Optimising search results for users has long been one of Google’s premises. For this reason, in 2020 it launched the Core Web Vitals system of specific metrics, focusing on aspects such as page load speed and page performance.
Part of the range of tools offered by this system includes Google Page Speed Insights. This is a very practical update to evaluate how long it takes to load a website’s resources and what factors can slow down the process.
Given the importance of load time in search engine ranking, Pagespeed Insights proves to be a very valuable tool. Its code base has been the same for the past 10 years, so it was well worth the redesign that Google announced on web.dev, its web development platform.
Pagespeed Insights updates
Updates to an interface are the perfect occasion to polish details or solve certain problems that could hinder the user experience. This is what has happened with the redesign of PageSpeed, which has improved the management of reports made from this tool. The main goals Google has set for the tool’s update are as follows:
- Make the user interface more intuitive, differentiating data derived from a synthetic environment from other data collected from users in the field.
- Clearly communicate how the Core Web Vitals assessment is calculated in the user interface.
- Refresh the look and feel of PSI to be more modern, leveraging Material Design.
This update of the PageSpeed user interface includes the move to the new pagespeed.web.dev location.
The Core Web Vitals evaluation result. The Core Web Vitals evaluation will have its own sub-section and a distinctive icon for easy identification. Otherwise, the evaluation process of the Core Web Vitals will not be affected and will remain the same, preserving the aggregation mode.
Clean-up and rearrangement of the navigation bar. The navigation menu has been modified at the top, to increase accessibility. Labels have been created for mobile and desktop performance. Links for both mobile and desktop will also be included centrally on the report page.
Clear differentiation of field and laboratory data. The interface upgrade is largely based on differentiating the retrieved data between field or real user data and laboratory, or experimental, data. To this end, the two labels have been removed and replaced by text explaining each piece of data and how it can help. The field data section has been moved to the top, and the lab data bar has been moved to its own section. This measure aims to avoid confusion about the origin of the scores displayed.
Additional reporting at the base of each data tab. There will be a new information section, both field and laboratory, to help the user distinguish between the data retrieved by each. This is the information incorporated:
- Data collection period
- Duration of visits
- Devices
- Network connections
- Sample size
- Chrome versions
- Expanded view
A drill-down should be added to the field data section that allows you to view specific details of the metrics related to the Core Web Vitals.
The source summary. Facilitates the aggregate Chrome user experience (CrUX) score across all pages in a single data source. It is now available by clicking on a checkbox, but with the update it has been moved to a new tab located in the Field Data section, under the name “Origin”.
Google has also announced that the web.dev/measure tool will now work off the Pagespeed Insights API. This means that the experience for developers to generate their reports and retrieve performance data from their websites will be improved. A new “add and go” from Google, we’ll see what’s next.