Google Page Speed is a free tool offered by Google to check the loading speed and performance of a website. It is a very simple tool designed for all types of users who want to check how Google sees their website or that of their competition. There are other more advanced tools, such as Google LightHouse ( which I already told you about in previous posts) and Google's own API, which you can also use to test the speed of your website.
The new version of Google Page Speed
If you haven't visited the Google Page Speed website in a long time and you do it again, you will see that it has changed. Previously, it showed a speed score at the top from 0 to 100 points in the mobile version and desktop version. Currently it is not. After entering the URL of the website you want to test, a first graphic appears indicating whether or not you have passed the speed test and unless you have done a good optimization job you will probably find this. Core Web Metrics Assessment: Failed
What does the evaluation not passed mean in Google Page Speed?
In the new version, Google brings together the key user experience metrics (both user experience at the URL level and by origin) telling you only if the website passes or fails the speed test. To do this, take into account:
- PageSpeed Insights , which provides user experience metrics at the URL level
- Google BigQuery, which aggregates user experience metrics per origin, for all origins that are known to Google web crawlers
- CrUX Dashboard in Data Studio , which can be configured to track user experience trends from one source.
The new Google Page Speed metrics
In recent times, Google, together with the W3C Web Performance Working Group , has been working on different metrics that analyze the user experience in relation to the way the web is loaded.
For example, a website can be very fast when downloading from the server but leave all the elements for the end, instead of showing them progressively, affecting the user experience.
The new metrics take into account those factors that are relevant to the user , and while many factors are measured, they are not all inclusive at the moment (for example, responsiveness and runtime fluency are not currently covered) .
These new metrics are:
- First Contentful Paint: First Content Display (FCP) : Measures the time from when the page begins to load until any part of the page's content is rendered on the screen.
- Largest Contentful Paint: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) : Measures the time from when the page begins to load until the largest block of text or image element is rendered on the screen.
- First Input Delay: First Input Delay – Measures the time from when a user first interacts with your website (i.e. when they click a link, press a button, or use a JavaScript-based custom control) until the moment the browser is able to respond to that interaction.
- Time to Interactive: Time to interact (TTI) : Measures the time from when the page begins to load until it is visually rendered, its initial scripts (if any) are loaded, and they are able to respond reliably and quickly to user inputs.
- Total Blocking Time: Total Blocking Time (TBT) : Measures the total amount of time between FCP and TTI where the main thread was blocked long enough to prevent the input from responding.
- Cumulative Layout Shift: Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) : Measures the cumulative score of all unexpected layout changes that occur between the time the page starts to load and when its lifecycle state changes to hidden. Google Page Speed shows these metrics through these graphs:
These metrics are very important for Google, which has also incorporated them into its algorithm, that is, the system that establishes web positioning in its search engine.
Performance graphs in Google Page Speed
If you scroll Google Page Speed you will see that the performance graph is shown below, from 0 to 100 points as usual in Google.
0 to 49 is poor performance
50 to 89 is acceptable performance
from 90 to 100 points, the web has optimal performance.
Is it important to have the highest rating in Google Page Speed?
Yes it is important, but it is not definitive.
There are websites that, no matter how much they are optimized, do not manage to enter the 90-100 points that Google marks and still continue to position themselves well.
Although speed and performance are important, Google continues to take into account the quality of the content, the age of the web, the number of links that refer to the web, etc.
It is also important to know that not all speed measurement tools show the same scores. And gGogle doesn't always show the same data, sometimes its assessment changes.
Here are some articles for you to learn how to optimize your website:
- The VPS hosting service indisputably improves the loading time of your website
- Top 3 WordPress Database Cleanup Plugins
- Google's Core Web Vitals
- 21 Quick Ways To Speed Up Your Website [WordPress]
- Test Your Website Speed With Pingdom [The Ultimate Guide]
- Guide to understand what TTFB is and how to improve the loading times of a website
We hope you find them useful. We read!
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