What Is A Website Speed Test Tool?
The load speed of a website is a crucial factor that determines the site’s success. That’s especially true for e-commerce websites.
First off, it’s important to note that search engine algorithms favor faster-loading websites. Which means that all factors kept constant, websites that load faster tend to appear high up on search engine result pages (SERPs).
Faster-loading websites also increase conversion rates by lowering bounce rates. In essence, visitors to your website will spend more time on it when the web pages load faster. Even if those visitors don’t end up purchasing your products, the mere ease with which they navigate through the platform goes a long way in improving their overall experience.
However, it’s almost impossible to manually track your website’s load speed, and that’s where a website speed test tool comes in. But website speed test tools don’t just assess the speed of a website. These apps also track activity across other key performance indicators, such as the performance of your content delivery network (CDN).
The following is a rundown of the top 10 website speed test tools you should consider investing in.
1. GTmetrix
Pricing: Free, Pro level upgrade options available
GTmetrix has been ranked among the best website load speed test tools for years, thanks to its incredible ease of use. To test the speed of your website using this service, you simply enter your website URL and hit ‘Analyze.’
With GTmetrix, you can test the speed of your website across different locations and browsers. The tool lets you track the performance of your website across several key performance indicators and presents the data in graphs for ease of interpretation.
2. Uptrends
Pricing: Free version and free trial available, paid plans start from $12.02/month
Uptrends not only monitors your website load speed. The software also tracks the site’s performance across various parameters, such as its API uptime, overall functionality, and even your multi-step transactions such as login activity, search data, shopping carts, forms, etc.
Uptrends implements various protocol technology that makes website testing and server monitoring a breeze, including IMAP, SMTP, FTP, SQL, POP3, HTTP/HTTPS, and MySQL. It’s compatible with popular browsers like Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Google Chrome.
3. WebPageTest
Pricing: Free
WebPageTest is both free and open-source, which means that the interface may not be very user-friendly. However, the tool is highly accurate and performs several advanced website testing, including multi-step transactions, video capture, and content blocking.
After performing its diagnostics, WebPageTest offers reports that include page speed optimization and loading waterfall charts, as well as tons of suggestions on how you can improve your site’s user experience. You can run WebPageTest on various browsers like Internet Explorer and Chrome, as well as perform your site’s load speed across different locations.
4. Google PageSpeed Insights
Pricing: Free
PageSpeed Insights is Google’s official website load speed test tool, which means that it mostly monitors how Google evaluates your website. The fact that the tool focuses on Google at the expense of other search engines may sound like a deal-breaker for some users. However, remember that Google is the world’s preeminent search engine, and how your website fares on the platform is pretty much how it would perform on other search engines.
Google PageSpeed Insights also takes pride in its incredible ease of use. To get started, just type in your website URL and the tool will perform the diagnostics in a matter of seconds. What’s more – the app is available for both desktop and mobile devices.
5. KeyCDN Website Speed Test
Pricing: Free
KeyCDN Website Speed Test provides accurate real-time information on the load speed of your website across 14 locations around the world. The tool comes with tons of customization features, such as the options of making the test results public or private.
Diagnostic reports include a detailed waterfall breakdown and a visual website preview, which indicate your site’s load speed, the number of HTTP requests made, and the full size of the requested web page. KeyCDN implements a RESTful API that makes the app easy to use from any application and in any language. The app also comes with security features that help to prevent attacks or unauthorized actions.
6. Pingdom
Pricing: Free
Pingdom lets you test your website’s load speed from 4 different locations around the world. The tool provides a letter-grade breakdown of your site’s performance, which makes diagnostic reports easy to read and interpret.
Not only does Pingdom report specific issues with your website, but the app also offers suggestions that you can implement to improve your site’s performance. An intuitive interface and advanced diagnostics are other things to love about Pingdom. Plus, the software is completely free to use.
7. DareBoost
Pricing: Free
DareBoost is another free website load speed tester on this list that tracks the performance of your website in different global locations. The tool is also easy to use, as all you need to do is enter your website’s URL on the DareBoost dashboard and select a location you’d want to perform the test from.
After that, simply wait a few seconds for the tool to do the rest. Other website performance issues that DareBoost will test include user behavior on your website and how your website’s load speed compares to that of your competitor.
8. GiftofSpeed
Pricing: Free
Here is another great online tool that you can use to test the load speed of your website and improve its overall performance. Like many website speed testers, GiftofSpeed bills itself as fast, efficient, and user-friendly. It currently lets you test your site’s load speed from eight different global locations.
GiftofSpeed comes with lots of other advanced features, including the ability to analyze your site’s CSS delivery and minimize CSS scripts for enhanced load speed. The tool also checks whether your site has Gzip compression enabled, analyzes the number of HTTP requests made, and detects the presence of any broken links.
9. Dotcom-Monitor Website Speed Test
Pricing: Free
Its fancy name isn’t the only thing to love about Dotcom-Monitor Website Speed Test. The tool comes with a host of premium features that make it the go-to website load speed testers. First off, Dotcom-Monitor performs advanced diagnostics into your website, such as detecting slow or missing elements, broken links, and HTTP requests from nearly 25 global locations.
It then reports its findings in charts and graphs for ease of interpretation. The app is also compatible with popular browsers like Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer, as well as mobile-based browsers like iPad and iPhone.
10. SpeedCurve
Pricing: Free 30-day trial available, Paid plans start from $15/month
SpeedCurve is probably the most expensive website load speed test tool on this list. But for $15/month, you can track several aspects of your site’s performance, including average load speed and user experience. The tool even lets you debug performance issues on a page-by-page basis. A ‘Deploy API’ feature makes it easy to monitor any code changes between deploys.
After performing its diagnostics, SpeedCurve provides reports in engaging charts, where it highlights the specific issues that could be slowing down your site’s performance.
Wrap Up
The importance of testing your website’s load speed from time to time cannot be overemphasized. Using any of the above-reviewed tools, you’ll be able to track the performance of your website and correct any issues that would affect the user experience negatively.