Three Ways to Avoid a Crashing Competition Website

Hey, it's Jack here. As the CTO at Givewaze, I've helped dozens of competition and giveaway businesses avoid the nightmare of crashing websites. Here are three key strategies to keep your site running smoothly, even under heavy traffic.

1. Upgrade to More Robust Servers

Your website is only as strong as the foundation it's built on. Many businesses underestimate the power needed to handle sudden traffic spikes, especially during high-stakes events like draw days on undersold competitions!

Robust servers are your first line of defence against crashes.

They provide:

• Higher capacity to handle simultaneous users

• Faster processing of requests

• Better stability under stress

Think of it like moving house and packing your little car full of furniture. It was fine the first time you moved, but now you’ve got more stuff and a family to move along with you. You need to upgrade to a heavy-duty motor to make the journey without breaking down

2. Implement Intelligent Load Balancing

Even with powerful servers, distributing traffic efficiently is crucial. Load balancing is like a skilled traffic warden, directing cars to prevent jams.

Here's how it helps:

• Spreads user requests across multiple servers

• Prevents any single server from being overwhelmed

• Improves overall site responsiveness

Smart load balancing can handle traffic surges gracefully, keeping your site running smoothly when it matters most.

Things to try:

• Enable load balancing on your current website plan. Many providers offer this as an add-on service.

• Look into cloud-based load balancers like Amazon's Elastic Load Balancing or Cloudflare's Load Balancing for more flexibility.

• Set up health checks to automatically remove unhealthy servers from your pool, ensuring traffic is only sent to responsive servers.

3. Optimise Your Content Delivery

Your website's performance isn't just about raw server power. How you deliver content to users is also important.

Key optimisation strategies include:

• Using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to serve files from locations closer to users

• Compressing images and other large files

• Minimising unnecessary scripts and plugins

Think of content optimisation like packing for a holiday. The lighter and more organised your luggage, the smoother your journey.

Things to try:

• Use free tools like Google's PageSpeed Insights to identify specific areas for improvement on your site.

• Implement a CDN service like Cloudflare or StackPath. Many offer free tiers to get started.

• Use image compression tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel to reduce file sizes without sacrificing quality.

• Audit your site's plugins and scripts, removing any that aren't essential for your core functionality.

The Cost of Crashes

A crashed website during a crucial moment can be devastating:

• Lost entries and sales

• Damaged reputation

• Frustrated customers who may not return

• Failed businesses

Don't let technical issues derail your success. Investing in robust infrastructure and optimisation is far less costly than dealing with the fallout of a major crash.

Ready to crash-proof your competition website?

At Givewaze, we've built a platform designed specifically for high-traffic competition and giveaway businesses. Our solution incorporates all these strategies and more to ensure your events run flawlessly.

Want to learn how we can help your business avoid costly crashes? Let's have a chat!