A client launched a new website and we’re helping them make it as fast as possible. Google’s Page Speed Insights is great at analyzing the code on the page to tell you where you can make improvements, but it doesn’t pay any attention to things like DNS lookup, server response times, connection types, server locations, etc. For more in-depth evaluation of page speed I like to use WebPageTest.org. During today’s test I found that the worst offending response times are from Google and Facebook! Check out the image below to see how much of a time-suck they are when you use their +1 and “Like” buttons on your site. My favorite part is that Facebook is calling Ireland to serve up some content. Really Facebook? Ireland??
