How can I check if my website is performing well? What metrics or tools should I use? How do I test and improve my pages? We've got you!
Did you know that there are FREE tools you can use to do a quick website audit? You don't need coding experience to do it. Here are the TOP 3 safe and reliable tools you can use to get a sense of your website performance!
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1. Start with Website Grader for a general understanding of your website performance.
HubSpot's Website Grader is a great start! Upon entering your website URL and your email address, you will be able to check how your website is working. The tool divides your final report into four segments: Performance, SEO, Mobile, and Security. For each, you've got from two to eight distinct metrics that grade your website. For performance, you will be able to see the analysis of page speed and size or image size. For SEO, you will see whether your website contains meta description and descriptive link texts. Also, for mobile, whether your website is responsive and visually accessible. And finally for security, whether it contains HTTPS and secure javasript libraries.
In addition, the Website Grader provides easy-to-implement recommendations that will improve you website performance.
2. Move on to Page Quality for web page performance check in lab environment.
This Google tool measures the overall quality of yoru web page in a lab environement. It provides an insight insight into multiple quality categories, including Performance, Accessibility and SEO. But what does it mean that the tool reports data in lab environemnt? In other words, that's data collected in a controlled enviornment with predefined device and network settings. "The purpose of a lab test is to control for as many factors as you can, so the results are (as much as possible) consistent and reproducible from run to run" (source: Google).
So, the Page Quality tool provides you with a more detailed report and recommendations than the Website Grader in a controlled enviornment. Because the controlled lab environment is different from the real-life, let's inspect our website based on the real-life data (one that's collected from real users visiting your website).
3. End at PageSpeed Insights for real-life data.
An alternative to the Page Quality is Google's PageSpeed Insights providing field data, meaning that it shows the overall page performance based on data that's collected from the real users visiting your site. What's interesting is that the tool reports on the performance of a page on mobile and desktop devices seperately, providing you with a broader insight into how your website is performing.
Did your data differ across the tools? Did you see your website performing poorly? We can help!
PS. Check-out FREE HubSpot resources for conducting an SEO audit, checking website security, or accessibility checklist!
