LibGuides Accessibility and Best Practices for Accessibility: Speed Assessment & Page Load Optimization

The speed at which a web page loads can affect accessibility of information for patrons.  Those with poor connections or who use mobile interfaces may experience longer than desired load times.  To that end, content creators should use the tool PageSpeed Insights to asses page load speed. The purpose of using PageSpeed Insights is to measure load time and speed optimization.  Below are the guidelines of using PageSpeed Insights with our current LibGuides platform.

PageSpeed Insights Use for LibGuides

PageSpeed Insights is the tool used to assess load time (i.e., speed of web page loading) and speed optimization for LibGuides pages.  Please use the following three steps–illustrated on the following pages–to assess the pages of your publicly accessible guides.  Please note that performance scores can vary for the same page for the following reasons:

• Local network availability
• Web server variability
• A/B tests or changes in ads being served
• Internet traffic routing changes
• Testing on different devices, such as a high-performance desktop and a low-performance laptop
• Browser extensions that inject JavaScript and add/modify network requests
• Antivirus software

Because these variables can affect performance scores, content creators should review your pages 3-4 times and average the results.  Any large discrepancies (performance scores that vary by 15 points or more) should be checked with Web Services.

Please note your average score should be above 65.  Average scores of 65 or lower should be reported to Web Services for further review and assistance. 

1.  Navigate to the PageSpeed Insights page and click on the following URL:

2.  Copy and Paste the URL for the LibGuides page you are testing into the URL box, and click Analyze.

3.  Ensure you are on the mobile option at the top (this should be the default). Check your performance score - you may have to scroll down to see it.

• If your performance score is 75 or above, no action is needed for that page.
• For reducing load speed, try compressing any images using the Image Optimizer tool.
• Many of the opportunities, such as “eliminate render-blocking resources” and “reduce unused JavaScript/CSS” need to be handled by Web Services
• If your performance score is below 65, please contact Web Services for additional help