Test My Site With Google

What Was “Test My Site With Google” and What Has Replaced It?

“Test My Site With Google” was a popular, free online tool created to help website owners evaluate their site’s speed and usability on both mobile and desktop devices. It provided a simple overview of essential performance metrics such as load times, interactivity, and responsiveness, along with practical advice to improve user experience. Many users appreciated its straightforward interface for quick assessments and identifying improvement areas.

Although this tool has been phased out, Google now recommends PageSpeed Insights (PSI) as its successor. PSI builds on the original features with a more advanced and comprehensive platform. It offers detailed analysis, personalized recommendations, and data-driven insights tailored to the unique performance challenges of your website. By pinpointing specific bottlenecks and prioritizing fixes, PSI makes optimizing your site faster and more manageable.

Website speed and mobile usability remain critical factors across all types of sites—from blogs and portfolios to e-commerce stores. Faster, mobile-friendly websites improve user engagement, reduce bounce rates, and positively influence Google search rankings. Using Google’s testing tools like PSI is a proactive way to maintain a high-quality, competitive online presence.

Key Features of PageSpeed Insights

PageSpeed Insights is Google’s upgraded web performance testing tool that provides a thorough evaluation of your website’s speed and usability across devices. Its core features include:

• Free access globally — Available to everyone without cost
• Mobile and desktop analysis — Tests site performance on various devices, screen sizes, and network conditions
• Comprehensive reports — Overall performance scores combined with detailed insights on issues like image optimization, inefficient code, and server response times
• Actionable recommendations — Clear, step-by-step advice like compressing images, minifying CSS/JavaScript, and enabling browser caching
• Open testing — Allows you to analyze any website, including competitors, for benchmarking and industry comparisons

For example, a small online retailer can use PSI to analyze their homepage separately from product pages, identifying which parts of the site require more speed improvements. Similarly, bloggers managing multiple landing pages can prioritize optimizations for pages that drive the most engagement and conversions.

Understanding Your Test Results

After running a test, PageSpeed Insights assigns a performance score out of 100 for both mobile and desktop versions. These scores fall into three categories that help you quickly gauge your site’s health:

For instance, when I tested my sister’s website, the mobile score was 96, which falls into the good category. However, the desktop score was only 46, considered poor. By following PSI’s recommendations—such as compressing images and optimizing JavaScript—the desktop score improved to the fair range, showing clear progress from targeted fixes.

Common Issues Identified by PageSpeed Insights

PSI highlights several frequent bottlenecks that slow down websites, including:

• Large, uncompressed images that increase page load times
• JavaScript or CSS files blocking rendering, delaying content display
• External scripts or fonts that are not deferred or asynchronously loaded
• Non-responsive design elements or missing mobile-friendly features

For example, even if you use plugins like Jetpack’s Photon for image compression, some images might still exceed Google’s size recommendations. Manually compressing images with tools such as TinyPNG or ImageOptim can reduce file sizes significantly. Additionally, minifying CSS and JavaScript files, enabling browser caching, and removing unused code can improve load times and overall performance scores.

The Importance of Mobile Friendliness and AMP

With Google’s shift to mobile-first indexing, your website’s mobile performance now directly affects its search rankings. A site that is not optimized for mobile risks lower visibility in search results, leading to less traffic and fewer conversions. A mobile-friendly site offers a better user experience, encouraging visitors to stay longer and engage more.

What Is AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)?

AMP is an open-source framework designed to create fast-loading mobile pages by using a simplified HTML structure and a lightweight JavaScript library. AMP pages load almost instantly, even on slow networks, improving user satisfaction and engagement. Many news outlets and publishers implement AMP to ensure their content loads quickly, reducing bounce rates and improving search ranking.

• Learn more about AMP at the AMP Project website
• WordPress users can enable AMP via plugins like AMP for WP or the official AMP plugin. For setup guidance, see Yoast’s AMP guide

For example, a news website implementing AMP can deliver articles that load instantly on mobile devices, increasing reader engagement and reducing bounce rates. This compliance with Google’s mobile usability standards often leads to higher search rankings and more organic traffic.

Case Study: Improving Site Speed With Practical Changes

When I initially tested my website, the mobile score was 69 (fair) and desktop was 46 (poor). The main issues were large, unoptimized images and unminified JavaScript files. After compressing images further and inlining critical scripts, I observed the following improvements:

• Mobile score remained stable at 69 (fair), indicating consistent performance
• Desktop score improved to 56 (fair), showing measurable progress

This case study demonstrates that small, targeted optimizations like image compression and code minification can produce noticeable performance improvements. Making testing and optimization a regular habit ensures your site continues to perform well over time.

Comparing Before and After Optimization

This comparison highlights how incremental fixes can lift a site from poor to fair performance, with potential to reach good scores through continued effort. Consistent testing and improvements are key to maintaining a fast, user-friendly site.

How to Use PageSpeed Insights: Step-by-Step Guide

1. Visit the PageSpeed Insights website.
2. Enter your website URL into the search box and click “Analyze.”
3. Review your mobile and desktop performance scores along with the detailed diagnostics.
4. Follow the recommended improvements, such as compressing images, minifying code, and enabling browser caching.
5. After making changes, retest your site to monitor progress and ensure ongoing optimization.

Making performance testing a routine part of your website management helps maintain consistent speed, usability, and SEO benefits. Continuous optimization ensures visitors receive a fast, engaging experience that encourages repeat visits.

Who Benefits From Using PageSpeed Insights?

• Website owners and webmasters looking to enhance site performance and user experience
• SEO specialists and digital marketers tracking optimization impact
• Bloggers, small business owners, and e-commerce managers aiming to boost conversions
• Web developers troubleshooting speed-related issues during development or updates
• Anyone interested in understanding and improving website performance metrics

Additionally, analyzing competitor websites with PSI offers valuable benchmarking data. This comparison helps identify industry standards and reveals areas where you can outperform rivals.

Getting Started With PageSpeed Insights

Ready to evaluate your website’s performance? Visit PageSpeed Insights today. Use its detailed reports and tailored recommendations to make targeted improvements. Regular testing and ongoing optimization keep your site fast, responsive, and highly ranked in search results, helping you stand out in your niche and provide visitors with an excellent online experience.