Bitcatcha’s free speed checker tool is expected to be a game changer for online businesses that want to increase conversion and sales.
With Bitcatcha, developers and website owners can check their website speed and benchmark it against the top 10,000 websites on the internet. That way, users can decide if their present performance is good enough, or if they need to migrate to another platform.
What the tool measures and why that’s important
The website speed checker shows users the aspects of their websites affecting their loading speed. This way, they can tell if the problem is from their coding or web hosting. Here are the three metrics that the tool measures:
– The server response time
– Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), and
– The Total Blocking Time (TBT)
Server Response Time
When users enter a site’s URL in the checker, Bitcatcha measures how long it takes that website to respond to requests. It mimics ten different people from around the world using the site at the same time. Then, shows the average server speed in milliseconds.
Largest Contentful Paint, LCP
Google prioritizes great user experience during ranking, so Bitcatcha measures LCP. This term refers to how long it takes a website to load the largest visible elements. The test happens automatically through the Lighthouse API that’s incorporated into the speed checker tool.
Total Blocking Time, TBT
Loading text, images, and other components of a site draws power from the CPU, thereby blocking the browser from doing anything else. So, TBT gives an estimate of the total time when the browser stays blocked during the loading process.
This estimate is important because of its direct link to user experience—the less time a browser remains blocked, the better the experience.
The choice of measuring TBT instead of First Input Delay, FID is because one can simulate TBT. Whereas, actual user data to measure FID. However, that’s not an issue because having a good TBT also shows an improved FID.
Interpreting the website rating
The final grading score after entering a URL in the speed checker ranges from A+ to E. If a user’s grade consistently shows B+ or higher, that means their site is fast. But a poorer grade means they have to start optimizing their site.
How to get an A+ Final Score Grading
Bitcatcha combines the result from the server speed test with the number from Web Vital metrics and converts them to percentage. The image below shows the grading system.
Website owners obviously don’t want to fall below a B-grade. Ideally, they want to stay on the A+ mark. However, users can improve their grade by observing the color on each performance level. A green color indicates a good score, and a yellow color shows a need for improvement. And when it’s red, it’s bad. All performance metrics have to turn green for an A+.
Improving server speed
If the server speed is consistently above 500ms, then changing the web hosting provider might be the best option. A speed of 180ms and below would turn the color green.
Improving LCP score
Although improving LCP provides rather technical information, users can imove their LCP in the ways highlighted below:
– As with improving server speed, migrating to a faster server will also improve LCP
– Since unnecessarily large images can slow down websites, users can consider reducing their images with tools like tinypng.com
– Using a Content Delivery Network, CDN, can help users distribute data to servers in different locations. This process improves loading speed by forcing people to access content from the closest server to them.
– When users cache images that they don’t need to change constantly, they’re able to minimize resource usage and load speed.
Total Blocking Time (TBT)
Having a simpler site is the easiest way to improve TBT. One of the most common problems that affect TBT score is a bloated JavaScript library that keeps running in the background.
– Identify and get rid of unused JavaScript or defer them to load later
– Reduce plugins and dependencies that use a lot of jQueries
– Users can split JavaScript codes and make them load when needed
About Bitcatcha
Bitcatcha’s website speed checker audits websites and shows users how to adjust the three metrics to improve their ranking. However, a user might have to consider migration if the problem is with the hosting provider.
Media Contact
Company Name: Bitcatcha
Contact Person: Nicholas Godwin
Email: Send Email
Country: Malaysia
Website: https://www.bitcatcha.com/
