How to Read Your Website Speed Report
Use the score as a starting point. Check the suggested fixes and try the page yourself before deciding what to change.
A speed report can help you find a slow page. It cannot tell you how many enquiries you have lost.
Start with the page your customers use most. Our free website speed check tests one web address at a time using a simulated phone visit.
Your score describes this test.
The score is a summary of how the page loaded in the test. It is not a mark for your whole business or website.
Google calls a score of 90 or more good. A score from 50 to 89 needs improvement, and below 50 is poor.
Those bands come from Google's guide to its speed test. The same guide explains why a simulated test can differ from real visits.
Your customer's phone, connection and page choice may differ from the test. A good score does not prove that every visit will be fast.
Look at what makes the page wait.
Read the suggested fixes below the score. Look for the part of the page each one refers to.
A large image may take too long to arrive. Other work may delay when the page responds to a tap. Ask which delay affects the task your customer needs to finish.
Do not add up the suggested time savings as a promised result. Ask whoever looks after the site which changes need testing first.
Keep the report so you can discuss the actual findings. A list of warnings alone does not show that the whole site needs replacing.
Try the customer journey yourself.
Open the same page on your phone. Find a service or product, then follow the path to an enquiry.
Check whether the words and pictures appear soon enough to help you. Try the menu and the form. Note any button that moves as you try to tap it.
These checks add context to the report. A page can load quickly while still hiding the information a customer needs.
The report does not prove that everyone can use your site. The W3C guide to first accessibility checks covers basic checks such as keyboard use and form labels. It also explains why those checks are not a full assessment.
A high score does not promise search results.
Google looks at more than page speed when choosing search results. Its guide to page experience explains why owners should consider the whole page experience.
Use the speed report to investigate delays. Use your enquiry records to see whether the site brings in work. Neither measure replaces the other.
You see the score before the email step.
The check is free. If your score is below 90, we ask for your email before showing the full report.
At 90 or above, that email step is not needed. Tips by email are optional.
You can then download the PDF in your browser. We do not email the report, so there is no message to wait for.
Choose a useful next step.
Share the report and your notes with whoever looks after the website. Agree which issue to check first and how you will test the change.
For a slow WordPress site, see our WordPress web design and rebuild options. A report can start that conversation without deciding in advance that you need a new site.
One of us will get back to you the same day, or the next working day at the latest.