Obamacare Site: Updates
We recently reported on the mess that people attempting to access the Obamacare website experienced when the site was first launched. Now that the site is back up and running again, things are still not where they should be. What's happening and how long will it take for the hosting company behind the site to get it all working smoothly? Hold onto your hats, Americans, this could take some time.
Obamacare Site: The Current Issue
Picture a major traffic jam caused by construction. Once that construction has been cleared up, traffic flows slower through the construction zone, right? Well, that's what's happening here. Analytics show that people are accessing the Obamacare website, but getting there is slow and shopping around is slow too.
Interestingly, analytics also show that people are taking the time to shop around, but those people aren't actually going through with any decisions. All of these things lead to some interesting questions, but, most importantly, people want to know when site speeds can be expected to increase. The answer? According to the Federal Health Exchange, traffic will start to be a lot smoother in about one month. Until then, users will have to deal with the slow ride.
Obamacare Site: In Defence
It's really easy to point at the Obamacare website and state: what idiots! The government should have been much more prepared for such an influx of visitors! Who is running this website anyway? They need a new web hosting company! But, here's the thing: million of people accessed the sites at once. That's probably more traffic than most sites see in the span of a few days or weeks.
Even though the government was prepared for major traffic, there really was no way to make sure that the site ran completely smoothly. This is a kind of “fix it as you go” operation, and now site developers are working to make sure that a complete roadblock doesn't happen again. In other words, troubleshooting in this form is completely trial and error based, and there's not much more that can be done for now – but maybe something could have been done before that.
Obamacare Site: Preparation Is Key
The government could have prepared citizens for a potential roadblock before the site went live – and that's precisely what you can do with your cheap hosting site. Let's say you offer an amazing $1 per month deal. You can expect a lot of traffic to follow, right? Well, you may want to tell everyone that may visit your site: expect delays!
This is something that the government didn't do (but could have done). As it stands, though, the site is operational – although slow – and that's the main point, right? Have you visited the Obamacare website yet? If not, it's worth checking out just to see how a site of this magnitude runs, and to see what you can do differently on you high traffic site.
What do you think of this traffic jam? Is it warranted or really not necessary?
