Could your website survive a traffic surge?

Laura Wilson -

Don't deny it. We know you've dreamt of going viral. Your business, that is – not the footage of you being forced to do the latest TikTok dance trend. After all, who doesn't want their venture to be the next big thing on the internet? 

But with summer around the corner, so are potential surges in temperature and web traffic. And while we can’t guarantee a million eyes on your business, we can make sure your website doesn’t melt like an ice cream cone on a hot day should traffic soar.

Why traffic surges aren’t all sunshine and rainbows

Picture your website as a charming pub nestled in a quiet village. Now, picture 500 people crashing in all at once, ordering Aperol Spritzes like there’s no tomorrow. That’s what we call a traffic surge. These sudden influxes can be triggered by the seasonal popularity of your products, an influencer name-dropping your brand, or a timely promotion. 

While it might sound like a dream come true, an unprepared website can buckle under pressure – leading to crashes, slow load times, and frustrated customers. It's the digital equivalent of being stuck queuing in 30-degree heat without any shade. And if your website goes down, your business could suffer a serious sunburn.

Shine with reliable web hosting 

Now imagine that same pub with a bouncer on the door. If they know what they’re doing, the queue moves smoothly. But if they’re not up to the task, merrymakers are left out in the dark.

Now, think of your web host as the bouncer of your website. At Fasthosts, we make it our mission to ensure your website remains accessible and performs at its best – even during summer spikes. This keeps you in Google’s good books, meaning your site’s uptime and load speed have a direct impact on your SEO. 

Traffic surging? No sweat

  • Scalable hosting solutions: Choose a hosting plan that can stretch as and when needed, allowing your website to accommodate increased traffic. At Fasthosts, our web hosting packages include scalable solutions that adjust resources automatically during peak times, so you don’t have to keep checking in. 
  • Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): CDNs are responsible for distributing your website's content across multiple servers worldwide, reducing load times and improving performance during traffic surges. By caching content closer to your users, CDNs help manage increased demand efficiently.
  • Caching: By implementing caching mechanisms to store copies of your site’s pages, you’ll reduce the need for your server to generate content from scratch for each visitor. This decreases load times and limits server strain during high-traffic periods.
  • Load testing: Conduct load testing to see how your website performs under stress. This proactive approach helps identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement before a traffic surge hits.
  • Regular backups: Make sure you have recent backups of your website. In the event of a crash, having these in place lets you bounce back quickly, minimising downtime and data loss.

Stay one step ahead of the summer surge 

A traffic surge should be a cause for celebration – not a total meltdown. It’s only when your website isn’t prepared that you need to be worried.

At Fasthosts, our scalable hosting options grow with your traffic, so your site stays speedy when it matters most. And if things ever do go sideways, regular backups mean you’ll be back online in no time. 

So, don’t wait until your big moment to realise your site isn’t up to the job. Check out our range of hosting solutions today – or give us a call on 0800 0612 153 – because when the internet comes knocking, you need to be ready.