How to troubleshoot data-driven web application issues: 4 effective steps

Data-driven web applications run most of their code on a server-side machine, and most information is saved in databases. When the database query execution speed is lacking, the performance of the whole website is affected. Even the simplest search queries can make a website slow. In other words, the problems with an unoptimized database may include the following:

• Poor choice of database design

• Lack of structural integrity

• Unoptimized queries and lack of indexes

Most small and medium-sized businesses don't plan their website resources with expectations of rapid success. So, when the traffic on these web apps increases, resulting in increased data flows, their performance is bogged down because the configuration of resources needs to be more powerful to deal with the traffic levels.

Having automatically scalable resources may seem like a solution, but with that, the bills can skyrocket. In such situations, it is better to:

• Compress media to reduce loading time

• Add infrastructural elements to help the database, like caching and queues

• Remove old versions of software, outdated logs, and temp files

• Archive database records and user files that are not used frequently 

Dworkz is the right choice if you want to avoid unmanaged growth of data and traffic. Through proper planning, design, and strategic development, your web app will never experience these issues. With our help, you'll be able to handle how to fix data web application issues yourself.

Hosting services today include high-performance backend resources and sometimes even provide load-balancing services. However, some websites need to utilize these services correctly. For example, you will have a load imbalance if you are not effectively balancing HTTP traffic across different network servers. This will result in performance issues or the inefficient use of your hosting budget.

A lack of transparency in your application is among the most common issues you may face. In this situation, users face the same problems, but administrators only discover them if they're reported. Even when a website is down, you only find out when you come to check on it personally.

Data-based web applications must be developed based on thorough research. This ensures they perform well, and it also makes it easier to monitor their performance. Most of the time, developers blindly follow industry trends, which later-on results in issues like:

• The backend technology selected not offering optimal features or performance

• Lack of support in the industry for your requirements

The same holds for database and content optimization.

Before a project goes into the development phase, the entire concept and plan must go through a documentation phase, specifying the web app's functional and non-functional requirements. Documentation makes selecting every part of the infrastructure easier, ensuring optimal production and the best performance. The most commonly made mistakes at the beginning of a project include the following:

• Choosing the wrong hosting partner

• Bad database engine selection

• Not going for the proper development technology and framework

Once the project is in development or complete, going back or changing stacks is inefficient and costly, especially for small businesses.

Another common reason for experiencing issues in data-driven web applications is that you underestimate the potential of your application. If you don't plan ahead and instead opt for the least resources, increasing traffic and data levels will cause issues. This is because the resources at the backend will be overloaded, which will cause bogged-down performance.

The website logs provide detailed insight into the code to help locate the problem. To identify the issues, you need to go through the logs, which will also help monitor your web app's health. As the server runs, the logs will help catch errors easily.

Once you identify the problem, you need to investigate the app for the issue. Does every user face the issue? What are the trigger events for the issue to occur? Checking things while keeping these questions in mind will help with the investigation. For example, if you introduce error tracking services like Sentry or Datadog, it will be easier to see if the error is recurring or not and how many users face it.

After investigating the error, it needs to be delegated to the specialist to solve issues in data-driven web applications. Usually, the findings from logs and investigations are provided to the specialists in the form of reports to work on the errors and eradicate them efficiently.

Testing is mandatory after the specialists repair the application and resolve the issue. In addition, it ensures that the previous errors are eradicated and that there are no new errors in the application. This is essential because sometimes repairs and updates can cause other issues in the app. Therefore, the web application will be ready to go live through proper testing.

Data-driven web applications are different from static websites because the data here can be easily updated whenever needed. As any new information is generated, the content of data-driven web applications can be edited.

The issues in web-based applications begin with slow loading speeds due to poor load-balancing techniques, bad database optimization, and a lack of scalability. However, a lack of transparency worsens these issues because finding the problem becomes challenging.

Solving problems in data web applications requires troubleshooting, and to troubleshoot, and you first need to identify the problem. Once the problem is apparent, you must investigate the application infrastructure to find the root cause. The next part is reporting the issue to a specialist, who will make amendments to fix the problem. Finally, the application update can be tested to ensure that the issue is eradicated and that this edit has not caused any additional faults.