How to Test Website Speed

Whether it's for SEO reasons or for general performance, every website can benefit from knowing how fast it can load. In this article, we'll discuss a few different ways to test the speed of any website.

PageSpeed Insights is a tool provided by Google that anyone can use at any time to see how Google views their page and rates it.

It tests the mobile version and desktop version against Google's rules to make sure that the site is readable and loads quickly. Once tested, you will get a results screen that will rate you on a scale of 0 to 100. Note that even Google.com does not get a perfect 100, so your aim should be to get at least 90.

Pingdom Speed Test is another great tool that offers the advantage of giving you more detail about how your page is loading. Pingdom offers a standard grading system that will show you how fast you are compared to other websites that use the tool.

The real advantage of using Pingdom however is the ability to see a waterfall view. A waterfall view can show you if a piece of code is taking a long time to load and slowing down your website.

The popular internet browser Chrome is also capable of showing you a speed test for any website that you are viewing.

Press F12 to open the console, then click on network. You will see a waterfall view of how the page loaded that will also have a timeline.