it’s made available to the public. Your software may look good on the surface, but until it’s tested, it could come up short in crucial areas that could see potential users moving to a more reliable software or application.
In order to simulate a real-world load, a load testing consultant will create virtual users (VU) that represent actual users. During this process, the load will test whether your software is susceptible to bottlenecks and other performance deficiencies. Load testing is not only important for potential users, but it’s also crucial for your software to perform well when significant revenue is at stake.
Perks of Load Testing
Consider the following eight reasons why load testing is essential for you and your software, especially if revenue and large user numbers are involved.
Performance under large load: While there are certain performance indicators that are suitable for single user software (memory leaks, CPU, and TTFB), these will not get the job done when you have a large number of users. These indicators will start to produce error signals.
By load testing, you will be able to locate the specific issues with your software and find a productive solution. There are three primary elements that load testing will help you achieve: sudden spikes in traffic, large load over prolonged periods of time, and randomly increasing and decreasing the load.
Real-user simulations: Software functions differently with just one user versus 1,000 users. It’s possible that your software will work just fine with a few hundred users, but it will start to slow down when you reach 900 or 1,000 users. Load testing will take application programming interface (API), various hosting resources, bandwidth, page loading speed, third-party applications, and general functionality under load.
The fundamental goal of real-user simulations is to mimic the behavior of real users in real time. Overall, real-user simulations can give you a good idea how your software will react when real users use it.
Scalability of software/application: Load testing aids in determining how many different concurrent users can be on your software at any given time. This will not only give you an idea of how powerful your software is, but it also allows load testing consultants to operate with most possible information.
Downtime: Once you learn how many users can be on your software at the same time without errors or failures, you have the necessary information to prevent downtime. Downtime is when your software cannot function due to an error.
Downtime can be caused by a number of issues, such as a sudden spike in traffic. The surest way to mitigate downtime is to ensure that your software has been load tested and functions at the highest possible level.
Code changes: The process of load testing is not just a one-time event. In order to keep your software in the best possible performative condition, you have to repeatedly make code changes. Just as designing a website is a process, the same is true of load testing and other performance testing.
If you execute any kind of modification after you have had your software load tested, those changes can affect the software. Whenever there is a change made to the software, that change must be tested for errors or dependencies. Additionally, untested changes to the software’s code can change the behavior of the software under a load.
Awareness of the user’s experience: Users want to have a good experience when they use your software. The simple fact is that users are much less forgiving of sites and applications that run slow or crash. It’s even possible that users will post poor experiences on social media, which can further damage your software’s reputation.
Almost 40% of users will leave the site or application if it takes more than three seconds to load. Additionally, users do not trust software that does not function properly. It is essential to keep your clientele at the forefront of your mind when considering load testing your software.
Saving money: hiring a load testing consultant is an investment, but it is sure to provide you a good return in the long run, not least in terms of peace of mind but also development costs. The potential fallout of software that hasn’t been load tested properly is that it will lose money and damage your business’ reputation. You will first lose revenue through significant stretches of downtime, and you will also have to pay to have your websites and applications urgently repaired.
Fixing a suddenly downed website or application is almost always more expensive than preemptively getting it tested. It’s also important to remember the potential downgrade in your software’s reputation if users learn that you did not take the appropriate measures to ensure that your product was functioning as well as it could.
Unpredictable holiday traffic: The holidays can be a profitable though unpredictable time. Whether it’s Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or Christmas, people are making purchases using tablets, computers, and smartphones. There is a significant market that may use your software, and the most crucial element is knowing that your websites and applications can handle the potential spike in web visitors.
With load testing, you will have a good idea how much traffic your websites and applications can handle before it starts to underperform. If you don’t load test your software, especially during these user spikes, you will lose your users, reputation, and revenue. The adage holds true with load testing: it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Load Testing With LoadView by Dotcom-Monitor
LoadView by Dotcom-Monitor offers a simple process if you’re interested in having your websites and applications load tested once or, as we recommend, as part of your ongoing development process. Our five-step load testing process at LoadView begins with a discovery call with a load testing consultant.
Here are the five steps:
- Discovery Call
- Data Gathering
- Executive Stress Test
- Analyze Test Results
- Review Call
If you’re not sure if load testing is for you, it may still be a good choice to schedule a call to see what is offered and how your websites and web applications can be improved. Schedule your one-on-one LoadView demo today.
If you decide that hiring a load testing consultant is a service that would benefit your software, LoadView by Dotcom-Monitor can provide full load testing services. Load testing is an investment that will almost certainly save you money in the long run, and you can find the details of our services by visiting our website. You can also learn about our pricing by visiting this page, which lays out the different plans we offer.