Intro To Google Page Speed

Written by: Nicholas • Edited by: Brian Nelson
Published Sep 25, 2009 • Related Guides: Google | Speed Up

Google Page Speed is a new add-on for webmasters. Page Speed gives any website or blog owner a free solution to optimize speed throughout their sites. Based on preset rules, Page Speed compares a website with what is considered to be a optimum coded website. Afterwards, Page Speed recommends advice.

Page Speed Requirements

Google Page Speed can be used on all three major computing platforms, Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. Page Speed works in combination with your internet browser as an add-on. Currently, the only supported browser is Mozilla Firefox (Versions 3.0.4 and higher). Google Page speed also requires you to install the Firebug Add-on for Firefox. You must first install Firefox, then install Firebug, then install Google Page Speed in that exact order for Page Speed to work properly.

What Can Google Page Speed Do For You

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Google Page Speed is basically a code optimizer for your website. As for purpose, Page Speed does exactly what its' name implies, it makes your website faster. Page Speed runs numerous diagnostic tests and checks your website for best code. Page speed has a built-in set of standard rules that are considered to be the optimum settings for a website. During a Page Speed scan, factors such as web server configuration, Javascript, CSS, upload time, and download time are all tested against these optimum settings. After the scan has completed, Page Speed will rate your website with a general score for each factor. Page Speed will give you some suggestions on how to improve the code of your website, as well as allow you to improve some things automatically, such as fixing Javascript code and compressing images.

Page Speed Specifics

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Google designed the Page Speed add-on to tackle five major issues that are common problem areas with website code. By optimizing caching, minimizing round-trip times, minimizing request size, minimizing payload size, and optimizing browser rendering, Page Speed brings quicker load times throughout your entire website. Some of these terms may seem confusing to the beginner website owner. However, Page Speed simply focuses on one job, making your website load faster. To get a better understanding on each factor, you may visit the above links to get Google's definition.

Page Speed Analysis

Page Speed has not even been out for a year yet, so there are more than likely enhancements to come. For now, Page Speed seems to be a logical choice for anyone looking to speed up their website or blog. Sites with especially high traffic rates may benefit from Page Speed the most, as page speed works on several areas of speed distribution throughout a website. Try adding Page Speed to see what you think. It's main purpose is to give your website's viewers faster load times and quicker navigation, which is always a plus. Page Speed in combination with Google's Webmaster Tools is a great combination for anyone who maintains their own site.