Why the tool is often misleading
How to really get faster
The loading speed of a website is now more important than ever – for SEO, user experience and conversion rates. Many people rely on Google PageSpeed Insights (PSI) to optimize their website. But this tool has serious weaknesses, which we see time and again in practice with our customers. In this article, we explain why PSI often causes more confusion than real help – and what better solutions there are to really make your website faster.
Google’s PageSpeed Insights analyzes websites using a fixed scoring system. But the problem is that it doesn’t evaluate how fast your site actually loads! Instead, it gives you a score that often has nothing to do with real-world performance. The tool tests pages in an artificial environment that has nothing to do with the reality of your visitors. Your users come with different devices, browsers and internet speeds – but PSI hardly takes this into account.
Customers are confused - and we often have to make improvements
We see it time and time again: customers send us screenshots of poor PageSpeed values and worry that their website is slow – even though in reality it loads quickly! The problem? PSI does not give a real loading time in seconds, but only an artificial score. PSI often suggests things that are hardly feasible or unnecessary for a normal website, e.g.: “Reduce server response time” – although the server is already ultra-fast “Eliminate render-blocking resources” – although certain scripts are simply needed “Use modern image formats” – even if WebP is already active In short: The tool shows problems where there are none – or gives recommendations that are not practicable for real websites.
The better solution: How to really optimize your loading times
Instead of relying on a misleading score, there are effective measures you can take to speed up your website in the long term.
Rely on high-performance hosting & a fast server
Tip: Use a content delivery network (CDN) such as Cloudflare or BunnyCDN to deliver your website faster worldwide.
The right plugins for a fast website
Tip: Use a tool like Perfmatters to deactivate unnecessary scripts and further speed up the website.
Optimize images and content correctly
Tip: Optimize fonts & icons too! Only load the fonts that you really need.
Our insider tip: Use GTmetrix for better results
While PageSpeed Insights often provides inaccurate values, GTmetrix offers a deeper analysis of actual loading times. It not only shows what is slow, but also provides concrete recommendations for action with waterfall diagrams to identify bottlenecks. GTmetrix + WebPageTest are the better alternatives to PSI!
Google’s PageSpeed Insights is often inaccurate and gives questionable optimization suggestions. We always have clients who are surprised by poor scores – when in reality their website loads lightning fast!
Our tip: Use real hosting, targeted optimizations and better analysis tools such as GTmetrix. This is how you achieve real speed – not just a good score!
