In the previous speed post we covered why every second is money. Today the practical step: how to check your own site, free, in one minute - no installs, no code.
The tool: PageSpeed Insights
Google gives you free access to the same tool it effectively judges your site with. Here is how:
- Go to pagespeed.web.dev
- Paste your website address
- Click Analyze and wait half a minute
Done - you have a full report. Now the important part: understanding it.
Mobile first. Always mobile
The report has two tabs: Mobile and Desktop. The mobile score is almost always lower, sometimes dramatically: a site scoring 95 on desktop can score 40 on mobile.
Look at mobile first, for two reasons: most of your visitors are there, and Google ranks your site by its mobile version. A high desktop score is nice for the ego; a high mobile score is what brings customers.
Reading the score
The main score runs 0 to 100:
- 90-100 (green): excellent. Genuinely fast.
- 50-89 (orange): mediocre. Works, but leaks customers and Google points along the way.
- 0-49 (red): a real problem affecting the business daily.
Worth knowing: the score fluctuates a little between runs - normal. Run it two or three times and average. A 3-point difference is noise; the difference between 45 and 90 is a story.
The three numbers that really matter
Below the score you will see a row of metrics. Three of them are Core Web Vitals, Google’s official metrics (a separate post is coming). Quick translation:
- LCP: how long until the main content appears. Target: under 2.5 seconds.
- CLS: how much the page “jumps” while loading (when you try to tap a button and it dodges). Target: under 0.1.
- INP: how fast the site responds to taps. Target: under 200 milliseconds.
What to do with the fix list
Scroll down to Opportunities. Google sorts the fixes by seconds saved. Don’t be intimidated by the technical names; on most small business sites the story boils down to three culprits: oversized images, too many plugins and scripts, and slow hosting.
Some of it you can fix yourself (compress images), some needs a professional. But now you have numbers - which also lets you verify whether whoever you paid actually improved anything.
Bottom line
A speed test is your website’s basic medical checkup: free, one minute, and it gives a clear picture. Watch the mobile score, compare to the targets (green = 90+), and treat the Opportunities list as an ordered work plan. A business that knows its numbers is already ahead of most competitors, who never checked.
Tested and got orange or red? Send us the address - we’ll explain in plain language what can be done ↗