Many people still think that only e-commerce needs a website, but this is not the case. Every company needs a website that performs well so that it looks professional and can be a source of information for consumers and target audiences. Therefore, API monitoring is needed so that the website is always performing well. 

Here we will talk about website optimization, what needs to be monitored and how to monitor it? Before finding out the useful tips, first look at the definition of web performance monitoring below. 

What is Web Performance Monitoring and Why is it Important?

Website performance is needed by every company. As a user, when we open a certain site, we will definitely like perfect web performance. If the loading time is long and the response time is long, it will certainly make many site visitors dissatisfied. Most people will not spend a long time on this kind of site. 

Website monitoring is a comprehensive examination of the responsiveness and performance of a site. A well-performing website should be able to minimize error times, optimize page loading, and ensure users have the best possible experience. 

Ignoring website performance is a big problem for most businesses in any industry. As a case in point, the website of the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon, experienced a 40-minute outage in 2013. As a result of this degraded performance, Amazon lost about $4.2 million in sales. In another example, a Facebook crash in 2021 resulted in $100 million in lost profits! 

These two examples from Amazon and Facebook prove that poor website performance will directly affect a company’s revenue. Of course, the nominal amount lost will vary by industry and depends on the scale of the company as well. But what is certain is that website monitoring is very important for the sustainability of the company. 

In addition, the overall website does need to be monitored to avoid problems that are too big. If the problem is identified first before it becomes big, then solving and finding a solution becomes much easier. 

Website Optimization: What to Monitor?

So, what needs to be monitored on a website? The general approach to optimizing a website is: it is important to monitor the performance of all components within the web, all system loads, server network availability, and hardware condition parameters. Moreover, it is crucial to collect more specific individual metrics. The goal is to help find and understand problematic website behavior.

Once you know what problems the website is experiencing, it will be easier to find solutions and address them to get web performance back to normal. Let’s discuss what needs to be checked and what needs to be done.

The following are the things that need to be checked:

  • Website response time
  • virtual host that runs the web server
  • SOAP web service
  • The overall condition of the server

Then, what to do is:

  • Collecting web server performance statistics
  • Collecting HTTP error statistics
  • Analyzing web server logs and notifications
  • Analyzing server
  • Consolidate the status of servers that become load balancers
  • Monitor the underlying servers and databases of the web server
  • Monitor CPU utilization, memory, bandwidth, and other server KPIs
  • Collect downtime statistics ranging from per hour, per day, per week, per month, to per year

How Often Should Web Performance Monitors Be Performed?

Is conducting a performance test once a year enough? Clearly this is not enough, because website performance can change at any time, due to various factors. Every company is strongly advised to monitor the web at least once a month. By testing regularly, it will be easier for companies to identify problems and resolve them. 

Tips to Improve Web Performance with Web/API Monitoring

The following are 5 tips that can be applied in improving web performance with Web/API monitoring:

1. Choose the Right Device

Web performance monitoring and analysis tools can provide diagnostic info on web performance under various conditions. But the most effective tools are those that go a step further. That is, they perform tests from multiple locations in an actual browser, under a number of network conditions. 

2. Focus on Metrics that Matter

When users are using a website, most will look for visual feedback to ensure that everything is working as expected.  Therefore, make sure to focus on visual-related metrics. For example, Time to First Byte, First Paint, First Contentful Paint, and Total Blocking Time, which are very user-centric, prioritizing user needs. The most basic web performance will be maintained if the above elements are always monitored. 

3. Monitor Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals was first introduced by Google in 2020. It is a set of metrics used to measure user experience on websites. Measures include loading time, interactive experience, and content stability. Google uses Core Web Vitals as part of its search ranking algorithm. Websites that perform well on these metrics can improve their search rankings. 

The following are metrics that are considered vital and can improve search rankings:

  • Largest Contentful Paint

Largest Contentful Paint or LCP indicates the loading time of the most important data set, whether it is text or image, which is among the visible areas. 

  • Cumulative Layout Shift

Cumulative Layout Shift or CLS evaluates the stability of a website. CLS has a lot to do with user experience as it measures the unexpected movement of content on a single page of a site.

This unexpected movement is often caused by various performance issues, such as slow loading of elements that suddenly appear in the visible area of the page, causing other content to move.

  • First Input Delay

First Input Delay or FID measures the time between user interactions, such as link clicks and browser response time. 

If Core Web Vitals are always monitored, then the three vital metrics above can be checked for performance at all times. Identifying problems or if there are areas that need to be optimized will be easier. 

Web/API monitoring is very important for our business operational activities, so make sure to use a reliable web monitoring service like Netmonk. Present as one of the network monitoring service providers in Indonesia, Netmonk solutions have been used by several large companies and ministries. Come on, try the Netmonk service for 14 days to find out what features are available! 

Reference:

https://stackify.com/website-performance-monitoring-and-optimization-best- practices/