The battle for search engine ranking and audience attention is fought on several fronts—primarily through editorial strategy and content quality, but also on the technical side, focusing on performance and optimization of the newspaper or portal itself. In this article, we will focus on the latter, exploring various tools that allow us to accurately measure and test webpage speed, as well as identify where improvements can be made.
Using Chrome Inspector or Google Page Speed
Although this wasn’t always the case, nowadays this method has become one of the most popular, largely due to the widespread use of the Google Chrome browser, where this process is carried out, and because it’s free of charge. Moreover, Google uses this speed and performance data—particularly regarding Core Web Vitals—in the products that channel the most traffic to media outlets.
Despite seeming complicated, with just a few clicks you can easily see how Lighthouse (that’s the name of this tool) works, and measure performance on both mobile and desktop. The measurement includes thoroughly detailed information highlighting strengths and areas for improvement so you can boost your CMS’s speed. An alternative is Google’s Page Speed Insights, which is very similar to Lighthouse and can also be used in Spanish without any issues.
GT Metrix
This tool clearly illustrates an application that once offered a very comprehensive free model, but over time has gradually limited its free information. Now, you need to create an account to access what was previously available at no cost, but despite these changes, it remains highly recommended.
Bear in mind that the free version tests speed from Vancouver (Canada) using Chrome. To modify these options, registration is required. Previously, it used its own technology, but for a while now it has been based on Google’s Lighthouse.
WordPress Page Speed Test
This WordPress speed measurement tool is very intuitive and also relies on Google’s services. Once again, you’ll find tips and recommendations to improve the score assigned to your webpage, whether on mobile or desktop.
Perhaps the most notable feature here is that if you have a WordPress.com account—the commercial hosting service of WordPress—you can sign up to receive a weekly performance report. In addition to providing measurement services, this tool also aims to promote WordPress’s hosting service.
Pingdom Website Speed Test
This tool is another classic. Unfortunately, it’s not available in Spanish, but it’s extremely easy to use: just input the domain you want to analyze and click “Start test.” One of its main advantages is that you can select the servers for the test, meaning you can adjust their location. The closer they are, the better.
Here, too, you receive a speed measurement, along with a final score and improvement suggestions, as it indicates the project’s weakest points. While Google’s recommendations might be more practical, this tool stands out for showing all the domains and file types consuming the most bandwidth. This makes it easier to identify the elements that are hurting your website’s speed and address them accordingly.
Conclusión
In conclusion, the speed and performance of a website depend on many factors beyond the CMS. Hosting is a key aspect of delivering a strong performance; we especially recommend examining the Time to first byte metric, which should be kept as low as possible.
Furthermore, the front end of a news site or any website also plays a significant role (remember that sometimes the CMS is headless, and the front end is independent). In this regard, it’s crucial to keep the front end under control and well-organized.
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