Modern businesses are heavily dependent on their websites. Most consumers do at least some internet research before making a significant purchase, and many choose to make their purchases online when possible. Since an internet presence is crucial to succeeding in modern commerce, a website can make or break a company.
Several common server issues can deter customers, damage your brand’s image, and negatively impact your company’s bottom line. One solution is to banish servers altogether and consider a serverless Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) like Akka Serverless from Lightbend (https://www.lightbend.com/). Going serverless can cut costs, lower your carbon footprint, improve scalability, and boost development flexibility.
With that said, any server solution you choose should follow best practices to avoid downtime and lost sales opportunities. Here are six common server issues that are known to harm your brand.
Visitors are vulnerable to cyber security threats
One of the most devastating problems your website can undergo is making its visitors vulnerable to cyber-attacks and viruses. Nothing will do more long-term damage to your brand than customers losing their data and even money to hackers. Take every precaution to ensure the security of all visitors to your site and avoid irreparable damage to your reputation.
The pages are slow to load
An Internet minute is even faster than a New York minute. If the pages of your website are long to appear, customers will lose interest and move on to your competitors’ websites.
Make sure that every page on your site loads promptly. No one can invest in your product or service if they can’t access your information, so ensure that your website runs like a well-oiled machine.
The hardware frequently crashes
All hardware systems crash sometimes, particularly if they’re in a high-demand environment. However, if your hardware system consistently causes downtime, it can affect the reliability of your site, and customers will leave in droves.
Ensure that all of your data is adequately backed up, and employ a qualified IT team to detect and repair any developing problems.
The software frequently crashes
Like hardware, software often encounters problems that can cause your website to crash or malfunction. Consider using custom software specifically designed for your company’s website. Make sure all software is updated regularly to prevent security vulnerabilities.
The site itself crashes
Even major companies and organizations experience website crashes. In June, the New York Times, The Guardian, CNN, the Financial Times, Hulu, Reddit, PayPal, Twitter, Amazon, American Express, Delta Airlines, and even the British government simultaneously experienced downtime due to a massive server malfunction.
Unfortunately, most businesses cannot afford this kind of crash. Online shoppers are not an exceptionally patient group. If a site doesn’t function, most e-commerce consumers won’t wait to make their purchases until the page is back up. Picky purchasers will simply move on to a competitor whose website is currently functional.
Downtime is kryptonite for any company website, so consider investing in a backup server solution to keep your page on the air for all of your leads.
The site struggles with high traffic
Some websites function just fine when traffic is light, then get bogged down with too many visitors and start to glitch, slow down, or even crash. This overload is not likely to be a problem when a business first starts, but it could develop later if your website isn’t scaling.
Don’t let your blessings turn into curses. Adopt a server solution that will allow you to scale as your business grows so that sudden influxes in traffic don’t leave your customers empty-handed.
Final thoughts
A fully functional website is crucial for conducting business in the 21st century. To ensure that your company’s page is an asset to your brand and not a liability, be aware of these common server issues and make every effort to avoid them.