Competition for customers’ online attention increases steadily, and consumers are getting pickier. It has become crucial to test, monitor and optimize ecommerce sites and mobile applications to ensure they are top quality. Here are my top five application and ecommerce site testing trend predictions for 2017:
The API Economy – The New Business Engine
The use of application programming interface (API) will explode among application developers and providers. API improves efficient communication, work, online shopping and gaming etc and tie to other parts of an organization like transactions, shipping and warehousing. To ensure combined API’s deploy and function properly, application creators will lean more heavily on visibility and testing solutions.
Speed of Application Development
In order to stay competitive, many organizations have sped up their application development by moving to automated testing models. We predict that more and more automation will require new levels of testing to speed up the development process.
Testing and analytics tools can today provide a holistic view of application development.
DDoS Attacks Continue in a Social Way
DDoS attacks continue to flood enterprises with disruptions and targeted misconduct. Today’s attacks are being rolled out through social media channels, being delivered via real people and are tied to specific actions of companies that the consumer doesn’t agree with. I predict that we will see more attacks as companies continue to take advantage of social media to build customers and brand confidence. Organizations will look for traffic visibility tools to ensure that these attacks don’t create downtime and disrupt sales.
B2B Shopping Experience Becoming More like B2C
B2B ecommerce is becoming the biggest revenue generator in the U.S. and around the world. B2B organizations will take advantage of all of the B2C industry advancements to improve their business models and shopping experiences. Despite low volumes, B2B tends to have higher value in each sale. It will be important to ensure online assets are available and meet ecommerce purchase models.
Analytics For Both Sides of the Business
Comparing sales data with performance data creates a strong bond between the two. A platform that performs faster will lead to higher sales – a 100ms increase in page load can increase sales by 1%. Performance and sales will align more in 2017 as organizations establish KPIs like web/cloud/app performance to increase profits.
Maximizing profitability will take presence in order to capitalize on conversions without overspending on unnecessary infrastructure. Advanced load testing platforms provide the means to test web applications performance under real-life end-user demands without doing it on a live, unsuspecting audience.
It is important to keep up with current and future trends to optimize your website and application quality and attractiveness. In the end, the health of the organization depends on it. This top 5 list will help you stay on top of your game.
Sven Hammar is co-founder and CEO of Apica