What is Google Page Speed Insights and Why is It Important?

One of the most important attributes of website performance is the speed in which it downloads.

The faster the download speed, the greater the impression.

However, measuring such speeds requires something like Google Page Speed Insights (GPSI), so that you can get a better understanding of how your site performs. Understanding page speed and what can be done to improve it can go a long way towards boosting your website and improving your website ranking.

Essentially, Google Page Speed Insights provides information on the performance of web pages. This includes both computer and mobile devices. The resulting information can be used to determine if the speed of the pages can be improved. The GPSI can be used both in real world settings and in the lab to gauge the basic speed in which your pages download to different devices.

While the real world offers insight into the user experience, it lacks the overall data provided by a lab setting. Conversely, judging results in the lab misses out on what might be real world issues that affect overall speed.

Check Website Speed & Get Google Score

The report that is generated by the GPSI provides you with the overall speed of the download which is summarized by the Google score. The score itself ranges from 0 to 100 and is determined by using the Lighthouse program. The breakdown of the score is as follows;

  • Fast: 90+
  • Moderate: 50 to 90
  • Slow: Below 50

Bottom line, the better your Google score, the faster your website is, the more likely potential visitors will go to and stay on your site. A 90+ is what your site should be shooting for in terms of download speed. This means that you will need the right tool for the job.

Collecting real world data is accomplished by using the Chrome User Experience Report or CrUX. This is determined using two elements, the First Contenful Paint (FCP) along with the First Input Delay (FID) for the web page. Once that has been gathered, a score is generated to determine the overall speed.

FCP

  • Fast: 0 to 1000ms
  • Moderate: 1000ms to 3000ms
  • Slow: Above 3000ms

FID

  • Fast: 0 to 100ms
  • Moderate: 100ms to 300ms
  • Slow: Above 300ms

The information is for both computers and mobile devices. Once that benchmark is determined, then the site can be classified in terms of its speed.

The measurements used with the two formulas provide both the real world and lab results to provide a complete picture of the download speed. Both formulas are useful in terms of measuring exact speed and helping to identify specific issues that may be affecting your site.

If there are no significant differences in speeds between the real world and lab, then you can approach the issue with one goal in mind. This is to identify what is present on the site that is slowing it down. However, a fast lab speed with a slower real world speed may indicate that something is amiss with the hosting or other factors that are outside the site itself.

The results are audited into three separate sections.

  • Information: Suggested improves are made to help you speed up your site.
  • Diagnostics: Additional info to employ best practices for web development
  • Passed: Surpassing the minimum requirements for the audits.

That’s why this free tool is so useful. It is simple to use and provides plenty of information to ensure that you get a complete picture of what is happening.

Faster is Better

It goes without saying that the faster the speed, the better the user experience. By using this tool, you can judge whether your site is downloading fast enough and if there are any issues that you need to correct. Without this free tool, it becomes far more difficult to see what needs to be done in order to speed up the download.

The tool itself offers enough features to let you fully understand the overall speed of your site. Plus, the information it provides helps you to track down whatever issues are slowing your website down.

One of the most overlooked aspects of building any successful online business is how fast your site downloads to both computer and mobile devices. Any unnecessary delay can turn away potential customers who might think something is wrong with your site.

What follows are some of the advantages you can gain when employing this tool as part of your site speed analysis. Spending a few minutes fine tuning your site based on the results from our free speed tool and you may improve the overall efficiency of your online business.

Better than 90%: The goal is to reach 90 or better with download speeds. While 100 is ideal, there may be factors outside your control that prevent that perfect speed from being reached. However, getting to at least 90 is doable. Plus, getting even faster speeds is also possible when you understand what is slowing down your site.

Improved User Experience: The less a visitor has to wait for your site to download, the better the experience. Offering an improved experience helps build up your brand and impress those who visit your site. Consider that a fast download speed is essential, which means that you are meeting the basic expectations of those who visit your site. It also means that those who visit slower sites will get a positive impression when they visit your faster site.

Overall Look: Website speed involves several factors, only some of which can be adequately viewed when eyeballing your site. This tool allows you to get an overall look which lets you see factors that may not be so obvious.

If your website scores below 90, it may require further research into what is causing the low score. In many cases, it is files such as graphics, images, or video that might be slowing the downloading process. By reducing the size of the larger files, you can speed things up which creates a better impression.

A score below 50 means that there may be serious issues with your website. This means that you will want to act immediately to solve the problems that are interfering with your download speed. What is interesting is that so many people who own website may only use a partial check on download speed without getting into the numbers. Our free tool allows you to fully comprehend what is happening, so you can make the best informed decision. Plus, it is free for you to use.

We encourage you to check your site, so we can help you improve your website score and ranking today. Our goal is to help everyone find out what their website download speed is which can help you determine what needs to be done to make it faster. The faster your website speed, the more likely you are to retain visitors to your site. That translates into more people purchasing your products or services.