Well, I've noticed a rather alarming trend among some website owners and bloggers. There seems to be a kind of frenetic enthusiasm that takes over when a blog post goes so viral that the server crashes due to the absurd number of hits. This seems to give a strange sense of having accomplished something great, almost as if it were a badge of honor to be proudly displayed.
I see these columnists or website owners swell with pride on social media, boasting about how their content crashed the server due to the exorbitant traffic. Look, mom, no hands!
Well, I feel the need to dispel this misunderstanding: No, you're not cool if your website crashes from too much traffic. You're not a digital hero. You, my dear, are an imbecile.
Now, I know this may seem like a blow to your self-esteem, but someone had to tell you. There's nothing to brag about when your website goes down because it can't handle the traffic. In fact, it's quite embarrassing. It's like saying, " Hey, look how good I am at making things fail! "
But let's go beyond simple shame. Let's see what really happens when your site crashes due to too much traffic. First of all, you could have handled that traffic. Yes, you heard right. It wasn't an impossible feat or a superhuman task. You could have handled all that traffic using the right software stack , like Varnish Cache, for example.
Not only would your site remain functional, but you could also monetize all those visits and banner ad impressions.
Instead, you've decided to let your site go haywire, like an athlete passing out on the starting line. Result? Not only did you miss out on a revenue opportunity, but you also gave your visitors a slow and frustrating browsing experience. And that's not all.
When your site goes offline, you're sending Google poor core web vitals. Do you know what that means? It means you're telling Google that your site isn't trustworthy. And Google, like a stern parent, will punish you for it. It will limit the traffic it sends you, whether it's from Google News or Discovery. And the same thing will happen with Facebook if your traffic is primarily social. Ultimately, you'll have fewer visitors and fewer monetization opportunities. It's like shooting yourself in the foot and then bragging about how good you are at bleeding.
Also, a site that goes offline often damages your reputation. Who would want to rely on a site that can't handle traffic? Who would want to do business with a site that falls at the first sign of popularity? It's like relying on a sinking ship at the first sign of water. Not very reliable, is it?
And then there's the fact that your site crashing isn't just a problem for you, it's also a problem for your visitors. You know, those people who clicked on your viral post hoping to read something interesting? They had to deal with an error page or unbearably slow navigation. It's not exactly the user experience they were looking for. And you know what people do when they have a bad experience on a website? They leave and often never return. So, not only have you lost visitors in the short term, but you've also potentially lost visitors in the long run.
I'd also like to point out that if your site goes down due to traffic, it means you didn't plan properly. You didn't consider the possibility that your content could go viral and attract massive traffic. In other words, you weren't set up for success . And if you're not ready for success when it comes, you're not really cool. You're just unprepared.
So, what should you do instead of bragging about your website crash? Well, you could start by improving your web infrastructure and making sure it can handle the traffic. You could also start using tools like Varnish Cache to improve your website's performance . And, most importantly, you should stop viewing a website crash as a success and start seeing it for what it is: a failure.
Our customers, for example, routinely handle up to 3 million visitors a day (per day) without experiencing slowdowns or crashes.
Bottom line, if your website crashes due to traffic, you're not cool. You're just the captain of a digital Titanic, proudly steering your ship toward the iceberg of failure. There's nothing cool about that. So, next time your site crashes, instead of bragging, why not take it as a sign that it's time to make some improvements?
Remember, true success isn't measured in how many servers you crash, it's how many visitors you satisfy and keep. The truly cool is the one who can handle success, not the one who collapses under the weight of it.
