You probably already know that loading speed is a crucial ranking factor for websites. The new feature is that this criterion has become a determining factor for search results on smartphones and tablets. Therefore, to maintain a good ranking in search engines, a fast loading website is essential. Learn how to improve your website’s performance with this list of 5 free tools.
Why is loading speed so important?
The supply of online content grows daily, as does the demand. More and more people are using the internet to interact and search for information. Interest is so high that Mexico is among the countries where internet users spend the most time online , connected via mobile devices. However, this extremely digitally active audience doesn’t have much patience for slow websites.
When visiting a website, any extra second it takes to load the page can make or break a visitor or customer. Therefore, it’s essential to telegram number list keep your website running as fast as possible. You can use various techniques to optimize your page and improve website performance, but today we’ll discuss a step prior to this: free tools you can use to measure website load time:
There are various techniques you can use to optimize your page and increase loading speed; but before that, it’s essential to understand the actual status of your website. For this reason, today we’ll talk about some free tools that allow us to evaluate and measure your website’s loading time:
There are many factors that affect a my first website: do it yourself or hire a professional? website’s speed. And to try to solve them, you need to know more about them and the real situation of your website. So, as the famous scientist and philosopher William Thompson (Lord Kelvin) said, ” That which cannot be measured, cannot be improved .” Some of the most common reasons for a slow website are:
- very heavy images;
- incorrect use of scripts;
- excessive use of JavaScript, CSS and HTML;
- problems in code optimization.
To identify which of these issues need to be addressed, you can use free tools that test website speed; we’ve outlined them below:
Free tools to measure speed
1 – Page Speed Insights, from Google
The tool is part of the Google Developer Portal and analyzes website loading speeds, both for desktop and mobile devices. After entering the website’s URL, you’ll receive a diagnosis based on the following criteria:
For each of the sections listed above, your page will receive a rating score between 0 and 100, with 0 being the worst and 100 being the best. The closer you are to 100, the fewer items you’ll need to correct .
In addition, a detailed evaluation of the issues found will be performed, along with a recommendation on what you can do to correct them . The tool will also display a screenshot of the web page on a mobile device and a desktop.
Learn about this tool in Page Speed Insights. If you want more tips on how to improve the user experience on mobile devices, we suggest reading this article: Everything you need to know about mobile SEO.
2 – Pingdom Website Speed Test
In this tool, in addition to having a ranking score, you can also view the number of requests made by the page , the total load japan data time, and the total size of the files present on the page.
Below, you’ll find a graph showing the requests made and their individual loading times. If you hover your mouse (or cursor) over one of the time bars, a message will appear with the time taken for each item in the process, from request to response.
This tool is available in English and is intended to help developers optimize website performance in the most practical and simple way. You’ll notice that server response codes are highlighted in different colors, and content is indicated by icons.
3 – GT Metrix
The GT Metrix analysis uses 27 different criteria to generate your ranking score. Within each criterion, you can view what needs to be optimized. As with the Pingdom tool, you can also view individual requests.
You’ll see the featured Page Speed ranking index, as well as the YSlow index, which is an open-source speed analysis tool based on performance rules defined by Yahoo . Ranking scores are displayed as a percentage (from 0 to 100%).
GT Metrix is also available in English. Although it’s a free tool, it has paid plans that offer additional features and more advanced analysis. Therefore, regardless of the tool you choose, you can check out the possibility of upgrading to more comprehensive plans.
4 – Web Page Test
This tool offers the option to choose the test’s origin location and browser type. Speed tests are always run from a starting point to the physical server location. This way, the starting point will make a difference in the result. For example: If you’re accessing a website in Mexico and the server is in the United States, the response time will be longer compared to a user in the United States. Before starting the test, you can change the origin location.
After entering the data, the result is quite detailed, including performance, content, and domains (content loading speed detailed by domain). It also provides an interesting insight into content compaction and cache usage by the website.
You can navigate through the Details, Performance Review, Content Breakdown, Domains, and Screen Shot tabs.
Web Page Test includes resource load charts and optimization checks, among other improvement suggestions. It also offers a forum where experts regularly discuss website optimization strategies.