{"id":8204,"date":"2009-06-06T03:02:24","date_gmt":"2009-06-05T21:32:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=8204"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:27:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T06:57:23","slug":"faster-sites-with-google-page-speed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Your Site Faster with Google PageSpeed Insights (2026 Guide)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How do you <strong>make your site faster with Google PageSpeed<\/strong>? In 2009 Google&#8217;s Page Speed was a Firefox add-on that needed Firebug to run. Both are long gone. Today Google&#8217;s speed testing lives in PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse, built into Chrome, and page speed is part of how Google judges page experience through Core Web Vitals. Here is how to use the current tools and fix the issues they find.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-63426\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/google-pagespeed-faster-site.webp\" alt=\"Make your site faster with Google PageSpeed Insights\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/google-pagespeed-faster-site.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/google-pagespeed-faster-site-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/google-pagespeed-faster-site-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/google-pagespeed-faster-site-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/google-pagespeed-faster-site-768x403.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> Test any page free at PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev), look at the Core Web Vitals field data first, then fix the top opportunities it lists: compress and lazy load images, use caching and a CDN, cut unused JavaScript and CSS, and choose a fast host. Re-test after each change.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ae3db4a14e2d\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6ae3db4a14e2d\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/#Google_PageSpeed_tools_in_2026\" >Google PageSpeed tools in 2026<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/#What_happened_to_Page_Speed_for_Firefox_Firebug_and_YSlow\" >What happened to Page Speed for Firefox, Firebug and YSlow?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/#How_to_read_a_PageSpeed_Insights_report\" >How to read a PageSpeed Insights report<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/#Common_fixes_that_make_sites_faster\" >Common fixes that make sites faster<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/#Other_free_speed_test_tools\" >Other free speed test tools<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/#A_simple_speed_routine_for_site_owners\" >A simple speed routine for site owners<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/#FAQ\" >FAQ<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/#Is_Google_PageSpeed_Insights_free\" >Is Google PageSpeed Insights free?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/#Why_is_my_mobile_score_lower_than_desktop\" >Why is my mobile score lower than desktop?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/06\/faster-sites-with-google-page-speed\/#Does_page_speed_affect_Google_rankings\" >Does page speed affect Google rankings?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Google_PageSpeed_tools_in_2026\"><\/span>Google PageSpeed tools in 2026<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/pagespeed.web.dev\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PageSpeed Insights<\/a> &#8211; enter any URL to get a performance score for mobile and desktop, real-user Core Web Vitals data and a list of fixes.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/developer.chrome.com\/docs\/lighthouse\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lighthouse<\/a> &#8211; the engine behind PageSpeed Insights, built into Chrome DevTools. Open DevTools (F12), choose Lighthouse and run a report on any page, even one behind a login.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/search-console\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Search Console<\/a> &#8211; its Core Web Vitals report groups your slow URLs so you can fix whole templates at once.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_happened_to_Page_Speed_for_Firefox_Firebug_and_YSlow\"><\/span>What happened to Page Speed for Firefox, Firebug and YSlow?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The original Page Speed add-on was retired and its rules moved into PageSpeed Insights. <strong>Firebug<\/strong> was discontinued in 2017 when its features were folded into Firefox Developer Tools. Yahoo&#8217;s <strong>YSlow<\/strong> is no longer developed either. Many of their old rules, such as leveraging browser caching, minimising DNS lookups and serving static files from a cookieless domain, still make sense, but modern HTTP\/2 and CDNs changed the priorities.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_read_a_PageSpeed_Insights_report\"><\/span>How to read a PageSpeed Insights report<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Core Web Vitals assessment.<\/strong> This uses real Chrome user data. The three metrics are Largest Contentful Paint (LCP, loading), Interaction to Next Paint (INP, responsiveness) and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS, visual stability). Read our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/05\/core-web-vitals\/\">Core Web Vitals<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Performance score.<\/strong> A lab score from 0 to 100 based on a simulated mobile device. Aim for green (90+), but real-user data matters more.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Opportunities and diagnostics.<\/strong> Specific fixes ranked by estimated savings.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Common_fixes_that_make_sites_faster\"><\/span>Common fixes that make sites faster<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Optimise images.<\/strong> Serve WebP or AVIF, resize to display size and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2020\/06\/lazy-load-images\/\">lazy load images<\/a>. See our guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2021\/11\/wordpress-image-compression\/\">WordPress image compression<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use caching and a CDN.<\/strong> A page cache plugin such as <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/litespeed-cache\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LiteSpeed Cache<\/a> and a CDN serve pages from close to your visitors.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Remove unused JavaScript and CSS.<\/strong> Fewer plugins, fewer third-party scripts, and deferring what is left.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Set image dimensions<\/strong> and reserve space for ads to avoid layout shift.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Enable compression<\/strong> with gzip or Brotli and send the right <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2014\/07\/vary-accept-encoding-header-with-htaccess\/\">Vary: Accept-Encoding header<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use HTTP\/2 or HTTP\/3.<\/strong> Read why <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2015\/02\/http2-faster-web\/\">HTTP\/2 makes the web faster<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_free_speed_test_tools\"><\/span>Other free speed test tools<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.webpagetest.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">WebPageTest<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/gtmetrix.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GTmetrix<\/a> show waterfall charts that help find slow files. Compare more in our list of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2015\/02\/best-web-page-speed-tests-online\/\">best web page speed tests online<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_simple_speed_routine_for_site_owners\"><\/span>A simple speed routine for site owners<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Speed work is easier as a habit than a one-off project. Once a month, test your home page, your most visited post and one category page in PageSpeed Insights, and note the LCP, INP and CLS values. Whenever you add a new plugin, ad unit, font or embed, re-test the same three pages so you can see exactly what slowed things down. Keep an eye on the Core Web Vitals report in Search Console too, because it shows when real visitors start having a slower experience, often weeks before you notice it yourself. Small, regular checks stop a fast site from slowly getting heavy.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_Google_PageSpeed_Insights_free\"><\/span>Is Google PageSpeed Insights free?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. It is free with no sign-up, and you can test any public page.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_my_mobile_score_lower_than_desktop\"><\/span>Why is my mobile score lower than desktop?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The mobile test simulates a mid-range phone on a slower network, so heavy scripts and large images hurt far more.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Does_page_speed_affect_Google_rankings\"><\/span>Does page speed affect Google rankings?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes, as part of page experience, though content relevance matters more. Faster pages also keep more visitors and earn more from ads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do you make your site faster with Google PageSpeed? In 2009 Google&#8217;s Page Speed was a Firefox add-on that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":63426,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,25,3],"tags":[49],"class_list":["post-8204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogging","category-domain-hosting","category-google","tag-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8204"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63427,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8204\/revisions\/63427"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}