GTmetrix is a website performance analytics tool that you can use to check your website's speed and performance. In this article, we will go through all of the sections of GTmetrix to get a better understanding of this tool.
Before you start
It is highly recommended to create a GTmetrix account as that allows you to choose the test location and device (and enable many more options).
Why is it important? Because the physical distance between the server and the visitor is important for the speed, so if for example your server and your visitors are located in Europe, you will get much more accurate data if you run the test from the UK rather than from Canada (default location).
Having an account will also allow you to avoid the queue 😉
How to run a test?
To test a website, head to GTmetrix.com, paste your domain name, select testing server (available when you log in) and any other parameters that you wish. Then press Analyze:
NOTE:
Even if your website forces HTTPS by default, GTmetrix runs a test for HTTP if you haven’t added HTTPS to the URL
How to read a report?
The report contains several sections:
We’ve prepared a set of articles to cover all of these sections: