It is becoming increasingly important to optimize websites for both desktop and mobile devices for a seamless experience.
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Due to this, digital publishers use PageSpeed Insights and similar tools for analytics needed to evaluate a web page’s functionality. In addition, the tools help them assess the user experience using actual use statistics.
When you use PageSpeed Insights to test a website URL, you may find that mobile PageSpeed scores are frequently lower. So, if you are wondering why the scores are different, we are here to explain everything on Mobile vs Desktop PageSpeed Scores.
Why Do You Get Different PageSpeed Scores For Mobile And Desktop?
PageSpeed Insights service examines a webpage’s content and offers recommendations for speeding it up. You may get different mobile PageSpeed scores than desktop scores when running a website URL due to several reasons. Take a look at some of these reasons below.
PageSpeed Insights Does a Slower Test on the Mobile Network
Common tools like PageSpeed Insights typically display page performance rankings for mobile devices that load over slower 3G connections. You may find that Mobile PageSpeed Scores will not have much difference compared to Desktop PageSpeed Scores if you are utilizing fast Wi-Fi.
Slow Processors of Mobile Devices Compared To Desktops
PageSpeed Insights uses the mobile network less quickly than other platforms. Mobile devices themselves can operate on slower and weaker connections than desktop computers. It is due to the device’s slower processors compared to the desktop.
Device Specific CSS Rule Of Mobiles
Mobile devices have their unique method of resizing the various webpage factors, such as images. This is referred to as mobile CSS language rules.
As a result, they load pages more slowly than how a desktop reads its native JavaScript language. In addition, mobile devices are related to more CSS rules than desktops.
How To Prevent Large Score PageSpeed Score Difference?
By adopting simple measures, you can easily prevent huge differences in Mobile vs Desktop PageSpeed Scores.
Pay attention to how you are optimizing for mobile devices.
It is because these devices have more restrictions when downloading webpage elements, such as resizing for smaller dimensions. Mobile optimizing errors can also increase the loading time of your website.
Most often, if you link your website to Wi-Fi, you won’t get slower mobile scores. However, the mobile version of a site displayed in PageSpeed Insights and Lighthouse will look as though it loaded over a 3G connection.
Make sure to select “simulated throttling” in Google LightHouse audits so that mobile and desktop assessments will have different ratings. Unfortunately, you mostly cannot distinguish scores on mobile and desktop when you enable “simulated throttling”.
To execute Google Lighthouse Performance audits, you should use the incognito mode of your browser. This is because the browser running in private mode does not add up the scores of the extensions you have downloaded for your browser.
Even after testing in a standard browser, addons don’t lower your PageSpeed Insights results. However, if you test your site using a standard browser, these extensions may have a detrimental impact on the performance results.
Conclusion
Publishers have suffered with speed for a while, and the problem doesn’t appear to be getting any better any time soon. The average score for desktop and mobile is 60 and 40, respectively.
The key to improving site performance, according to Google webmasters, is for publishers to make their websites fast for users.
Sonnal S Sinha is a passionate writer as well as WordPress and WooCommerce rockstar who loves to share insights on various topics through his engaging blog posts. He runs a successful website design and digital marketing company. With 15+ years of experience in WordPress theme development, he strives to inform and inspire readers with his thought-provoking content. He helps thousands of small and medium businesses and startups create a unique online presence. Follow Sonnal S Sinha for your regular dose of knowledge and inspiration.
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