5 Best Practices for Building Scalable Web Applications

•Introduction

Building a scalable web application is a daunting task for any developer. Scalability is an essential aspect of web applications because it ensures that the application can handle increased traffic and usage without compromising performance.

In this blog post, we will discuss some best practices that can help you build a highly scalable web application. These practices include using a scalable architecture, implementing caching, load balancing, and more.

•Use a Scalable Architecture

The architecture of your web application plays a crucial role in its scalability. Therefore, it is essential to choose a scalable architecture. One such architecture is the microservices architecture. Microservices architecture is a way of developing applications that are composed of small, independent services that communicate with each other using APIs.

This architecture allows for the easy addition or removal of services as needed, making it highly scalable. Microservices architecture also provides better fault isolation, which means that if one service fails, it does not affect the entire application. Netflix is one of the most well-known companies that uses microservices architecture. They have hundreds of microservices that make up their streaming platform, each responsible for a specific task such as recommendations, search, and playback.

Another architecture that can be used for scalability is the serverless architecture. In the serverless architecture, the server is responsible for running the application code, and the developer does not have to worry about managing the server.

This architecture allows for high scalability because it automatically scales based on the number of requests. The serverless architecture also reduces costs because the developer only pays for the resources used.

•Use a Content Delivery Network

A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of servers that are distributed around the world. The purpose of a CDN is to deliver content to users from the server that is closest to them.

Using a CDN can significantly improve the performance of your web application by reducing the latency between the server and the user. CDNs can also handle large amounts of traffic and distribute the load across multiple servers. Some popular examples of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) are Cloudflare,Amazon CloudFront,StackPath, Google Cloud CDN and many others.

•Caching

Caching is an excellent way to enhance the performance of your web application. Caching involves storing frequently accessed data in a cache, which reduces the number of requests to the server.

When a user requests data that is already present in the cache, the server can quickly retrieve it, reducing the load on the server. Caching is an effective way to handle large amounts of data and can significantly improve the performance of a web application.

There are several types of caching, including client-side caching and server-side caching. Client-side caching involves storing data on the client-side, such as in the browser's cache. Server-side caching involves storing data on the server-side, such as in a cache server.

Etsy for example uses the client-side caching to speed up page load times and reduce server load. When a user visits a page on Etsy, the website's caching system stores a copy of that page in its memory. The next time a user visits that page, the website serves up the cached copy instead of generating the page from scratch, which can significantly reduce page load times.

•Load Balancing

Load balancing is the process of distributing the workload across multiple servers to ensure that no server is overloaded. Load balancing is essential for scalability because it allows for the easy addition or removal of servers as needed.

There are several ways to implement load balancing, such as round-robin, IP hash, and least connections. Implementing load balancing ensures that your web application can handle increased traffic without compromising performance.

One technique Netflix uses is called "server-side load balancing," which involves distributing user requests across a cluster of servers based on the current load of each server. This ensures that no single server is overloaded and that user requests are handled quickly and efficiently.

•Database Scaling

Database scaling is another important aspect of building a scalable web application. As the number of users and data grows, the database can become a bottleneck for performance.

One way to scale the database is to use sharding. Sharding involves breaking up the database into smaller, more manageable pieces, which can be distributed across multiple servers.

Another way to scale the database is to use a distributed database system. A distributed database system involves distributing the database across multiple servers, which allows for better scalability and fault tolerance.

•Conclusion

Building a scalable web application requires careful planning and execution. Choosing a scalable architecture, implementing caching, load balancing, and database scaling are some best practices that can help you build a highly scalable web application.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that your web application can handle increased traffic and usage without compromising performance. Building a scalable web application requires continuous monitoring and optimization, but with the right approach, you can build a web application that can grow with your business.