West Wind Web Surge

It can be quite frustrating when your brand new website fails shortly after you launch it, because it couldn't handle the number of visitors. This is why it's always a good idea to test it every step of the way, and if you want to make this process less tedious, you can turn to West Wind Web Surge. This piece of software simplifies and automates HTTP request and load testing, so you can make sure everything is in order and that you won't have any surprises, while building your website. The tools it places at your disposal makes everything easy and convenient, and they can help you finish your tests in seconds instead of minutes.

Web Surge comes in paid and free editions, and the latter won't nag you with any reminders to upgrade. You can download and install the software in under a minute, without making any complicated settings. It doesn't ask for any special tools or services to run, and it won't put a strain on your computer's memory or processor.

The software lets you prepare and run HTTP requests, and you can also make a series of fine tweaks, like setting up delays, randomize requests, specify a username and a password and much more. You can create one or more sessions on the left half of the software's user interface, and specify an URL and make your settings, for each session, on the right half. It may take a minute or two to familiarize yourself with the layout of the controls, but you won't have any difficulties mastering them, especially if you have a look over the introduction video on the developer's website.

You can test and preview your sessions before running them, to see what kind of response you will get from the target server. The information includes the response body, which is automatically formatted depending on language, but you can also view it as raw code if you want to. When you are ready, you can begin by hitting the Test button, on the left half of the window, and the will start sending your request multiple times, to stress-test your website or web app. The progress is displayed in real time on the Output tab, on the right half of the window, where the program will display the results as well.

Besides running test sessions one by one, each with a single URL, you can also run multiple sessions in batch mode. What's more, Web Surge comes with a capturing tool, which records all the HTTP requests as you navigate on a local or online site on your preferred web browser. Each request is saved automatically as a separate session, and you can run all of them with a single click and receive the results as usual. You can get total numbers for successes and fails, average times, generate charts and much more.

With West Wind Web Surge, you can ensure that your websites and will cope with large numbers of requests before it goes live, without seriously affecting your normal workflow.