How long does it take for your WordPress site to load? Two seconds ? Three seconds? More than four seconds? If you don't know, the slowness of your blog can cause you to lose valuable customers.

The first step to correcting this problem is to admit that you have a problem. But how to know that your blog a speed problem ?

Certainly by using web site performance testing tools.

The web has a good number of tools that will allow you to test the performance of your blog (this is not our first Tutorial in the genre). So you probably know the two tools: Pingdom Site Speed ​​Test et Google Insights PageSpeed. To begin, these tools are sufficient, but there is so much solution that you can consult.

YSlow

YSlowDownload

YSlow is an open-source tool, which you can use to analyze a website and compare it to Yahoo's rules on high performance websites. The test results are displayed as a list of recommendations to improve the performance of the site.

What YSlow does not do is really measure the loading speed. Instead, YSlow measures how your site could be optimized for better results.

There are many ways to use YSlow. However, there are two fairly straightforward ways: run a GTMetrix test and select the YSlow tab from the results dashboard, or install the Google Chrome extension for testing directly from your browser.

GTMetrix

Gtmetrix-performance test tool WorPRess
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GTMetrix is ​​a website performance testing tool that runs from a server in Vancouver, Canada, and displays results that are very similar to what you can get from a tool such as Pingdom ". However, in addition to testing a website's speed, GTMetrix performs additional tests of " PageSpeed ​​Insights " and " YSlow And displays the results on 3 dashboards.

The results of GTMetrix stand out for their convenience and completeness. It could be the solution you have been looking for for a long time.

Load Impact

Load-impact web site performance test tool

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Load Impact is unlike any other testing tool on this list. This test tool measures server performance by simulating the visit of 4 visiteurs simultaneously. The test lasts about 5 minutes with nearly 25 simulated virtual users.

The test is designed to help you answer the question: Can my server handle a load of multiple concurrent users without slowing down ?

This test is a great tool you can use to make sure your accommodation not be overloaded. You can configure the tool to use more virtual users. If you need to do this, Load impact can send hundreds or even thousands of simultaneous virtual users to your site, but you will need to take a monthly plan.

WebPageTest.org

Webpagetest web site performance test tool

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WebPageTest.org is an open-source website speed testing platform originally developed by AOL, then taken over by Google in conjunction with many additional partners (including WordPress.com). Since it's an open-source platform, anyone can see the code on GitHub, download it, and even host their own test instance.

WebPageTest.org tests the loading speed of the website using the actual connection speeds of the users. The results show the appearance of your site with a medium connection. You can visit your site at various speeds. You should see the results as the actual situation, not the ideal situation suggested by Pingdom or GTMetrix.

Pingdom and GTMetrix gives you the maximum speed of your website. WebPageTest.org tells you how fast your website is loading for real users.

Dotcom-Monitor Website Speed ​​Test

Dotcom-tools web site performance testing tool

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Dotcom-Tools is a suite of free website performance test tools. You'll find tools for site speed, server performance, a DNS blacklist, network tracking, and more.

The performance test is performed on one page from 24 different locations around the world. The test provides an overview of performance metrics from each location, including load speed, a graph, and a summary of any errors encountered during the process. In addition, the test can be performed using a variety of browsers, including Chrome, Firefox and different versions of Internet Explorer, and several mobile browsers.

That's it for this list of tools to test your blog's performance. Do you have a preference ? Share it with us in the comments.