Google is constantly improving its tools. The Page Speed Insights tool was also enhanced in 2018. The many new features, however, also create many new questions. We have taken the matter and show in this article how you work best with the new evaluations.
What are the “Field Data” & “Origin Summary” and what do I read from it?
On the basis of the field data you get an overview of the load times of individual elements of your own website. Google uses this real user experience from its own Chrome browser.
Below, the term “Lab data” will be discussed again. The difference between the field data and the laboratory data is that the field data represents real empirical values and the laboratory data only represents theoretical, estimated values.
The comparison value low in the lower picture is due to the comparison with the 90th percentile rank of FCP and the 95th percentile rank of FID .
The website in the example below has a low FCP value compared to 90% of all websites and a low FID value compared to 95% of all websites.
Note: The field data can only be output if there have been enough users on a page in the last 30 days via a Chrome browser and Google have also been allowed to evaluate their browsing behaviour.
What does First Contentful Paint (FCP) mean?
FCP translated means: “First Content Display” and measures the time from the user’s click on a search result to the first display of visible elements (eg the navigation, the slider or text elements)
In the graphic, elements that are displayed within 1 second are marked in green. Yellow and red is shown when it lasts longer (up to 2.5 seconds and longer).
In the example above, 65% of all elements (which may be text elements or even images) are displayed within 1 second of clicking the search result. 25% take between one and 2.5 seconds and 9% take more than 2.5 seconds. Which elements are exactly these, we learn further down in the “recommendations” and in the “diagnosis”.
What is First Input Delay (FID)?
FID translated means “initial input delay” and measures the time from the first interaction of a visitor (eg scrolls or clicking links or buttons) to the reaction of the browser.
The aim of the method is to show the site operator whether all interaction options are immediately executable for the user, or whether the user has to wait a long time for a response of the page, for example because very large JavaScript files are loaded or executed (often the case with so-called Multipurpose themes of WordPress).
What is the Origin Summary?
The Origin Summary shows the sum of the values from the above-mentioned field data in relation to the origin of the delivered pages.
With “origin” all possible variants of the page are meant (eg subdomains, variants of the page with and without “www” or variants with and without “https”)
What information does Google Page Speed Insights ‘lab data’ provide?
The lab data is provided by the Google Lighthouse tool: https://developers.google.com/web/tools/lighthouse/ and partially reflects the values from the field data described above.
However, unlike the field data, the “laboratory data” only represents theoretical values and the field data are obtained from real user experiences.
Also, the lab data refers to calling a page via a mobile device. Below the data is a photo gallery of the charging process. In the best case, your main content will be displayed in the first photo.
The output values have the following meaning:
- Initial content drawn: The time required for the first elements to be displayed when loading the page (often text elements)
- Content largely drawn: Specifies how long it takes for the main content to be displayed. (eg the products in a shop)
- Speed Index: The speed index indicates the time required to load all visible content.
- First CPU Idle: This value indicates when the loading of the files is largely completed, so that initial (though not all) interactions with the page are possible.
- Time to interactivity: Find out when the user can fully interact with your page. All elements are now operable.
- Estimated input latency: This estimate indicates how long your page takes to respond in an interaction. If the value is over 100ms, your page will be perceived as slow. A recommended target is 50ms.
Recommendations, diagnosis and passed examinations?
In the following parts of the evaluation, a total of 22 checkpoints are sorted into the following three categories:
1. Recommendations
The recommendations are still familiar from older versions of Page Speed Insights and show us the checkpoints we can use to improve our load time. Here, concrete estimates are also made to save loading time and prioritized according to the potential.
Tip: Discuss the points in the “Recommendations” and the “Diagnosis” with your developer. Depending on the extent of the work, recommendations can take up to 40 hours of work by a developer and more, since identifying the appropriate parts of the program and then placing them in a suitable place in the source code takes a lot of work and time.
In most cases, however, proper picture optimization and the abandonment of so-called “multipurpose themes” (in the case of WordPress) are already sufficient to achieve adequate values.
In terms of image enhancement, the new version of Page Speed Insights also looks at modern image formats such as JPEG 2000 or WebP. JPEG 2000 can be generated via Photoshop and for WebP you need the appropriate conversion tool from Google: https://developers.google.com/speed/webp/
2. Diagnosis
At the points in the diagnosis can be seen which files cause delays in the load time because, for example, the priorities are set incorrectly in the ranking. The diagnosis also refers to tips for improving usability. For example, cache recommendations are also made for returning users.
3. Passed exams
Also known from the older versions, the passed exams show us which points we no longer need to worry about, as they are already well implemented.
Page Speed: Conclusion & Recommendation
Especially in relation to the information-driven search, Google is changing more and more from the search engine to the answering machine. Voice Assistant searches are increasingly being answered with only one result (instead of 10). Who wants to make the trick in this race must be able to deliver the best answer the fastest.
Our tuning tips for your website:
- Ensures that the primary content is always fully and immediately visible.
- Do not use the integration of large JavaScript and CSS libraries (eg JQuery or bootstrap) if you get the solutions implemented differently.
- Does not use Google fonts
- Does not use multi-function templates with integrated kits for your CMS.
If you have questions about the loading time, we are of course always happy to help.
