Written by YSlow is a valuable tool that helps you evaluate your site’s speed and performance regarding web performance. After assessing the webpage you wish to evaluate, YSlow conducts an analysis based on a specific set of guidelines. Consequently, it provides a performance grade and a comprehensive breakdown of your website’s commendable aspects and areas that need improvement. In this article, you will learn how to run the YSlow test to analyze the performance of your site. Then you will also learn how to improve your YSlow score to Measure Website Performance.
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What is YSlow
YSlow is an open-source tool that assesses web pages. This tool helps users identify the factors responsible for the slow loading, adhering to Yahoo’s guidelines for optimizing the site’s performance.
- YSlow performs a three-step procedure to obtain the test result:
- The DOM is thoroughly analyzed by YSlow to discover various components such as scripts, images, and others.
- YSlow retrieves the data regarding the size of every component including expiration headers, Gzip compression, and so on.
- By analyzing the data, YSlow assigns a grade to each rule, thereby providing an overall grade.
- The score and guidance provided by the tool prove to be extremely favorable.
YSlow does not provide a complete performance analysis. It particularly emphasizes the front-end performance of the website.
How to run a YSlow Performance Test
To utilize YSlow let’s take a look at the below-mentioned steps:
- If you want to install the YSlow extension on a browser, first, you need to go to http:// yslow.org.
- When the YSlow plugin is initially activated, the Home tab will be automatically highlighted.
- After that, try to load a webpage in the main browser window that you wish to get tested.
- Now, you need to select Run Test in the YSlow pane.
- Upon finishing the test, the Grade tab is automatically chosen. YSlow generates results
- using a scale that spans from A to F. Here A denotes the highest performance and F indicates the lowest performance.
Note: YSlow functions independently on Google Chrome, whereas on Mozilla Firefox the Firebug add-on must be installed to utilize YSlow.
How to Interpret YSlow results:-
YSlow operates by conducting a thorough analysis of the site and assessing it against a predefined set of 23 rules. These rules are derived from Yahoo’s standards for sites that aim to achieve a high performance level.
By applying the 23 rules shown in the picture, YSlow calculates the performance of your site and generates an overall score by averaging the results. Every one of the 23 rules is assigned a different level of weighting.
For instance, the impact on your score is greater when you limit the number of HTTP requests made by the site as opposed to decreasing the size of cookies. By accessing the YSlow tab, you examine the suggestions provided and evaluate your overall score.
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How to use YSlow to Improve Website Performance
If you want to enhance the performance and speed of your website, you must address all the 23 testing criteria utilized by YSlow. Let’s take a look at some of them to boost the YSlow score:
1) Make Fewer HTTP Requests- Measure Website Performance
It is recommended to reduce the number of elements available on a page as it decreases the number of HTTP requests required to show the page. It leads to a faster page loading time.
There are various methods to decrease the number of elements on a page. It includes merging different CSS files into a single style sheet, consolidating different scripts into a single script, utilizing image maps, and so on.
By merging small images into a single “sprite”, the number of server connections is minimized. It helps in improving the overall page load speed.
2) Minify CSS and JavaScript- Measure Website Performance
Minification of Javascript, CSS, or HTML files is necessary for quick loading time. Minification of these files includes eliminating any unrequired characters such as line breaks, comments, and unnecessary white space characters.
Elimination of these unimportant characters from a file reduces the overall size of a file and enhances the page loading time.
3) Reduce Cookie Size- Measure Website Performance
It is essential to pay attention to maintaining the small cookie sizes specifically for the developers. It is recommended to constantly review the size of your cookies.
4) Put CSS at the top
Positioning CSS code at the top of the HTML document improves the page loading time. This allows the browser to swiftly implement CSS rules as elements are displayed on the page. However, if the CSS is positioned after the corresponding HTML, the desired appearance of the page can only be achieved once the browser has processed the CSS rules.
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5) Utilize a CDN to measure Website Performance
Response times are directly influenced by the proximity of users to the web server. By distribution of the contents across different servers situated in multiple geographical locations the perception of faster page loading time can be improved for the visitors.
For an accelerated delivery of your assets, it is highly recommended to employ a Content Delivery Network. In case the CDN names are not automatically detected, you can manually include them through the YSlow options.
Utilizing the WordPress cache plugin with CDN integration is suggested for optimal performance. RabbitLoader is widely recognized as one of the best plugins, due to its exceptional features.
This plugin efficiently tackles various tasks simultaneously. These tasks include object caching, page caching, browser caching, database caching, mInifying, and flawless integration with a CDN.
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Measure Website Performance-Wrapping Up
YSlow is an effective tool that assists you in evaluating the loading speed of the site. To enhance your YSlow score there are various optimizations that you can implement to the site. You need to incorporate as many optimizations as feasible within your specific environment.
It is essential to keep in mind that a score is just a numerical value. You should not overlook the perceived performance, particularly the experience of the users.
By leveraging the information provided by YSlow, you can enhance your score effortlessly.
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