How do you check website speed with PageSpeed Insights?

PageSpeed Insights is a Google tool that tests a page and reports on performance, accessibility, best practices, SEO basics, and Core Web Vitals. It gives lab data and, when available, real-user field data.

• Performance is about speed and loading behavior.
• Accessibility checks whether people can use the page more easily.
• Best Practices catches some technical and security basics.
• SEO checks basic crawl and page structure items.
• Core Web Vitals measure loading speed, visual stability, and responsiveness.

If your website is slow or jumpy on mobile, buyers notice. They may not know the words Core Web Vitals, but they know when a site feels broken and annoying.

• Slow pages can hurt trust.
• Paid ad traffic gets more expensive to waste on a weak page.
• Mobile experience matters because many local searches happen on phones.
• Technical issues can make good content harder to use.

• Performance score for the tested page.
• Largest Contentful Paint, Interaction to Next Paint, and Cumulative Layout Shift.
• Image, JavaScript, CSS, and font issues that may slow the page down.
• Accessibility warnings like contrast, labels, and document structure.
• Basic SEO checks such as title, meta description, crawlability, and mobile viewport.

1. 01

   Go to PageSpeed Insights and test your homepage.

2. 02

   Test one important service page, not just the homepage.

3. 03

   Switch between Mobile and Desktop results.

4. 04

   Look at real-user data if available, then lab data.

5. 05

   Review Opportunities and Diagnostics, but prioritize issues that affect real users.

6. 06

   Check image size, render-blocking scripts, layout shift, and mobile usability first.

• Testing only the homepage.
• Obsessing over a perfect score instead of fixing real friction.
• Ignoring mobile because desktop looks fine.
• Adding tracking and chat widgets without checking how they affect loading.
• Compressing images so badly the work looks cheap.

• Optimize large images without ruining quality.
• Remove scripts you don't need.
• Fix layout shift around images, fonts, and embeds.
• Test service pages and landing pages.
• Pair speed cleanup with stronger copy and calls to action.

A Lighthouse lab run is a controlled diagnostic. PageSpeed field data, when available, reflects real-user data across a rolling 28-day period. Record whether the field result covers the URL or the origin. Missing field data isn't a pass or a failure. Compare repeatable lab conditions and validate changes on actual screens. A score doesn't establish rankings or leads.