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How to Check Website Speed (Core Web Vitals)

TL;DR:

To check speed: Enterno.io PageSpeed — Google-methodology analysis returning Core Web Vitals (LCP, CLS, INP) + a 0-100 performance score for Mobile and Desktop. Free, no signup.

Check your site's speed →

Step-by-step guide

  1. Open PageSpeed checker. Go to /en/speed.
  2. Enter URL and strategy. Pick Mobile or Desktop. Mobile is stricter — start there.
  3. Review Core Web Vitals. LCP (< 2.5s — good), CLS (< 0.1), INP (< 200ms). Below — red alerts.
  4. Read opportunities. Bottom — specific optimisations: lazy-loading, image compression, CSS/JS minify, reduce unused code.
  5. RUM monitoring. For real-user metrics (not lab data), enable RUM tracker on the Pro plan.

Open tool →

Understanding Core Web Vitals for Speed Measurement

To effectively check your website speed online, it’s crucial to understand the Core Web Vitals, which are a set of performance metrics established by Google. These metrics focus on user experience and include:

  • Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance. A good LCP score is 2.5 seconds or faster.
  • First Input Delay (FID): Measures interactivity. A good FID score is 100 milliseconds or less.
  • Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability. A good CLS score is 0.1 or less.

By analyzing these metrics using Enterno.io, you can gain insight into how your website performs under real-world conditions. The platform utilizes Google’s recommended methodologies, ensuring that the data you receive is both accurate and actionable.

It’s important to regularly monitor these metrics, as they directly impact your search engine rankings and overall user satisfaction. A consistent approach to checking these scores can help you identify trends and areas needing improvement.

Using Browser Developer Tools to Test Website Speed

For a more hands-on approach to checking website speed, you can utilize browser developer tools available in most modern browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do this:

  1. Open your website in a browser.
  2. Right-click on the page and select Inspect or press Ctrl + Shift + I (Windows) or Cmd + Option + I (Mac).
  3. Navigate to the Network tab in the developer tools.
  4. Reload the page while keeping the Network tab open to capture the loading process.

Once the page loads, you’ll see a waterfall chart displaying the loading time for each resource. Pay attention to the following:

  • Waterfall chart: Indicates which resources are taking the longest to load.
  • Timing breakdown: Shows how much time is spent on different phases like DNS lookup, Initial Connection, SSL negotiation, and Content Download.

This method allows you to pinpoint specific issues affecting your website's speed and offers insights into what changes you can implement to enhance performance.

Comparing Website Speed Across Different Tools

When checking your website's speed, it's beneficial to compare results across different online tools to get a comprehensive view of your performance. Here are some popular tools and how they differ:

  • Google PageSpeed Insights: Provides detailed insights based on Google’s algorithms, focusing on both mobile and desktop performance.
  • GTmetrix: Offers a detailed breakdown of page speed and performance scores, including recommendations for improvement.
  • WebPageTest: Allows you to run tests from various locations and browsers, providing a more granular look at loading times and resource usage.
  • Pingdom: Offers a user-friendly interface with performance monitoring and uptime tracking features.

To effectively utilize these tools, consider running tests at different times of the day and from various geographic locations to account for network variability. Always compare the Core Web Vitals and look for consistent issues across the tools, as this can help you prioritize fixes. Make sure to document your findings and track your improvements over time.

PerformanceOverall speed score 0-100
Core Web VitalsLCP, FID, CLS — Google metrics
Page SizeSize of HTML, CSS, JS, images
RecommendationsSpecific tips for improvement

Why teams trust us

Lighthouse
analysis engine
CWV
Core Web Vitals
4
Lighthouse categories
Precise
recommendations

How it works

1

Enter page URL

2

Lighthouse analyzes

3

Get CWV scores & tips

Why Does Site Speed Matter?

Page load speed directly impacts conversion, SEO rankings, and user satisfaction. Google uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor. Every extra second of load time cancost up to 7% in conversions.

Lighthouse Analysis

Google Lighthouse-based analysis: Performance, Accessibility, Best Practices, SEO.

Core Web Vitals

LCP (rendering), FID (interactivity), CLS (visual stability) — key Google metrics.

Resource Analysis

Breakdown by type: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, fonts. Size, request count, blocking resources.

Actionable Advice

Specific recommendations with savings estimates: image compression, caching, minification, etc.

Mobile vs Desktop

Mobile
  • Tested on Moto G Power emulation (slow CPU)
  • Network: 4G (1.6 Mbps, 150ms RTT)
  • Stricter speed scoring
  • Google indexes mobile-first
  • Priority for SEO optimization
Desktop
  • High CPU performance
  • Fast connection without throttling
  • Scores typically 20-40 points higher
  • Important for B2B and corporate sites
  • Use for baseline comparisons

Who uses this

SEO

Core Web Vitals for rankings

Developers

performance optimization

Marketers

speed = conversions

DevOps

performance regression

Common Mistakes

Unoptimized imagesImages can be up to 70% of page weight. Use WebP/AVIF and lazy loading.
Render-blocking JS in &lt;head&gt;Scripts without async/defer block rendering. Move to end or add attribute.
No static asset cachingWithout Cache-Control, the browser reloads CSS/JS on every visit.
Too many HTTP requestsEach request adds latency. Bundle files, use sprites, or inline critical CSS.
Missing compression (gzip/brotli)Compression reduces text resource size by 60-80%. Enable brotli on the server.

Best Practices

Optimize imagesWebP for photos, SVG for icons. loading="lazy" for images below the fold.
Enable brotli compressionBrotli is 15-20% more efficient than gzip. Configure in nginx: brotli on;
Set up cachingStatic: Cache-Control: max-age=31536000, immutable. HTML: max-age=0, s-maxage=60.
Preload critical resources<link rel="preload"> for fonts and CSS. Reduces LCP by 200-500ms.
Test regularlySpeed degrades over time. Check after each deploy and monthly.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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