Lighthouse Score

Definition

The Lighthouse score is a measure of the performance and quality of a website or app. It is used to improve and optimize the user experience. The score is based on various criteria such as page loading, user experience, page quality, and usability.

The Google Lighthouse Score is like a school report for your website. It tells you how good your website is and how fast it loads. The higher your Lighthouse Score the better your website will be. And this is important because your friends and other people can visit your website faster.

Why is the Lighthouse Score important?

The Lighthouse Score is important for two reasons:

1. For the website: If your website has a high Lighthouse Score has, it can be found better. This means that more people can visit your website.
2. For the usersPeople like fast websites. If your website loads fast, your friends and other visitors will be happy and visit more often.

How to measure the Lighthouse Score

So, Google Lighthouse is basically like the TÜV for your website. It checks if everything is running smoothly and then gives you a report with anything you can or should improve. You can use Lighthouse directly in Google Chrome, or install it as an NPM package if you're a bit more nerdy.

Directly in Google Chrome:

1. Open website: Sure, you launch Chrome and go to the website you want to check.
2. Developer tools: Right-click on an empty part of the page and then select "Examine". Or you can simply press F12.
3. Lighthouse Tab: In the developer tools you will find a tab at the top called "Lighthouse". Click on it.
4. Test options: You can now select a few things, for example whether you want to test the page as "Mobile" or "Desktop".
5. Generate: Click on "Generate report" and then wait a moment.

With NPM:

1. Installation: npm install -g lighthouse
2. Command: Open the console and type lighthouse https://example.com (replace example.com through your website)
3. Report: You will get a HTML report, which you can then use in a Browser can open.

What do you get then?

You then receive a score between 0 and 100 in various categories such as "Performance", "Accessibility", "Best Practices" and "SEO". The higher the score, the better. But the best thing is: Lighthouse also tells you exactly what you can do to improve your score.

So, imagine your site loads as slow as a snail on Valium. Lighthouse will then tell you, "Hey, how about compressing the images?" or "These scripts here could really load faster if you do XYZ".

And then?

Work through the recommendations. Improve the things Lighthouse suggested and then take the test again. Ideally, your score will go up and you'll know you did something right.

So, now you know how to give your website a good going over with Google Lighthouse. Have fun optimizing! 👍

7 simple steps to improve your Lighthouse Score

Here are seven simple steps you can take to improve your Lighthouse Score to improve:

1. Optimize imagesMake sure your images are not too large. Large images can make your website slow. You can make them smaller and still make them look good.
2. Compress textsSometimes there is a lot of text on a website and this can slow it down. You can "compress" the text, i.e. make it smaller, so that the website loads faster.
3. Caching use: Caching is like a memory for your website. When someone visits your website, it remembers the Cachingwhat this visitor has seen. When the visitor comes back, the web page can load faster because it remembers the things the visitor has already seen.
4. Browser-Caching: This is similar to Cachingbut it works in the visitors' internet browser. It also helps to make the website faster.
5. Remove unnecessary pluginsPlugins are small programs that add functionality to your website. But sometimes there are too many plugins installed, and this can slow down the website. Check which plugins you really need and remove the others.
6. Optimize the order of the scripts and Stylesheets: Scripts and Stylesheets are parts of the web page that make it pretty and interesting. But if they are in the wrong order, it can make the web page slower. Make sure they are in the right order.
7. Improve server performanceThe server is like the home of your website. If the home of your website is fast and strong, your website will be faster. Ask someone who knows about it if your server is good and if you can improve something.

What influence does the Google Lighthouse Score have on SEO?

The Google Lighthouse Score has a noticeable impact on your website's SEO. Lighthouse is an open-source tool from Google that measures the quality of a website in several categories, including performance, accessibility, best practices, and SEO. Here are some aspects that show how the Lighthouse Score which influences SEO:

1. Performance: Lighthouse evaluates the loading time and speed of your website, which is crucial for SEO. Google prefers fast loading pages as they provide a better user experience. Slow pages tend to be displayed further down in the search results. Improving performance, for example by optimizing images or using a Content Delivery Networks (CDN), can cause your site to rank higher in search results.
2. Accessibility: Lighthouse measures how accessible your website is for users with different abilities. An accessible website is viewed positively by Google because it provides a better user experience for all visitors. This includes, for example, adding Alt texten for images, using clear heading structures, and implementing easy-to-understand navigation.
3. Best Practices: Lighthouse also evaluates your website for best practices, such as security and the use of HTTPS. Google prefers secure websites that increase user trust. By following best practices and ensuring a secure connection on your website, you can improve your SEO.
4. SEO: Finally, Lighthouse also directly evaluates SEO aspects of your website, such as meta tags, Structured data and mobile-friendliness. Optimizing these elements will help your site to be better understood and ranked by search engines.

An example: Imagine you run an online store for handmade jewelry. A fast and well-structured website with optimized product descriptions, accessible elements and a secure connection receives a high score from Google Lighthouse. This leads to a better ranking of your website in the search results and more potential customers coming to your site, which ultimately leads to more sales.

In summary, the Google Lighthouse Score have a significant impact on your website's SEO by helping you optimize performance, accessibility, best practices and SEO aspects. A high rating in Lighthouse can lead to a better ranking in search results and thus more Traffic and generate success for your online business.

Advantages

A good Google Lighthouse Score brings you a number of benefits that impact both the user experience and the Search engine optimization (SEO) can have an impact. Google Lighthouse is a tool that evaluates the performance, accessibility, SEO and best practices of websites. Here are some advantages that a good Lighthouse Score brings with it:

1. Better user experience: A high Lighthouse Score shows that your page loads quickly, is responsive, and user-friendly. This means that visitors to your site will experience less frustration and be more likely to stay longer on your site or even convert (e.g. complete a purchase or fill out a form).
2. Higher Ranking in the search results: Google and other search engines place great importance on user experience and web page load time. A good performance and user experience can lead to your site being ranked higher in search results and getting more organic Traffic receives.
3. Reduced bounce rate: If your website loads quickly and offers a good user experience, visitors are less likely to click away in frustration. This leads to a lower bounce rate, which in turn is a positive signal to search engines and your Ranking can improve.
4. Improved conversion rate: If your site is appealing and user-friendly, it's easier for visitors to find their way around and perform the actions they want. This can lead to a higher conversion rate, which means that more visitors become paying customers.
5. Positive brand perception: A good Lighthouse Score can improve the perception of your brand. When visitors have a positive experience on your site, they are more likely to recommend your brand and visit again.

Example: Let's say you run an online store for handmade jewelry. If your website has a high Lighthouse Score it loads quickly, is attractively designed and easy to navigate. Visitors can easily search for products, add them to their cart, and complete the checkout process. This positive experience increases the likelihood that they will shop with you again or recommend your site to others.

In summary, a good Google Lighthouse Score an indicator of high website quality, which can have a positive impact on user experience, search engine rankings, and ultimately the success of your online presence.

Disadvantages

A bad Google Lighthouse Score can bring some disadvantages for your website and online business. Here are some disadvantages that can result from a low Lighthouse Score can result:

1. Poor user experience: A low Lighthouse Score often means that your website loads slowly, is not responsive, and is difficult to navigate. As a result, visitors to your site get frustrated and may quickly bounce away without performing the desired actions.
2. Lower Ranking in the search results: Since Google and other search engines place great importance on the user experience and loading time of web pages, poor performance and user experience can cause your page to rank lower in search results and attract less organic traffic. Traffic receives.
3. Increased bounce rate: If your website loads slowly and provides a poor user experience, visitors are more likely to click away in frustration. This leads to a higher bounce rate, which is a negative signal for search engines and your Ranking can deteriorate.
4. Lower conversion rate: A slow and cluttered website makes it difficult for visitors to perform the actions they want, such as completing a purchase or filling out a form. This can lead to a lower conversion rate, which means that fewer visitors become paying customers.
5. Negative brand perception: A bad Lighthouse Score can negatively impact the perception of your brand. If visitors have a bad experience on your site, they are less likely to recommend and revisit your brand.

Example: Imagine you run a blog about healthy eating and fitness. If your website has a bad Lighthouse Score has slow loads, visitors may get frustrated and bounce before they can read your articles or sign up for your newsletter. This leads to lower reader engagement, fewer Traffic and ultimately less success for your blog.

In summary, a bad Google Lighthouse Score an indicator of low website quality that can negatively impact user experience, search engine rankings, and the success of your online presence. It is therefore important to fix the issues identified by Lighthouse and improve the performance and usability of your site.

Use cases

The Lighthouse score is mainly used to check the performance and quality of a website or app. It is also used to help developers make better decisions about site development and optimization.

Examples

1. a developer wants to improve the performance of his website and decides to use the Lighthouse score to see where improvements need to be made. The developer can use the score to see how fast the page loads, how user-friendly it is, and if there are other criteria that need to be optimized.

2. another example is that a developer wants to check the usability of his app. He can use the Lighthouse score to determine whether the app is easy to use, whether navigation is intuitive, and whether the app provides a good user experience.

Conclusion