Every WordPress user should be aware of how fast their site is. Don?t miss out on 8 tools to conduct a WordPress speed test and optimize your site speed.
You?ve spent countless hours designing, creating, and perfecting your WordPress site. You?ve done your research to ensure you?ve got the latest plug-ins and security features.
But here?s one more important question to ask: How?fast is your website?
Speed is easily overlooked when there are so many other details to consider. You might even reason that since 21% of all websites are made with WordPress, then surely all its themes are designed to be lightning fast.
That?s not necessarily true. The only way to know for sure how fast your website runs is with a WordPress speed test.
How do you test the speed of your website? And why is speed so important, anyway?
Read on to discover eight handy tools you can use for a WordPress speed test!
Why site speed matters
Since 2010, Google has used site speed as a key factor in search rankings.
It doesn?t matter if you have the most beautifully designed, informative website on the internet. If the pages load too slowly, you?ll never climb the Google rankings ladder.
Are users?really that concerned with website speed? Consider a few recent facts:
- You have exactly one second to win or lose your potential customer. A one-second delay in loading time reduces page views by 11% and customer satisfaction by 16%.
- 47% of people expect a web page to load in under two seconds. 40% will leave a website that takes longer than three seconds to load.
- A one-second delay can result in a 7% drop in conversions. If your e-commerce site is generating $100,000 per day, a one-second delay could cost you $2.5 million annually in lost sales!
With these figures in mind, you can see how vital it is to have a website that loads quickly.
Even if you manage to reach the #1 ranking in search results, it will all be in vain if no one stays on your site long enough for it to load!
So how do you determine the exact speed of your WordPress site? Here?s our pick for the eight best available tools.
8 tools to run a WordPress speed test
1. Pingdom Website Speed Test
Pingdom Website Speed Test
Pingdom is one of the most popular and easy to use speed test tools. It tests your website?s speed from California, Texas, Australia, and Sweden!
Its reports are divided into four sections ? history, page analysis, performance grade, and a waterfall breakdown.
The test works by loading your site through a real Google Chrome browser. This gives an exact replica of what a user will experience when loading your site.
Test results are detailed and precise, but simple to understand.?It also provides actionable information on how to improve your site?s performance.
2. Google PageSpeed Insights
Google PageSpeed Insights
The other big player in the world of speed tests is Google?s own PageSpeed Insights.
Since announcing that page speed would determine rankings, it only makes sense that Google would develop its own testing tool.
The main appeal of PageSpeed Insights is that it tells you?exactly what Google thinks of your website. Isn?t that what we all want to know about our sites?
The program works by loading your page twice ? once from a desktop and once from a mobile device. It then ?grades? your site on a scale of 1-100, with 85 or higher being the goal.
(A word of warning: It is almost?impossible to score a perfect 100 from this program!)
https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/
3. KeyDCN Website Speed Test
KeyDCN Website Speed Test
This fast, simple tool can provide you with valuable information about your website?s performance.
You can choose to test from 14 strategically-placed locations around the world. The results show how many HTTP requests were made, the page size requested, and the average load time. Interestingly, you can choose whether to make these results public or keep them private.
KeyDCN is also one of the few speed test tools that functions well on mobile devices!
https://tools.keycdn.com/speed
4. YSlow
YSlow is a WordPress speed test tool that compares your site with Yahoo?s high-performance websites.
The program works by crawling your site and gathering all relevant data. It then takes the data and runs it against 23 different ?rules,? giving your site a grade (A-F) in each one.
This breakdown makes it very easy to spot your website?s weaknesses. Once you know what?s slowing it down, you?re ready to make the necessary changes to speed it up!
5. GTMetrix
GTmetrix ? Website Speed and Performance Optimization
GTMextrix is a handy all-in-one speed testing tool. It provides results from both PageSpeed and YSlow, giving you valuable insight into your site?s performance.
Free registration gives you access to seven different testing locations, as well as many advanced features. You can compare performance in different browsers and various connection types. You can also see a video playback to analyze exactly where your site is bottlenecking.
Another cool feature? Adblock Plus, which allows you to disable ads and see how your site loads without them.
6. WebPageTest
WebPagetest ? Website Performance and Optimization Test
Created by a Google engineer, WebPageTest is geared towards advanced users who need more data from their speed tests.
This program can be run from 40 different test locations and in 25 different browsers. It runs advanced tests such as content blocking, multi-step transactions, and first view vs. repeat view.
If you?re concerned about your site?s?true performance over SSL, this is the testing tool to use.
7. Dotcom-Monitor Website Speed Test
Website Speed Test ? Check Web Performance ? Dotcom-Tools
Dotcom-Monitor has many of the same features already mentioned, but with a few exciting extras!
It tests from 24 locations?simultaneously, providing detailed insight into your website?s speed.
It also includes locations in hard-to-test regions, such as China.
https://www.dotcom-tools.com/website-speed-test.aspx
8. Google Mobile Website Speed Testing Tool
In today?s day and age, most people access websites on their mobile devices. And very few are willing to navigate a site that isn?t mobile-friendly.
Google knows this, of course, which is why it released its Mobile Website Speed Testing Tool.
Powered by PageSpeed Insights, it?s geared mostly towards agencies and marketers. The goal is to help them better understand mobile website speed.
https://testmysite.thinkwithgoogle.com/
Final thoughts on WordPress speed tests
You don?t need to work for Google to understand how your website works. And you don?t need a complicated or expensive speed test tool to help you rev up your site. In fact, all of the tools mentioned above are free to use!
So what are you waiting for? Choose the WordPress speed test tool that?s right for you, and get a faster website today.
