Test Settings

Correct setup is crucial for accurate speed measurement, so please pay close attention to this text.

Before proceeding, ensure you understand how we test your websites and the differences between speed data from CrUX (Chrome UX Report) and synth. Proper setup is especially vital for professional web speed monitoring using PLUS tests.

When setting up the test, be sure not to overlook the following:

1. Carefully select the URL of your website for detailed testing (both synth and CrUX).
2. Select domains wisely (yours and competitors').
3. Set up alerts for changes (email, Slack, Teams).

Now let's delve into the individual parts of the test settings in pagespeed.one monitoring.

Test Name#

Choose a name for the test. Examples: “Website XYZ.cz,” “Competitor for XYZ.cz”… If you don’t specify a test name, we’ll name it after the domain of the first URL. You can change it anytime.

The name is used to identify the test on your team dashboard.

URLs#

Enter the URLs of the pages you want to test to obtain CrUX data (speed for Google users) or synthetic measurement results (from our tests), including Watchdog data.

Set up the correct entry URLs for testing.

We recommend including the most important types of pages from your website. Also, add a label (alias like “Homepage” or “Product”) to simplify your graphs.

🔐 You can enter five addresses in PLUS tests.

Well-chosen URLs meet these criteria:

All important entry page types are represented#

For example, a smaller e-shop might include the homepage, product category, product detail, and perhaps a blog post.

Measuring the cart, for example, isn't as crucial since it's not an entry page, but for larger websites, we recommend it.

These are the most visited URLs and have CrUX data#

Ignoring the homepage, you’ll typically have several URLs to choose from for each page type. Always pick the most visited ones, as they’ll be more heavily loaded and more influential on Google user data (CrUX).

It’s also useful if these URLs have their own CrUX data. Not every URL has its own CrUX data. Even on large websites, only dozens of URLs will have their own data. However, if the URLs entered have data, it will make measuring changes easier.

To check if your URL has its own CrUX data, the easiest way is through our web speed test or PageSpeed Insights. Enter the URL and see if metric data is visible in the “This URL” switch.

These are more content-rich pages#

Always choose page types that have more content components. Frequently, e-shops have both simpler and more complex page types for categories.

Choose the more content-rich ones, as you’ll see potential user experience issues more clearly on them.

Google Analytics or Google Search Console can help you select the right page types by showing their visitor numbers.

Beware of URLs with parameters#

You may want to enter variants of URLs with parameters, such as:

example.com/some-url
example.com/some-url?id=203
example.com/some-url#anchor

It’s important to know that from a CrUX data perspective, all these URLs are identical, because anchors and parameters after the question mark are not stored in CrUX data.

URLs are from a single domain#

For proper Watchdog functionality and other reports, we highly recommend not entering URLs from different domains or subdomains.

Exceptions might be cases where different page types “sit” on different domains, such as:

www.heureka.cz
mobilni-telefony.heureka.cz/xiaomi-redmi

What happens when you change a URL#

• Old synthetic and CrUX data for the original URL are discarded, as they are not comparable with the new address.
• The Watchdog history is not discarded – the green line remains intact.
• Watchdog recalculates levels – temporary budgets are created for 3 days, then new ones are set.
• An automatic note is added to the charts with change details (original and new URL, who made the change).
• If you have alerts set up for Slack or Teams, you’ll receive a message about the change.

These URLs will then appear in Pages and Technical reports.

Domains#

Enter the addresses of your domains. In Domains and other reports, we will display speed data from Google for these domains (CrUX).

Set your own and competitor's domains.

Besides the main domain of your monitored website, we recommend entering:

• Competitors' domains
• Language versions of your site
• Subdomains of the site (if you send significant traffic there)

Specifying the type of domain will clarify reports and especially email notifications, so don’t forget to select them. If you select a website as “competitive” or “other,” we won’t send you change notifications for them.

🔐 You can enter five domains in PLUS tests.

What if five URLs or domains are not enough?#

Some of our clients can’t manage with just five URLs or domains. Large websites, for instance, have a larger number of entry pages that need testing.

Other clients have a vast number of language versions of a website they'd like to monitor in domains. In such cases, it’s possible to add more URLs or domains to the test for an additional fee, up to 20. See pricing.

If interested, contact us at info@pagespeed.cz.

How to test websites behind login?#

We can test websites hidden behind a login, but preparation on your side will usually be necessary.

Testing a website with HTTP authentication is naturally possible, just expect a delay in loading speed.

Another option is to detect our bot and remove the login for it.

The second option is authentication via htpasswd. In such a case, write to us at info@pagespeed.cz.

Speed Watchdog Alerts#

🔐 This feature is available only for PLUS tests.

Receive alerts if the Watchdog detects significant deterioration or improvement in the speed of the tested URLs.

Ensure Watchdog reports reach your team’s communication channels.

By default, alerts are sent to all team members via email until they unsubscribe.

If you use Slack or Teams for internal communication, we recommend adding a channel and receiving alerts there.

You can, of course, add multiple channels. One for developers, another for the agency. We recommend naming these channels to differentiate them.

For more information, including how to set up notifications for Slack or Teams, see the notification help.

Test Start Time#

🔐 This feature is available only for PLUS tests.

Among the novelties of version 4.10 is the option for multiple measurement times (beta) and faster test starts; details in the changelog for release 4.10.

Modify advanced settings only if you know what you’re doing.

In the “Test Start Time” field, choose the time at which speed tests will start each day. This might be useful if testing conflicts with server maintenance like various cron jobs at night.

Note that the test start time is approximate. Tests occur within several tens of minutes of the set time.

The default approximate test start for PLUS tests is 4

.

Watchdog Sensitivity#

🔐 This feature is available only for PLUS tests.

From version 4.14, you can choose how sensitive the Watchdog should be to speed changes in the test settings. One control applies to both synthetic measurements and data from the Chrome UX Report. Details are in the changelog for release 4.14.

The Watchdog should report when the speed really changes. Not when nothing significant happens on the website. Therefore, we offer three levels:

• Higher (default) – you address speed intensely, notifications are more frequent.
• Medium – medium notification intensity.
• Low – fewer notifications. Smaller changes might pass unnoticed.

The default value is taken from the team settings. You can override it in a specific test if you monitor one site differently than the rest of the team.

Is everything set up correctly? Explore now other parts of our speed monitoring and focus especially on the Speed Watchdog.