Next-generation website testing specialist RapidSpike is continuing its growth trajectory following an increase in headcount, new client wins, and feature developments to further optimise the online customer journey.

Following a £1m investment from venture capital firm Praetura Ventures in 2020, RapidSpike has grown its overall annual recurring revenue by 75%, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

Launching the Web Vitals Index at the end of 2021 – which each week tracks and reveals the highest-ranking eCommerce websites based on user experience, website performance over time, accessibility, page structure and reliability – the Leeds-headquartered company has earmarked further expansion throughout 2022 and beyond.

Pivotal to achieving its business goals, RapidSpike has appointed Andy Court as its new head of marketing. Having spent most of his career managing expert teams in the tech sector, Andy has vast experience in driving strategic organisational growth. Most notably he helped guide and grow Cascade – now IRIS Cascade – from a start-up to becoming a multi-million-pound HR software leader.

Meanwhile, Tom Leeming will strengthen the company’s client function in his new role as business development manager. Previously he ran two successful companies which provided a range of services within the education sector, and has since moved to RapidSpike for a new challenge.

Both will play a vital part in expanding the organisation’s industry presence within the eCommerce and tech sectors. With an established reputation – following its work with Tesco, Sofology, Kurt Geiger and William Hill – the company also recently added a UK-leading online travel and accommodation booking website to its client base, which has added nearly 20% of annual recurring revenue alone.

“People are what make a business successful and that’s exactly what RapidSpike is all about. We have a CEO who understands marketing, actively encourages creativity and implements a ‘don’t be afraid to fail’ attitude – that’s incredibly rare,” commented Andy.

“More than simply website uptime needs to be monitored for businesses to be successful online and create conversion-rich opportunities in today’s digital-first world. The web is open 24-hours-a-day, every day of the year and organisations need to maximise performance, reliability, accessibility, and security if they’re going to lead from the front, enhance the customer experience, and develop genuine brand loyalty.”

With a laser-beam focus on its synthetic monitoring capabilities – which enables users to watch customer journeys unfold in real-time and become ‘online mystery shoppers’ – the organisation is helping an array of eCommerce brands to identify website problems quickly, and instantly pinpoint intermittent problems.

Speaking about the importance of making the web faster, safer, and easier for everyone to use, Tom added: “Customers now expect websites to perform at a higher level than ever before. Even marginal gains of 0.1% faster speeds can represent millions of extra revenue for the UK’s largest brands for example, not to mention significant sustainability savings.”