Log Day 0: QuickPizza — The Beginning and the Challenges I Didn’t See Coming

The Dream That Came to Life

Today is the day I’ve been waiting for months. QuickPizza, my dream come true, is finally online. Imagine this: an attractive website with pictures of pizzas so mouthwatering you can almost smell the melted cheese and fresh tomato sauce. The menu is diverse, the ordering process is simple, and everything works perfectly.

I ran all the necessary functional tests; every button, every link, every form. I had heard stories from other entrepreneurs who faced issues by not preparing for real traffic, but I thought, “That won’t happen to me. My business is small, and I need to save money right now.” I decided not to invest in additional performance testing or more robust infrastructure. What could go wrong?

The Impact of Reality: I Wasn’t Prepared for Real Traffic

The first few hours were exciting. Orders started coming in, and my team and I were euphoric. But then, the dinner rush hit. Suddenly, the site began to slow down. Pages took forever to load, and some customers couldn’t complete their orders. Worst of all: the site went down.

I felt a knot in my stomach. Calls and messages from frustrated customers came flooding in. I realized I wasn’t prepared for real traffic. I had underestimated the demand and overestimated my website’s capacity. My dream was turning into a public nightmare.

Beyond Traffic: It’s Not Just About Users, but Knowing What’s Failing

Desperate to fix the problem, I increased server resources, thinking that would solve everything. However, the issues persisted. The site was still slow, and some customers still couldn’t complete their orders. I realized it wasn’t just about handling more users but understanding what was failing in the system.

I needed visibility or some way to observe what was happening behind the scenes, but I didn’t have the tools to gather that information. Without knowing where the problem was, it was impossible to fix it effectively.

The Limitations of Basic Metrics: Sometimes, Metrics Alone Aren’t Enough

I implemented some basic metrics to monitor server performance: CPU usage, memory, network traffic. However, while these metrics gave me a general idea, they didn’t help me pinpoint the specific problems my customers were facing.

There were times when a customer called saying they couldn’t complete their order, but the metrics showed nothing out of the ordinary. I felt like I was searching for a needle in a haystack. I realized that sometimes, metrics alone aren’t enough, and I needed to improve how I observed what was happening.

The Final Clue: Sometimes, Logs Are All You Have

I thought maybe the server logs could give me some clues. However, sifting through tons of log files without the right tool was like trying to find a grain of sand on a beach.

I needed an efficient way to manage and analyze logs to find the root cause of the issues. Sometimes, logs are all you have to understand what’s really going on.

The User Experience Puzzle: The End-User Experience Remained a Mystery

After realizing that I didn’t really know how my system was working, I wondered, “How does this look for my customers?” I had no idea what the experience was like from the user’s browser.

Did the site look good on all devices? Were there JavaScript errors affecting functionality? The end-user experience remained a mystery to me. I realized that without understanding how my customers interacted with the site, I couldn’t guarantee a satisfying experience.

A New Beginning: Learning from Mistakes

This series of events made me see that I needed to change my approach. I couldn’t continue operating blindly, hoping things would work by magic. I decided it was time to learn and apply the right tools and practices to ensure QuickPizza’s success.

Next Steps: The Tools I Will Implement on This Journey

Load Testing with Grafana k6

Why: I need to properly prepare for real traffic and understand how my site handles user concurrency.
How it helps: By simulating multiple users accessing the site simultaneously, I can identify bottlenecks and optimize performance before real users are affected.

Monitoring Metrics with Prometheus, Mimir, and Grafana

Why: Basic metrics aren’t enough. I need detailed visibility into system performance.
How it helps: I will be able to monitor my infrastructure in real-time, visualize historical data, and set alerts to proactively detect issues.

Log Management with Grafana Loki

Why: Sometimes, logs are the only source of information to diagnose complex problems.
How it helps: With an efficient log management tool, I can quickly search and analyze error messages, finding patterns and root causes.

Distributed Tracing with Grafana Tempo

Why: I need to understand the flow of requests and find exactly where failures occur.
How it helps: Traces will allow me to follow each request’s journey through the different components of my application, identifying specific points of failure.

End-User Experience Monitoring with Grafana Faro

Why: Customer satisfaction is key, and I need to ensure the user experience is optimal.
How it helps: Faro will let me see performance and errors from the user’s perspective, identifying frontend issues that could be affecting their experience.

An Invitation to Learn Together

If you’ve gone through or are currently facing a similar situation, I invite you to join me on this journey of learning and continuous improvement. In upcoming articles, I’ll share in detail how I implemented each of these tools and how they helped me overcome the challenges I faced.

Article 1: Preparing for Real Traffic with Grafana k6 — Learning About Performance Testing
Article 2: Beyond Basic Metrics: Monitoring with Prometheus and Grafana — Understanding Observability
Article 3: When Logs Are All You Have: Managing with Loki
Article 4: Uncovering Failures with Distributed Tracing and Tempo
Article 5: Unraveling the Mystery of User Experience with Faro

Conclusion: Turning Challenges into Opportunities

Though the beginning was rocky, I’m determined to turn these challenges into opportunities to strengthen QuickPizza. I’ve learned that it’s not just about having a functional website but about deeply understanding how it operates and how my customers experience it.

This is the start of a new phase, not only for my business but also for my growth as an entrepreneur. I’m excited about what’s to come and to share this journey with you.

Final Message
Don’t let obstacles stop you. Every challenge is an opportunity to learn and improve. If you’re launching an online project or want to enhance your website’s performance and user experience, I encourage you to follow this series. Feel free to contact me via my WhatsApp community or LinkedIn. Together, we can build digital experiences that truly make a difference.