Slow website speed is one of the issues that hinders many website owners from achieving their marketing goals and improving their website’s ranking on search engines. To ensure you attract more traffic and increase conversions, it is essential to know your website’s speed. So how can you measure your website speed? And how important is this step?
What is meant by website speed?
Website speed refers to the time it takes for a website to load its content and display the page for users, allowing them to interact with the site by clicking, scrolling, or viewing the products and services offered. The faster the website, the better the user experience, indicating the efforts made to improve customer satisfaction. More importantly, improving website speed helps boost the site’s ranking on search engines, as load speed is one of the key factors in ensuring the site reaches the top results.
How to measure website speed with Google
There are several methods to measure website speed, and the best is using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. To use this tool, follow these steps:
Go to the PageSpeed Insights tool.
Copy the URL of the website you want to measure its speed, and paste it into the designated field.
You will be able to check the website speed on both mobile and desktop devices using the buttons at the top.
After that, the website’s speed score will be displayed as a percentage out of 100%. In the measurement shown in the image below, the website speed is 37%, which indicates that the site speed is not sufficient to provide a professional user experience.
In the Diagnose performance issues section, you will find detailed information about the factors affecting website speed and all related details, helping you understand the aspects influencing this result, including:
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): This measures how quickly the largest content on the page, such as images, videos, or large text blocks, loads during the primary content display. The faster these elements load, the better the user experience.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): This tracks changes in layout due to loading fonts, videos, or images while the user is already on the page. These shifts can affect user experience by preventing them from viewing the content properly. This metric is used to measure the speed of loading moving elements on the page or JavaScript codes and how fast they are loaded.
By scrolling down, a series of images or rather screenshots of the website’s page will appear, captured by the speed measurement tool during the website’s loading process. These are essentially one of the metrics used to determine how quickly the hosting server responds to the website. You can review this section within the **PageSpeed Insights** tool to measure the website’s load speed.
If the result of your website speed test shows, as in the image below, that the website interface appears early, this indicates that your server’s response time is good.
However, if the website interface appears in the later screenshots, as shown in the image below, this indicates that you may need to upgrade your hosting plan or switch to a hosting provider that offers better speed and service.
Just below, you will find a set of tips or detailed recommendations that, when followed, will help improve your website’s speed and loading performance. Next to each recommendation, you will see the impact of each individual option on your website’s overall performance.
There is another method to measure website browsing speed, which is through the developer tools available in the Google Chrome browser. It’s worth noting that this tool provides the same data as the PageSpeed Insights tool we previously explained; however, it is faster and easier for users to access.
All you need to do is go to the website or page you want to test for speed, then right-click, scroll down, and select the Inspect tab.
Click on the “<<” icon at the top, then select Lighthouse
Click on Analyze page load to start analyzing the website’s speed.
The website speed details will immediately appear on the right-hand side.
What is the Importance of Improving Website Speed?
Measuring website speed provides several benefits, including:
Improving website speed has a positive impact on the number of visitors to your site. Website speed is one of the key factors that Google uses to rank sites in search engines, along with other factors. This means that the faster your site is, the better its chances of ranking higher in search results, which directly increases the traffic coming from search engines.
Improving website loading speed not only attracts visitors but also significantly affects the sales and conversions on your site. Since many people focus on making sales or completing specific actions like signing up for a mailing list or subscribing, a fast website makes achieving these goals easier by enhancing the user experience. For example, Walmart was able to increase its conversion rate by 2% after improving its website speed by just one second.
A high-speed website enhances the user experience and ensures users avoid a poor experience, which can reduce conversions and sales. If users encounter slow-loading pages, they are more likely to abandon the site before the content even loads, increasing the bounce rate and decreasing the number of visitors.
Knowing your website’s speed is a crucial step in improving user experience and SEO, allowing you to enjoy the full range of benefits that come with it and ensuring optimal growth for your site, as well as achieving your marketing and sales goals.
What is considered a good website speed?
When measuring website speed using PageSpeed Insights, you will see a percentage rating for page load speed. A good website speed typically ranges between 50 to 100.
What are the tools for measuring website speed?
There are several tools for measuring website speed, including PageSpeed Insights, GTMetrix, WebPageTest, and Pingdom Tools, as well as other tools that can be used to measure your site’s speed.
How much does it cost to measure website performance?
Measuring website performance is free and does not require any fees or subscriptions when using tools like PageSpeed Insights. However, some paid tools require fees or subscriptions for more advanced features.
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