The joy of every app developer is to create a fully-functioning website that meets business and customer needs. However, there comes a moment when you build a perfect web app; then, the app gets potential users. In the process, you get to interact with the users, get feedback and determine the measures to put in place to enhance improvement. However, it reaches a point, and you realize users cannot access your application as before and achieve their desired purposes. This will make you perform app testing. While in the testing process, you realize your app is fully functional. You will then wonder where the issue is.

Well, should you face such a scenario, just know you are experiencing scalability problems, meaning your cloud technology doesn’t support scaling with increasing load.

So, for modern applications, know that scalability is a crucial element for the success of the app. Such an app should remain strong even when the number of users keeps increasing without affecting the overall functionality.

Keep reading to understand the app scalability, the essence of scalability, and the elements to remember if you want to create a highly scalable web application if you are a beginner or even an expert.

The significance of scalability

Unlike olden-day internet users, app users of this era will always want a perfect user experience in terms of faster loading time, minimum or no interruptions, and an all-time availability application despite the number of people visiting and using the application.

If your app is poorly designed and cannot withstand many people using the app, potential customers will leave your app, going for a better version for an improved user experience. So, in software development, scalability is crucial because of the following:

• It helps the general organization meet the ever-changing network requirements
• Helps in maintaining higher availability and keeping the users satisfied
• Helps in cost reduction in the off-seasons when the demand is less

Fault-tolerant – scalable architectural pattern eliminates chances of an app failing. In fact, if one section of an app fails, the other sections continue to function as usual, thus fostering business growth.

Independent components – a scalable web app has components independent and can handle their respective tasks, which accelerates service delivery.

Global access – a scalable web app that uses robust network solutions. This makes it easy for global users to access the services, which leads to accelerated business growth.

Easy to maintain and update – scalable apps follow the modular architecture, where the app’s components are independent. This makes the maintenance and app upgrade processes easy and seamless. The team can add features easily without affecting other parts of the app. Again, you can perform maintenance in the needed sections without impacting the functionality of other components within the app.

Increased loading speed – many app users often find it hard to keep up with poor loading speed as they navigate through the app. In such instances, they often leave the app and find other options. However, by building a scalable web app, you can achieve a short rendering time, hence increased profits and overall customer satisfaction.

While many companies tend to focus more on other features other than scalability, they often forget the significant element of web app development.

Ways to scale web apps

When you hear about scalability, it can be in the form of vertical scaling or horizontal scaling. The two options play varied roles in enhancing an app’s performance and service delivery. Below is an in-depth description of each.

Vertical scaling– Also called scaling up, vertical scaling involves maximizing resource usability to enable them to accommodate the growing demand. In software development, it involves tasks like code and algorithm optimization.

Horizontal scaling– Also called scaling out, horizontal scaling involves increasing resources to the application’s architecture to accommodate the growing demand. The increased units play a big role in accommodating new demands, thus saving the large unit from struggling with the excess load on a single unit.

Choosing between horizontal scaling and vertical scaling depends heavily on the application’s dynamics and the anticipated increase in server loads.

You only need to know that vertical scaling is all about adding more power to the existing app’s infrastructure (such as adjusting the RAM or CPU) capacity of existing systems, while horizontal scaling is all about adding more resources to enhance the performance of the system.

Understanding App scalability

Having defined the elements of scalability in development, application scalability is simply the app to manage the loading time along with the increasing number of users without affecting the general performance and without affecting user experience.

So, simply put, app scalability is the ability of the growing software or changes to meet the user’s needs.

Measuring the scalability of an app can be through the total requests the app can handle at a go.

However, measuring scalability is a complex process that will affect other software and hardware components.

So, for effective scaling, make sure you perform:

• Hard disk adjustments
• CPU and physical memory requirements adjustments
• Network bandwidth adjustments

These adjustments will enhance the correct configuration to meet a high number of requests. Scalability generally will help you serve the customer’s requests under heavy load while reducing downtime caused by server crashes.

So, up to this point, it is evident that the main purpose of scalability is to maintain a stable user experience as your app keeps growing. So, how do you ensure you build a scalable web applications? Let’s check out further in the next section.

How to Build a Scalable Web Applications

Building scalable web applications is a process that requires proper evaluation and planning to ensure every step is worth the effort. Below are the steps to follow to build a scalable web app successfully:

• Assess the goals and expectations

Not all projects require scalability. The whole process is costly, hence the need to start by doing proper assessment and evaluation of scalability requirements. Simply don’t implement scalability just because it is trending in many businesses. Analyze first as you consider the following aspects:

Collect the required data to validate the need for scalability and appropriate strategy to implement. For instance, are your numbers increasing? What percentage? What period? What do you expect in the next few months? Is the trend going to continue? The answers you get here will determine if building a scalable web app is a viable idea, considering the long-term business goals.

Next, think of your storage plans. Can it accommodate a change in size?

Once you are sure you need to build a scalable web app, think of the viable options that will accommodate your growing business.

• Know the key metrics

This is the second step of building a scalable web app. At this point, you’ve done research and validated the concept of building a scalable web app. However, before you move on, you need to establish the scalability areas you need to focus on, hence the need to redefine the key metrics that impact your business growth. They include the following:

• Memory usage – defines overall performance in relation to the available memory.
• The central processing unit (CPU) – shows CPU usage within a specific timeline. In this case, when the CPU usage is high, it means performance issues with the app, hence the need to include app monitoring tools to identify specific areas that need improvement.
• Disk Input/Output – shows all the tasks within a physical disk
• Network input/output – displays the period through which data was transmitted, showing scenarios that take more time.

• Use appropriate tools for monitoring scalability

Once you have your app in place and fully functional, you will need to ensure proper and regular monitoring as you analyze the performance. So, you need to have a good APM – Application performance monitoring solution.

For instance, AppDynamics and New Relic are perfect examples of application performance monitoring solutions.

The process is even easier when you are using PaaS- Platform as a service account because such accounts offer reliable APM solutions.

The significance of monitoring app performance is to get useful insights to help you define areas that require your attention.

• Use the right database

The database is a key element in scaling, especially after you have determined architecture and infrastructure aspects.

So, how do you determine the right database? Use the following approaches.

• Evaluate your app requirements by determining the type of data you will need to store
• Get a relational database management system for relational data. Good examples include PostgreSQL and MySQL, which have high scalability.
• Integrate your chosen database in your app for efficiency.

• Choose a highly scalable framework

Well, frameworks, too, have a significant impact on the scalability of the app. However, these frameworks depend on the programming language you choose.

As in the case of Java, go for the tried-and-tested Spring framework

Js framework is the best option for Node.js programming language

• Go for appropriate infrastructure options for scalability

The best option is the PaaS provider, a cloud computing model which enhances the management of many cloud services aspects, including database, runtime environment, operating system, middleware, storage, servers, networking, and infrastructure.

Above all, PaaS providers have additional infrastructure resources that simplify the process of scaling your app. For instance, they provide flexible pricing plan options.

IBM Cloud PaaS, Microsoft Azure PaaS, Heroku, and AWS Elastic Beanstalk are perfect examples of the best PaaS providers.

• Know your web application scalability challenges

So, assume your web application is having scalability challenges. The very first thing to address is defining the specific issue affecting scalability. However, you have to use the appropriate metrics. In most instances, Disk I/O, Network I/O, CPU usage, and memory utilization are the most appropriate scalability metrics.

• Control stakeholder expectations on web app scaling

In the case where your app is responding according to your business anticipation, then all is okay, and your business is in the right state. In such an instance, avoid trying to improve scalability when there is no point. Instead, consider doing the following:

• Let your business stakeholders know that scaling up and scaling out of businesses can be costly.
• Get significant data showing that your web app is highly scalable and it is impacting your business positively.
• Let the stakeholders know that scaling a stable website app can bring complexities to the whole system, and modifying it in the future can be a big problem.
• Make your business stakeholders know that you don’t need to take up such tasks just because everyone else is scaling their business.

Conclusion

App scalability is a concern that developers should put into consideration. The aim of business applications is to achieve positive results concerning your business. While some developers don’t know the appropriate approaches to use to enhance high web app scalability, consider applying the above approaches for a highly scalable web app.

Building a scalable web app FAQs

How much does it cost to build a scalable web app?

Building a scalable web app is a complex process, and it attracts costs based on several factors. In this case, the initial costs that cover a strong infrastructure, highly scalable databases, and a reliable load-balancing approach are always higher. While you may incur higher initial costs, it becomes a cost-effective approach once the business starts experiencing growth and expansion. It can accommodate any kind of traffic without the need to put in more effort and resources.

Again, the costs will depend on the company’s size. In this case, startup businesses are costly. The good aspect is that they can leverage cloud services and use the pay-as-you-go approach to ensure they spend on the needed resources. Nonetheless, the costs will still be higher because startup businesses will have to hire and train the admin staff.

Established businesses benefit more from scalable web apps in terms of security and costs.

What is a scalable web architecture like?

Ideally, a scalable web architecture is made up of four core layers which are web servers, database servers, load balancers, and shared file servers.

The layers are scaled independently, ensuring one activity on one layer does not affect the activities of other layers. Load balancer plays a significant role in ensuring even distribution of load across the system.

The database layer is a complex one when it comes to scaling. However, you can implement the master-slave replication strategy here to simplify scaling the database layer.

If you want to optimize the system’s performance, use the caching hierarchy where the app server caches manage complex queries and complex caching while the local cache manages the basic tasks.

Implementing job queues helps manage CPU requirements for complex data processing, while CDNs facilitate static public content processing while ensuring the system is fault-tolerant.

Finally, implementing cloud-based architecture solutions like AWS offers integrations apart from just ensuring advanced scalability.

Are there examples of scalable web applications that are successful?

Yes. There are many brands that are thriving after implementing the concept of building scalable web applications. Examples include Shopify, Dropbox, Evernote, Slack, Bitly, Netflix, and Airbnb, among many others.

What is the importance of scalability in web applications?

Building a scalable web application helps businesses accommodate the changing demand in the market, ensuring customers are satisfied throughout. If the traffic is higher, a scalable web app will handle the traffic without any challenges, ensuring seamless service delivery. Similarly, when the demand starts declining or reduces, the system adjusts accordingly, ensuring the company saves resources while fulfilling the needs of current demands.

What challenges should I expect when building a scalable web app?

While building a scalable web application is a viable idea, there are challenges you should know before the process. Examples of these challenges include the following:

Choosing the ideal framework – while you can use several frameworks in building scalable web apps, it can be challenging to pick the right framework. There are several considerations you must make. For instance, you must define the system’s architecture, tech stack, and must-have features for the app. In this case, you need to choose a framework that meets all these requirements.

Ruby on Rails and Django are some of the best frameworks to use when building scalable web apps. Laravel, Reac.js, Angular.js, and Asp.net are other options you can explore. You only need to understand your project first.

Deployment complexities, especially since it is all about deploying different components that must interact with one another. Here, you need to figure out a solid communication mechanism to manage the deployment complexity.

Security concerns – security will always be of great concern, especially when building scalable web applications. Handling security needs in a scalable system comes with several challenges, like implementing strict access measures which in one way or the other exposes the system to external vulnerabilities.

You can overcome the security challenges by testing your app thoroughly and following secure coding best practices.

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