Does your website take a while to load? Take a Google PageSpeed test first. How long did it take to load? We’re asking because, according to Google research, the average time a website’s landing page takes to fully load on a mobile phone can be up to 22 seconds. However, it also shows that 53% of people browsing on their phones would leave your website if it takes longer than three seconds to load.
That is a huge loss, especially for websites with high daily traffic, since mobile phone users overtook desktop users in 2014 and continue to rise.
If you don’t do anything to speed up your page load time, you could drop down in search results and lose more potential visitors faster than your social media boosting can bring in users. Luckily, there are plenty of ways and tools you can use to help your website load quickly on both mobile and desktop.
Take a look at these page speed optimization tools you need to use now to help your website load faster and rank higher in the search results.
1. Pingdom
Solarwind’s Pingdom scans your website for performance issues that could be slowing down load times. Website owners can also see the uptime and interactions to see where they need to improve. It’s a good starting point for those who want to make their websites load faster.
All you have to do is copy your website's URL and paste it into the web speed test. Select where you want it tested, preferably the server nearest your geographical location, then start the test. You will see a report showing your website’s performance grade, page size, the number of requests made, and, most importantly, the load time. You will also get a detailed report on where to improve and your website’s strongest points. Sadly, you only get a few checks before you have to start paying.
2. Google PageSpeed
Aside from Pingdom, Google also has its own developer tools called PageSpeed. Like Pingdom, it takes your website’s URL and runs a few tests to analyze its performance and give feedback to its developer.
[Recommended: 4 Quick and Dirty Tricks to Make Your Website Load Faster]
The PageSpeed tool shows how long a user has to wait before they see the page's primary content, how long it takes for a page to become fully interactive, and the speed index, among other metrics. As mentioned, developers get important feedback on where they can improve on both mobile and desktop platforms. The good thing about Google PageSpeed is that it’s completely free. However, there’s no option to download a copy of the reports.
3. URL Compression Test
We’re not talking about bit.ly or tiny URLs here. The URL Compression Test is a tool that checks your server to see if it’s sending out compressed data. It checks for compression using mod_gzip or mod_deflate, as well as other server languages that can compress data. It’s important to save space and improve website loading speed.
With smaller, compressed files, your server has more space for more data. In addition, your server can transfer data over the internet faster, helping your website load quicker on mobile and desktop platforms, especially on devices with slow connections. This will be essential in website load tests and page speed test tools.
4. Google Cache Checker
One way to determine whether Google has indexed your website is to run it through a Cache Checker. It will tell you if Google already knows that your website exists, if it has already added it to its index, and, ultimately, if it has included it in the search results.
This is a very important website testing tool as it can help SEO, especially when you change your domain name or hosting. Knowing whether your website has been indexed using this tool is crucial during that transfer. As web developers and SEO managers know, it takes 24 to 72 hours for your DNS to be updated. During that period, users will be redirected to the most similar website cached in Google’s database.
5. Dotcom-Monitor
Different browsers and locations can show different results for page load speed. That’s not even considering the area's internet speed or the device. That’s a lot of scenarios to test, and it could take precious time. Luckily, there’s a website that lets you test a page’s speed simultaneously: Dotcom-Monitor.
Like other page speed checker tools online, you must enter your website’s URL and tick the parameters you want it to check. The test itself may take a few minutes to complete. Still, it will provide web developers with SEO insights and other information from different locations to help improve page loading speed.
6. YSlow
YSlow is arguably the best page speed analysis tool in the market today. It’s an open-source project that uses the rules for high-performance websites set by Yahoo! It starts by crawling the DOM to find its components, retrieves information about each item, and uses it to grade each rule.
In addition, web developers will be happy to know that YSlow also offers page summaries with analytics, improvement suggestions, and more tools to analyze performance.
It’s available for popular web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. It’s even available for mobile/book markets. It’s truly one of the best page-speed tools. It’s also one of the page-speed Chrome DevTools available as an extension in Google Chrome.
7. Tiny PNG
Images are one of the most common things you will see on every website. It could be anything from logos,pto people, to scenic places. However, using images at full resolution for aesthetic purposes can slow down your page and website load speed. The sheer file size of those pictures may take a little longer to load, especially on mobile platforms. That’s why you should learn to optimize your images as well.
Aside from Adobe Photoshop, other online tools can reduce an image's file size without losing too much quality. Such an example would be Tiny PNG. According to its website, “it uses smart lossy compression techniques to reduce the file size.” This means it selectively and effectively decreases the colors to shrink the data needed. The effect isn’t noticeable to the normal eye.
8. GTmetrix
Another powerful website speed optimization tool is GTmetrix. It provides a full report on how fast your website loads, PageSpeed and YSlow scores, and other page details. It also lets you compare your performance with other websites, set up alerts, and monitor them. What sets it apart is that you can record a video to see where the bottlenecks happen.
And if you’re an SEO, you can easily produce a detailed report to show your clients, as GTmetrix lets you download the results via PDF format.
9. IcoMoon
Data can be compared to a car part. And in motorsport, a lighter car means it drags less weight and can go faster. The same goes for websites. The less data, the faster it can load. That’s why web developers go so far as to optimize even the smallest details, such as icons.
IcoMoon generates icons for websites. It may seem trivial, but it’s a powerful tool that lets you design pixel-precise icons. In addition, designers can create custom, optimized fonts for their projects. Lighter icons and fonts can help speed up your website’s loading time.
10. Chrome DevTools
Chrome DevTools is one of the most-used tools by web developers and designers to identify problems and test solutions on a live website. It’s readily available in Google Chrome and can be easily accessed by pressing F12
A tab pops up where you can view CSS code and HTML elements that you can freely edit. You can also check resources, scripts, and more to understand where an error or bug might come from. Web developers and designers can even simulate mobile devices in it to test responsiveness and device-specific ports.
Photo courtesy of Luis Gomes via Pexels.com
11. Yellow Lab Tools
If you want to see your website’s score and potential HTML, CSS, and JavaScript issues across platforms, run your website’s URL through Yellow Lab Tools. It’s an open-source project that tests a webpage using a URL. It can simulate desktop, tablet, and mobile phone platforms to get performance reports and front-end quality issues.
12. Google Speed Scorecard
Yes, it’s another website loading speed test run by Google, but it differs from the rest of the list in one big way. Beyond the usual speed report, scores, and issues, Google Speed Scorecard lets you see how much impact your website’s speed can have on your revenue.
By completing the evaluator fields, you can immediately see how much your revenue will increase depending on load time.
13. Google Lighthouse
Yes, Google has many tools to help web developers, designers, and SEOs improve page load speed. After all, they implemented mobile-first indexing. Anyway, Google’s Lighthouse is also an automated tool used to see a website's performance.
Lighthouse, however, is run in Google Chrome’s DevTools. This makes it easier and faster for web developers, designers, and SEOs to check a website’s performance numbers, test improvements, and make changes, since it's all in one tab.
Conclusion:
Google’s mobile-first indexing has web developers, designers, and SEOs scrambling to update their code and designs. If they don’t do it as soon as possible, we all know the impact of not conforming to Google’s mobile-first indexing: loss of visitors and profit, and a drop in search rankings. Your business could take a big hit if your website isn’t updated properly.
Luckily, plenty of tips and tools are available online to help you get your website up to speed and improve your search rankings again. It’s just a matter of knowing which tools to use, how to optimize your website, and how to plan the update efficiently.
